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From: schuetz@via.DEC (Chris Schuetz - VIA System Manager 381-2647)
Newsgroups: net.games.frp
Subject: Killing off characters
Message-ID: <3905@decwrl.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 11-Oct-84 23:24:50 EDT
Article-I.D.: decwrl.3905
Posted: Thu Oct 11 23:24:50 1984
Date-Received: Sat, 13-Oct-84 08:24:14 EDT
Sender: daemon@decwrl.UUCP
Organization: DEC Engineering Network
Lines: 31

There was a recent rebuttal about some DM's haveing too much concern to kill
off a 7th level mage that took months to develop.

MONTHS !?!   If you're really role-playing, you're talking about characters
that take YEARS to develop.  My cleric has finally reached 8th level after
4 years of playing.  We just lost our 8th level fighter that has been around
for 5 years!  You bet that we tried everything that we could think of to
restore him (even though he wasn't quite dead yet), even took up 4 sessions
to do it.  We were so desparate that we let the mages of the defeated army
try something, much to our regret.  What they ended up doing is summoning
a demon to kill of the rest of us.  Of course they didn't have nearly the
power to control him, and the first thing he did was wipe them all out
(and our friend's body too).  Then our party was stuck with dealing with
the demon (successfully too, thanks to some VERY lucky rolls.  We didn't have
nearly the strength to battle him in earnest).

So don't expect any sympathy from us when you lose your precious 7th level
character after 2 months of playing :-)

I do agree that nasty fatal item are unnecessary, however.  A good DM can 
use subtler means to bring a character into line.  (Having the church send
him off for a year in a monastery to do penance comes to mind.  How would
you like to have to give up your character for a year of character time?
I'd think that you'd change your ways instead.)

Instead of magic items, lets hear about some more traps and trick or puzzles
to use.

/Chris

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