Permadeath in an event

[jennaelf]

2nded

*blushes*

For offing my RP babies?
Oh my.

[rakehell]

I could see doing for sure. But there must be a very good reward for success - 100 free levels, key to another area (up to the branches, yea), some cool armor, weapon, spell. Preferably, the winner would get a choice.

Most important is there must also a suitable reward for failure - after all you lost your character.

To becoming part of the Lore is a must - Kami, Karavan, or Third Way.

Perhaps an NPC statue named after the character that quotes random obscure things (think I-Ching - The fox (ragus) gets his tail wet when crossing the stream). Sometimes the quotes could be the start of an adventure or clues to complete a quest.

The character might even come back 2 or 3 times a year during GM events for some purpose. Say to lead/direct/give clues to the homins during the event. The player that it used to own it could even play the character during the event.

Some special items might drop like the "Shield of [character name]." Only one shield, sword, helmet, whatever of each type would exist and holder could use it for only a limited time (week, month?), then it would disappear to drop again in some random location to be picked up by someone else.

Rewards, win or lose, are the way to encourage players to try it.

[iwojimmy]

*derail warning *
only in favour of Permadeath if they ever implement jumping..
more than 3 jumps in 5 seconds and you get the little rocket birdie animation, your character flies off into the canopy, and you are back at character creation screen with a new empty slot
/derail ( I hope )

[sidusar]

...you know, even in spite of skill building, if Jez were in a situation where her permanent death could save/help/fix someone/something important... I'd do it.

I can't really imagine such a situation though. If it's a personal event where Jez's death would help save one or more of her friends, then you and the other players have chosen themselves to create that situation. You could just as easily decide to come up with some way to save them without killing Jez. If it's an official event where the only way to save the nation is for some volunteers to sacrifice themselves, then alts can do that. No official event would ever put any particular character in the situation where only their sacrifice could save something.

Either way, your character will never get in a situation where their permanent death could save/help/fix someone/something, unless you chose to put them there in the first place. And you wouldn't do that unless you were planning to kill them off all along.

Usually if you kill a character off for RP reasons, it's not a spontaneous thing. You decide you're going to kill the character, and roughly plan out how and when it's going to happen. The character's death doesn't come as a surprise to you. Same if the game were dying, or if you were going to quit the game. In all those cases there's already the certainty that your character is going to die, no matter the outcome of the event.

I think that's the interesting part about this question. It doesn't ask if we would ever kill off our character for any reason. It asks if we would ever run the risk of having our character killed, completely unexpected and outside of our own control, when we were really planning to happily play along with that character for many months to come. Those are very different things. I can think of situations where I would decide to kill my character. I can not think of situations where I would take that risk.


As a sidethought, imagine how Ryzom would be if there was always a chance of permadeath. Say, if there's a 0.01% of dieing permanently every time you respawn. Players would probably be much more reluctant to go anywhere alone. Dieing a 1000 times to learn sneaking around an area would be out of the question. There'd be huge debates over whether the winning side in OP battles should allow the loosing side to be resurrected. There'd be a game-mechanic reason to have alts again, as having all your skills on one character would be a huge risk. Most players would probably have a seperate character for crafting who never gets out of town. All in all, I don't think I'd like it.


Oh, and if I ever decided to kill Marelli off, I actually wouldn't want her death to be epic and heroic and meaningfull and saving/helping/fixing someone/something. I'd want her death to be stupid and pointless. Killed by an insignificant kincher during a routine trek, or blowing herself up digging choice materials for a standard set of armor. Killed during a large battle would be okay too as long as her death doesn't actually do anything to help win the battle.

Same as not every character in a MMO should be the savior of the realm, I don't think every character should die an epic, heroic death either.

Hard to be resurrected when a demon traps your soul in the depths of a hell-spawn ruin. *cough*

Aww, but the whole fun of having your soul trapped in a hell-spawn ruin is so your friends can come save you.

Did they at least try and fail miserably?

[jamela]

... I think that's the interesting part about this question. It doesn't ask if we would ever kill off our character for any reason. It asks if we would ever run the risk of having our character killed, completely unexpected and outside of our own control, when we were really planning to happily play along with that character for many months to come. Those are very different things. I can think of situations where I would decide to kill my character. I can not think of situations where I would take that risk. ...

There's already been one death of note on Ryzom - Still Wyler's. Surely that's reason enough for King Yrkanis and other notables to have a bodyguard when appearing in some public situations. I'd be very insulted if some alt was given that honour, surely there are plenty of Matis Guardians who would be far more suitable?

[doubleta]

alt yea main hell no

[sidusar]

Surely that's reason enough for King Yrkanis and other notables to have a bodyguard when appearing in some public situations.

Players being offered the role of bodyguards of the rulers? One lucky person gets to sacrifice their character by jumping in front of the goo bullet to save the king? I don't see it happening anytime soon, but I like it

But if it became a regular thing, I'd suspect we'd start seeing combat-skills-only alts for those jobs. I don't see why that would be insulting either. If it was a level 50 alt, yes. But if there had been a real incentive for putting characters at risk of permadeath, I'm sure we'd have plenty of alts with multiple masters and guardian titles running around for that purpose.

[jamela]

The Matisian lore used to say something about a select few of the strongest, most loyal Matisians eventually being asked to join the Royal Guard, and that was something to which I aspired. Before long, though, it seemed obvious to me that I'd never be one of the strongest .

What I was thinking would be insulting was some deliberately expendable, non-entity type alt being selected for the guard, over an established character who had striven to prove their devotion and loyalty.

[jennaelf]

I play my character completely IC. I would not create an alt to participate in something where there was the chance of permadeath. Also, it would be up to Jeziellia, as the character, to choose what to do if the chance of her permanently dying was involved.

This whole goo-infused thing? Interesting from OOC point of view. Unsettling from an IC point of view, and enough that Jez would SERIOUSLY reconsider trying to defend the city of Yrkanis from whatever is wielding such weaponry/armor.

Just a thought.


And I have been part of multiple player run scenarios where a character was unexpectedly faced with dying and had the player say "if they die, they die"... and the characters being permanently killed. I don't tend to participate in fully scripted RP. That's just acting out a play, that's not interactive storytelling. And Mercellus's death was *not* planned. His death happened because of Jeziellia's choices (I didn't know which was the 'right' choice, and the player did not give me hints).

[sidusar]

And I have been part of multiple player run scenarios where a character was unexpectedly faced with dying and had the player say "if they die, they die"... and the characters being permanently killed.

Interesting. In the environments I've roleplayed in (much less than you ofcourse) that would be considered extremely rude of the player running the show. Me making and mastering a Ring scenario, inviting you and a few other players in, and then suddenly confronting Jezi with a situation where she could permanently die, without discussing it with you first? That would be forcing something on someone else's character, completely unacceptable.

Ofcourse choosing to risk your own character's death is always your prerogative

enough that Jez would SERIOUSLY reconsider trying to defend the city of Yrkanis from whatever is wielding such weaponry/armor.

Also interesting. Mar would just be more motivated to defend the city. After all it means all the more risk that the entire city population and everyone she knows is permanently killed. But that's her. I still wouldn't want to risk her getting permanently killed. So if there was really a chance of that happening in the defense of the city, I'd be seriously conflicted what to do

It's exactly opposite from you; you'd be willing to risk Jezi's life, but Jezi wouldn't risk her own life. I think you get the better deal here

I wonder what the rest of the players would do in that situation. Risk character perma-death or let Yrkanis fall to the Marauders...

..over an established character who had striven to prove their devotion and loyalty.

Oh, if there is an established character willing to risk being permanently killed, then ofcourse, they should have that privilege.