Character Creation, Character Death, and Stormbringer

I've thought about the relationship between chargen and character death for quite some time.

Then I heard Dave (Tentacled Whisperer) say the following on the Breakfast in the Ruins podcast :

(I dunno why that turned into a GIF from Word, but whatevs)

THIS is precisely the issue with modern RPGs, and all RPGs.

Basically, the formula is thus:

The amount of time it takes to create a character is inversely proportional to the GM's willingness to kill them.

So if you're playing OD&D, you roll 3D6 in order 6 times, grab some gear and a name, good to go, knowing you may die at any time, but that you can turn a henchman into a new PC in 5 minutes.

Conversely, if you've spent days agonizing over backstory, build, and character concept, you want some time in the limelight, and the GM is reluctant to take that away from you with a random encounter.

So Stormbringer...

As Andy of BitR puts it, 90% of Stormbringer characters are shitkickers. As he points out, "You're not Elric."

Therefore, a Stormbringer RPG should make chargen plain and simple. Like the Barbarians of Lemuria Stormbringer hack someone put out a few years back.

Hold on, wait a minute...

But if we're talking about emulating the fiction, characters are definitely NOT shitkickers. They ARE Elric, and Hawkmoon, and Corum. Or else Moonglum, and Jhary. Then Count Whatsisname. And finally unnamed solder or sailor.

Reusing pics like a boss

In this case, instead of rolling for Nationality, MAYBE we should be rolling for the role of the character in the Multiverse. Are they...

The Champion Eternal?

A Companion?

A love interest?

An ally or rival?

An unnamed supporter?

This way reminds me of the suggestion I made on BitR for using Ars Magica to turn Stormbringer into troupe play with the EC at the center and other players as various levels of mooks.

Or else we choose the style of play from the two I proposed previously:

Saga Play - We need the Eternal Champion and his or her attendants, and the stakes are existence.

Pulp Play - You are shitkickers, killing and dying in the Young Kingdoms. Stakes are enough coin to live or get dead drunk.

This choice also determines much of the rules used:

Saga Play - Encumbrance and wealth are handwaived, possibly linked to social standing.

Pulp Play - Count every coin and every stone of weight.

These are good issues to ponder.

(Postscript: The above was written exhausted from passing the DELF and celebrating with Strongbow, so bear with me...)

Less Death More Story

Rereading The Hobbit, it strikes me that hardly anyone dies. The defeated heroes are instead captured by trolls, or spiders, or elves, or a friendly werebear. These throwaway characters end up having larger significance when you read Lord of the Rings where the elves of Lothlorien, the spider Shelob, and Tom Bombadil are used to expand on this story construct.

In other words, Tolkien often exchanges death for a story hook. Although Tolkien is cited as an inspiration for D&D, the lethality of early versions of the game and its rivals like Traveller point to a pulpier, more lethal origin. Player dissatisfaction with this high lethality in comparison to the fiction origins of the hobby have in turn led to a buffing up of character resilience in later editions and games.

However, at heart rpgs are about telling a story communally, and I think exchanging death for story hooks is a good way to accomplish this. Letting PCs cheat death in a way that complicates the story for good or ill is a practice that will reap unseen rewards in verisimilitude of and engagement in the game world. This realization has inspired me to create a table allowing characters to avoid death in favour of other story developments. This table can be used for any genre (except horror, where death has to be final), so I will give examples from Fantasy / Science Fiction / Adventure / and Supers gaming to help the GM flesh out the details in the context of their game.

Escaping Death!

When a character is felled in combat, roll 3d6 and consult the following table.

3 Taken! A powerful, intelligent foe takes the character from his or her vanquishers, necessitating a side quest to recapture them. The Demon / Alien Computer / Evil Warlord / World Destroyer may try to turn the PC against the party, or else use them as a hostage if cornered. Play a different character for the remainder of the session or until the reunited party returns to their base.
4-5 Taken! A powerful animal foe takes the character from his or her vanquishers. The roc / Alien Queen / dinosaur / Dimensional Hound may be saving the character to feed to their young or for impregnation. On the plus side, allies may track the character and attempt to save them from such a fate, and the GM may allow a character an appropriate roll to escape, but will be at half strength or life whether they escape or are rescued. Play a different character for the remainder of the session or until the reunited party returns to their base.
6-8 Being Delivered! The foes have you in chains but are delivering you to their god / leader / boss / mastermind. Your companions thus have a chance of tracking and rescuing you, but all your items will be shared out and used by your captors, complicating rescue. The character will be at half strength or life when  they are rescued. Play a different character for the remainder of the session or until the reunited party returns to their base.
9-12 Captured! The foes that vanquished you have you, but are keeping you alive for slave labour or trade. They are also willing to trade or sell you back to the party. The character will be at half strength or life whether they escape or are rescued.
13-15 Being Delivered! A group of allies helped you escape, but it will take time to return you to the party. Play a different character for the remainder of the session or until the reunited party returns to their base.

16-17 Saved! A powerful animal ally takes the character from his or her vanquishers. The unicorn / Star Baby / yeti / Dimensional Watcher may have saved the character unintentionally, or as a mysterious move in some game of larger forces.  On the plus side, allies may track the character and attempt to reclaim them, and the animal may even care for or protect the character if the GM allows a persuasion roll or a service is performed for them. Play a different character for the remainder of the session or until the reunited party returns to their base.
18 Saved! A powerful, intelligent ally rescues the character from his or her vanquishers and spirits them far away, necessitating a journey to return them. The Angel / Alien Computer / Freedom Fighter / Star God may try to turn the PC into their servant, or else expect the debt to be repaid in future. Players should use another character until theirs is reunited with the party.

Heroic Death

Yet even in Tolkien’s world, significant people die. Boromir. gives his life to warn his fellows and let Frodo and Sam escape. In a true story-centered rpg, death should be a choice that has major story repercussions.

If a player does not want to continue using the character that is defeated in combat, he or she can instead opt for a Heroic Death. A Heroic Death is one that has great significance, that benefits the party or the cause they work for. Players can only choose a Heroic Death when the party is in real peril, and can’t be used just when they succumb to unlucky rolls but others are safe. Choosing a Heroic Death trumps mechanics, it just allows a story effect negotiated by the player and GM.

Examples

You close the portcullis / airlock / tomb door / warp tube, allowing the others to escape the explosion.

You stop the monster / alien / cultists / assassin long enough for the others to get away.

You use your body to shield your fellows from the firebolt / laser blast / grenade / cosmic beams, allowing the others to achieve their objective.
You slay the last orc / robo-sentry / Nazi / cyborg and let the party move onto the McGuffin.

I'll definitely be trying this in the next session I run, especially if it involves old school lethality.