Character Deaths: A Look Into Your Worst Nightmare

[Laira Darkhold]

Spencer will die from diabetes or a punch to the face.

*Puts Sugar away, pulls out brass Knuckles*

 

[Basaba Willamina]

If I ever got bored with a character maybe.. but I doubt it would add to them as much. Even the ones I don't use as much and were niche made to help people can always find a new use and thing to go after since best way I found. Never stop having jedi train, there is always going to be someone smarter, stronger, faster then them. THey should chase being a master of the force forever. Always work with mandalorians to find new ways to kill things and blow them up good.

 

[Ben Watts]

One thing I am noticing is a trend where some of the replies are killing off a character when "You grew bored" of them. But let me ask a question: Is that really the same? Sure, if you are bored with a character, kill them off. But [member="Sarge Potteiger"] mentioned how it seems forced. And I completely agree here. If you are bored of the character and just let them die, where is the drama there? It is scripted, pre-determined, meh in every sense of the word. Now I am not here to bash on this and say that it isn't the right thing or that their deaths were not epic, I am just wanting to bring something else up.

Now, this topic comes from very recently, and I have to say it was one of the worst situations I have been in while I have roleplayed. Now when I say worst situations I don't mean I was angry or throwing tantrums. I mean the feeling of having a plot all lined up, getting things ready, having so many moving parts and then BAM my character died. NO THIS ISN'T FAIR! IT ISN'T RIGHT! I HAD SO MUCH LEFT TO DO WITH THIS CHARACTER! This was my thought process and then it hit me....

That is the only way a character death can be meaningful. This entire plot I had orchestrated in my head was done. That was it. The character was dead and so the plot was dead. In my head, who cared besides me? But over the course of the next few days I saw the full repercussions of it. That plot snuffing out created new plots for other writers, all of the sudden my death was no longer a woe unto me moment, it transformed into a story for other people. Collaboration. And it was beautiful. Even though I was not part of the plot any longer I was unable to take my eyes off of other peoples threads because their fun, their writing, it was a direct result of my character dying.

Without trying to ramble too much it became something more than what I wanted to craft myself. It was the first time I truly felt like, as a community, I was collaborating and letting other people write and influence me without me even being there. The feelings of my plot just.... ending... I no longer cared because the storyline that came after it was so compelling.

In essence, I think that an unexpected death right in the middle of a plot you have, it is one of the most painful and enlightening moments for a writer. That is death, and in the smallest sense of the word, you experience it. You experience the death because it just ends. Its over. Just like in real life there is no continuance. I cannot explain to others why I died, how I died, or try and do something differently. It was just the end of a character.

Now not everyone writes the way that I write, obviously, but for me it was one of the most eye opening moments of my writing career and changed the way I wrote. You cannot force it, obviously, but at the same time I feel like that entire aspect of death being right around the corner is such a powerful writing tool and I encourage every writer, old and new, to keep it in mind.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

This forever.

 

[Felicity Mason]

I like when a character dies.... and stays dead. too often people ruin a good character death by using Sith voodoo or some stupid cloning crap.
When I killed Feena, that was it. She was dead. End of story.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

I don't mind bringing characters back for an encore as long as it doesn't drag out, and something new's involved. Part of the charm of Star Wars is that there's half a dozen perfectly legitimate tech/force ways to cheat death, it's just that they all come with a cost attached and none of'em are permanent. That's not something that's found in many other settings, and I've had a lot of fun playing with it as far as story implications go.

 

[Ben Watts]

[member="Ashin Varanin"]

If it can be done in the setting I see no reason not to. Why not experience, or try to in this case, everything the Star Wars world has to offer? We have this entire universe open for us to play and if it can be explained with Star Wars logic then it should at least be tested if you want to. My opinion on the matter, at least.

 

[Kamon's OOC]

I don't know that I've ever had a character in a situation that I couldn't find some logical, plausible way for them to get out of it, a way the character could figure out. At least I don't recall that off the top of my head. I suppose if that happens I'd have to think long and hard about what came of it.

Or maybe roll a dice. I've done that a few times. Can be scary fun.

I tend to be more of a "Maim your character all to hell and see what they make of themselves" kind of RPer instead of a "kill your character for fun, aka George R.R. Martin" type.

 

[Ellie Mors]

Characters live and die. Character death shouldn't be glorified, nor should it be ignored (by that I mean the act of the writer killing a character). If it is their time, by writing flow, to die, so be it. If it isn't, making a sudden death happen out of the blue just ruins the moment - so does randomly not being killed when it makes sense.

 

[Grrwunhoooll Agaburry]

I died once and came back. Though like [member="Darth Vornskr"] I would not know what to do if I killed my main character permanently

 

[Jsc]

Characters live and die. Character death shouldn't be glorified

I loved this. Sometimes we as writers have a tendency to favor things that irk us personally rather that what is best for the fiction itself. If we feel not enough PCs are dying, we push in that direction. Even if it's not necessary to the glory of the story or good timing. Which, is fine. Hobby writing and RP is all about wish fulfillment on the part of the writer. We're not selling books here. So we don't need to prioritize the audience's experience to the massive extent that some novels do. ...Still? Never hurts to find a personal balance between storytelling and game meta.

Always love Braith posts. She's always so spot on.

 

[Mantic Dorn]

If no one ever really dies... where do all these freakin zombies come from?!?!?

 

[WolfMortum]

We have zombies?

 

[Julius Sedaire]

Honestly? I've had characters die. And if it makes sense and is compelling enough in the story, they will again. One of my favorite Roleplay Characters ended up loosing his entire squad, his entire family, his Aes Sedai... And pretty much everything he had to fight for. The cause of their demise was a completely preventable mistake that was 100% on him (I just didn't see it coming)...

So when it all clicked? I literally had him leave his things behind(power wrought blade and all), walk out with a wooden sword and plain clothing, and just smack the biggest bad he could reach. That happened to be a really big bad... The writer on the other side was amiable(re: awesome) enough to let me play out the story of a man with nothing left to live for and certainly nothing to lose. I think to date, writing the death of my Warder from that Wheel of Time site was one of the best experiences I've ever had in RP.

And I don't say that because he died. Not glorifying character death, nor am I saying they should never die unless only the writer wants them to. Something in the middle... They should die if the story dictates they should. I say that because, in letting the character go, accepting that loss of direction, I think the scene therein was the most honest and true to the spirit of that character that I ever wrote. There wasn't any politics, there was no mission. Anyone who has read wheel of time will know the mindset a Warder with a slain Aes Sedai enters. And that hollowed self was quite fun to read and write. I know, certainly, it was one of the best literary scenes I "painted" (if you will) in my opinion.

So in short? If it makes sense (not whether I'm ready or I have cool gear made yet or whatever) then... Well.... I will probably approach the other writer(s) and go: Hey.... I'm thinking with this scene that ______ is probably going to die... Do you agree? Would you like to help me write a fitting end? And if they do, we go from there.

That said, my worst character ever (I made him as a joke) never would die... I tried several times to kill him, and because I 'used the dice'... He survived... Every... Time... So since the story didn't make sense or random chance let him live, he lived. Still is living, as a matter of fact.

 

[Darth Ayra]

I recently confronted [member="Darth Vornskr"] in a duel, knowing that Ella might not come out of alive. Now that the duel is over (Vornskr won), the idea is that Ella will be taken back to Coruscant, in the hope that she will meet with the One Sith leaders. She is at the bane and mercy of the OS.

This I do not mind. If Vornskr decided to kill her now, that would be the end of it. Same for any other characters, with the exception of [member="Vilox Pazela"]. I wouldn't feel comfortable killing off my first ever character.

 

[Kei Amadis]

Depends doesn't it. Which is the TL;DR answer.

If I was writing out a character concept and the character died prematurely and I still had the muse to do it, i'd probably just continue where i left off. So for me it'd be meh, and not make any odds. Plus the impact is reduced if a 2 month old character dies, instead of a 2 year character, someone that's gone from a flat concept to a realised, or rounded character.

Finally to close, killing characters off too much doesn't give things any permanence for others, someone could take a two month break, then come back, and the floor has dropped out of their character cause everyone they are or rather were connected to is dead .

 

[Darren Onyx]

TL;DR~ I fully support character deaths...

Well when I started to RP I hated character deaths because I loved Onyx so much as a character. He was a character I really put a lot of effort into and someone I hoped would become a "major player" in the galaxy, kind of like [member="Ben Watts"] or [member="Ashin Varanin"]. However as I became more experienced I really learned that character deaths were really a major element in the overall storytelling. I enjoy the thought that somehow all of the characters involved in the site somehow are interconnected in this massive overlapping story. With that mindset I believe a character death is significant in both the writer's new stories/characters as well as the other characters within the site.

Now obviously there are, as Ashin stated earlier, many ways to cheat death in the galaxy of Star Wars. Though both technology and the force anyone can practically live forever, though I do say practically since most of these methods result in a permanent debuff with more negatives than positives. However that won't stop people, such as myself, from killing a character only to bring them back to life and continue their story. When Onyx was killed I brought him back, yes. However I didn't do it simple because I wanted to, although I am biased towards him since he is my favorite character I've written. I brought him back because I saw story opportunities that otherwise wouldn't have existed had he not been killed in the first place. Him returning from the grave opened up more story and character development. I support bringing a character back to life as long as their is more story to be had and not just for the faint of heart.

As writers we don't, or at least most of us don't, enjoy seeing our beloved characters dying. We may enjoy putting them through intense damage and nearly impossible missions, however we don't like seeing them die. Like I said, most of us feel that way however I do know a few people who may not feel that way and go through characters as fast as a little kid ripping through his Christmas Presents. I understand this, as I have been constantly wanting to kill Onyx while also keep him alive for a little longer.

In summery, I understand how most people may not enjoy killing off their characters. But I for one find it to be good for both the writer and for other characters, as it helps push the site's own cannon forward. Bring them back if you want, and if you have good reason, otherwise writing a new character can't hurt.

 

[Fasalin]

[member="Ben Watts"]

I considered this very problem recently and came to the same conclusion. I was going to post something much along the lines of this but decided not to because I'm not so experienced with this forum to say with any authority that death is a serious issue here.

 

[Arlan Zy'rosh]

[member="Ben Watts"]

While I'm entirely new to this forum and have yet to actually run into anything that might kill my character, I've been RPing for years on many other forums where death is a constant. Mizahar, a fantasy Role-Playing forum, is one such site where you go into every single Role-Play with the threat of death looming. Realism is enforced and demanded to a degree. I've had a character on there go into a tavern for a drink, get in to a drunken brawl with a few other PCs, and get stabbed by a dagger before subsequently bleeding to death. While I was sad the character died, I enjoyed the Role-Play immensely because it was a real and natural death that could indeed happen.

When death is a possibility, I go into an RP thinking it can happen and intend to do so on this site as well. When you are PvPing with someone and your heart gets racing at the thought of your character's demise I find it enjoyable. Some of the greatest stories ever told end in tragedy, so too should some of the greatest Role-Plays I like to think. If my character runs his course, develops a good story over the weeks, months, or years, he is active, then I have no problem letting him slip in to that long goodnight.

Now this is Star Wars, granted. We have people who can heal injuries, who replace entire limbs with cybernetics, and some who can even transcend death itself. I can see from what I've read on here that death is a rarity, and I know the administration staff has it set up this way for a good reason. One person may well be willing to kill off a character, while another may not.

My question is: With no set rule on death, other than both parties agreeing to it, is all combat inherently without risk? If so, what keeps characters from simply Godmodding out of a situation that would in all reality end in death or capture?

This isn't a shot at the site's rules, just an honest inquiry.

 

[Ellie Mors]

is all combat inherently without risk?

Oh no, people generally willingly put themselves at risk - they just use this privilege to dictate their character's stories, being able to choose when and what happens. Yes, it is a little less believable when someone doesn't die when it appears they should, but character death happens, and injuries happen soooo much more frequently than I've seen elsewhere.

On a site where you can decide to not die, you can lose whole limbs, replaced or not, and amp up the story. Sure, you can do that with character death enforced - but to the extent found here? I don't really think so. I think enforced death would probably result in less injuries and more deaths or less combat (or a mix of the two).

As for the godmodding bit - nothing. You can decide to not die, you can dictate all damage your character receives, but you can't write a god/immortal. You can write yourself out of any death, probably out of any injury (by not taking a hit, for example), but you can't go and take that hit, and more like it, and continue to fight on like it feels like nothing. (There's a rule in one of the rule lists that states your character isn't a god/immortal/omnipotent.)