The corridor was narrow and dark, lit only by the torches we carried. Our party, down from the original four that started the journey, was now only a duo. Glub, a slender lizard-man whose face resembled that of a chameleon led the march. Before today I would have referred to those of his…talents as a thief, but after his many acts of bravery in saving my life prior, I now call him companion. One does not know a true master of the art until they have seen the dexterity of his two fingered hands picking pockets.
He stopped.
I held my breath.
After a moment of checking he relaxed. I never thought it was possible, but I swear I saw relief in those dark dual directional eyes of his. He opened his mouth slightly to taste the air. There may have been an attempt at a smile in there. “False alarm” he casually regarded in his native tongue. Common is a rather difficult language for those without lips. Turning back to our goal, he stepped forward.
There was a click. A section of the side wall merged into its parallel. Blue oozed from the slight gap. Glub never had a chance, and now I was alone; standing, stranded with my torch flickering its last light.
Up ahead I saw a glow. I could have run away, but knowing the traps behind me, I would never survive. I continued on, distraught with the blood of my ally still fresh on my brow.
The light became a chamber filled with masterworks, gold, and gems alike. I was taken aback at how close my compatriots came to this treasure untold. This journey, our sacrifice, our…
A fearsome yawn came from beside me.
What I thought was a cavern wall had in turn been a creature the size of a pavilion with scales of amber and red, spikes and claws as thick as trees and massive wings that tested the height of this ginormous hall. Its teeth bared a devilish grin. “So sorry young wizard, but I have a much needed day to relax, so this will be short” the dragon spoke to me in my own Elven tongue. “I must prepare you as a most delicious snack.”
“I would beg to differ.” I responded.
“Oh but I insist.” He retorted, lurching forward.
At this point I attempted to flee, but spontaneous combustion has a way of slowing down ones escape.
Begrudgingly, I marked my character’s hit points to -26. I sat back in my chair, my mind trying to comprehend the emotions now welling up in my 16 year old mind.
Everyone remembers their first death in a role playing game. For some it was in a blaze of glory amid the battlefields of good and evil. Others, it was the luck of rolling one (Or five) too many fumbles in a single encounter.
Everyone has had a game like this.
It’s should be expected in a game about killing monsters and looting dungeons to die every once in a while. Yet, I’ve known players to walk away from games or even getting up and accusing the Game Master of rule breaking. These types of reactions potentially end campaigns as well as friendships in the gamer community.
How does this happen?
When does a character in a game stop being just a character in a game?
I believe it’s in the beginning moments of gaming that a bond is formed between the player and their pen and paper avatar. The character creation process varies upon the game you are playing, but the end result is the same. A veteran player will fill out five character sheets in under an hour, while the new player might take a few hours (or days even) to write the simplest of details for their first character. The new player is looking at the character sheet and seeing things like, eye color, height, religion, race, position on political issue X, Mac or PC, blood type and alignment. Now I may have exaggerated a few of those, but the issue is the same; it takes a lifetime to know your self enough to answer some of these questions. How do they, in turn create a wholly original character for a game?
Unless the new player is well versed in improv and creative writing, the character they make will have come from a mix of three areas of the new player’s personality: Who they are, who they are not and their favorite character from film/literature. This may lead to a few Mary Sues .
So with that in mind, is it wholly inconceivable for the new player to react to their character’s death no different than they would to losing a hand?
Nobody move! I lost a contact!
When it first happened to me I admit I couldn’t believe it. Almost instantly, I was a bitter at the DM for pulling such a cruel death on me without giving me a chance to fight back or escape. I even tried to get a re-roll for my Save VS Breath Weapon, but to no avail. Eventually, I slumped back into my seat feeling as though my heart was ripped from my chest and thrown into the proverbial trash can. It was then that my friend sitting next to me patted me on the shoulder and officially welcomed me to gaming. ‘Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered.” I completed my initiation into the world of role-playing and I accepted the death as part of the experience.
The feelings that come during your first or thousandth character’s death are natural, but should never be taken personally. They can be attributed to bad luck, heroic sacrifice, inevitability, or a jerk of a Dungeon Master. Either way, it may have been time to move on and explore a new aspect of the game. Consider it a chance to play a new class, personality type, race, or (in some cases) gender. You might find out you like paladins over rangers, but still like to use crossbows and long range attacks. And if nothing else, this gives you the perfect opportunity to get back at your DM by making the most annoying character ever.
How did your first character die? Let me know in the comments. I’d love to see who had the best death.
Tags: comic booked, First death, Game, gamers, Richard Wilcox, RPG, Tabletop
About the Author
Written by Richard Wilcox
I like to play games, write about them and sometimes make them. Sometimes I make films too. If you are a game developer and would like to have your product reviewed by me on this site, you can PM me via Twitter @AlbinoHero or shoot me an email at albinohero[at]gmail[dot]com.
My first was named Lacuna Sanctune. I had other characters retire, which was sad on its own right, but this character was rightly and truly dead. It was a little better because It was of my own choice. Basically she wanted to kill as many people as possible and bring the city down with her (Lovely NE Sharran), and she broke a Staff of the Magi to do so. She rolled too low.
And exploded.
Never had any other characters die on me, believe it or not. I tend to make characters last for the long haul. Then again , my usual method of play is via Neverwinter Nights…which allows for a more involved character development over a longer period of time than weekly sessions do.
Wow, that was verbose.
My first character death was while playing Legend of the Five Rings, and the GM warned all of us in advance that character death happens very easily in that game and that we shouldn’t assume that we’ll make it out alive. Even knowing that one sword strike from a lowly ronin can end your character does little to prepare you for the reality of that death. I can count the number of character deaths in RPGs on one hand, and they’re all from L5R.
Fortunately, the majority of my characters survive their campaigns and live out their “retirement” in my imagination, or find new life in a new campaign. But that’s a story for another article…
Sidenote: A friend of mine also had a character die in D&D from a few bad saving throws, and it was also a death by dragon. In his case, his wizard was trying to make his great escape and got caught in the dragon’s fiery breath. He rolled his save and failed, then rolled the saves for his magic items and failed each one. He didn’t just die, he became a human firework display. We laugh about that one to this day.
Grork the half-ork barbarian was my firsy character, and he met his end in the closing moments of my very first game session. we had been battling through a first level dungeon, all beginners, and half the party had died, killed of by various traps and monsters. right at the very end was the big boss fight against a necromancer and his legion of skeletons. grork went crazy, killing EVERYTHING within his reach, pushing through the crowd of undead to get to the necromancer. the remainder of his party fell in that battle, but grork managed one final victory when he struck the necromancer with a critical hit! and, of course, was then promptly covered in skeletons.