So, which RPG did you find most impressive for the way PCs die? And why?
Albedo for its oft messy and lethal firefights.
D&D for some of the horrible ways monsters can off you. Really horrible ways.
Some RPGs have the bad ends in the mechanics. Others in the encounters, be it monsters or traps.
Call of Chthulhu, because the PC was usually driven mad first, then killed and often devoured. That and the beasties that killed you were often weird and twisted looking abominations that had no place being on this world.
RoleMaster/Space Master for all the color and flavor in the crit tables. Nobody just "dies". They're shot through the heart, then stumble 15 feet to a spot suitable for dying; or their head is vaporized, leaving their ears free to flutter down and land on their shoulders; or an automatic weapon opens up their chest cavity in a manner suitable for an introductory anatomy course. (This applies equally to NPCs, of course.)
Paranoia?
Nothing beats Paranoia in this respect.
The Riddle of Steel, Pendragon, Mythras, Artesia, Sengoku, Zenobia, Flashing Blades, H+I, Le Pavillion Noir, Reign, Earthdawn, Backswords and Bucklers, GURPS....the list can go on and on:).
But overall, I find that all systems can do a suitable death. It's the ones that make the life before it worth living that impress me;).
Quote from: Dirk Remmecke;936812Paranoia?
Nothing beats Paranoia in this respect.
I tend to agree: death is generally sudden, colorful, and inescapable.
I'm also fond of Traveller and old D&D at low level - combat is likely to result in death, so you get clever about avoiding it or stacking the odds quickly...or you die quickly.
MERP/RM etc have funny crit tables, but they were more ridiculous to me than "good".
Really fond of death in FATE-based games: I'm only dead if I feel it is narratively proper for me to die at this particular point in our shared story.
Just kidding.
Quote from: Omega;936801D&D for some of the horrible ways monsters can off you. Really horrible ways.
Yeah, there are. Gah!
Whatever it is it's a system that let's your PC stay dead, versus having a bajillion ways to get out of it... which means it isn't 'death'.
Lately I've really been enjoying my deaths (and those of others) in DCC... but a lot of that goes back to the GM and Players, as always.
Warhammer Fantasy critical hit charts!
Having your PC go out in an exploding fountain of blood and bone was always a hoot.
And since chargen was quick in WFRP 1e, it wasn't a big deal.
Quote from: Dirk Remmecke;936812Paranoia?
Nothing beats Paranoia in this respect.
True. The 6 clone thing is very fun. Especially for the first 3 clones.
Rolemaster mainly but I've always liked the D&D negative ten hp thing. They dropped it for fifth edition and I think that was a bad move. The death saves don't pack the same tension as losing a hit point every round until dead. Mind you, in Rolemaster people think it's the criticals that get you but more often than not its the blood loss.
Quote from: RPGPundit;936799So, which RPG did you find most impressive for the way PCs die? And why?
RuneQuest,
Stormbringer/Elric!, and
WFRP 1e/2e. Critical hit charts/fumbles, severed limbs, major wound tables, bleeding, decapitation...
Any game that lets you make a new character quickly. Glorious PC death does not arise from game mechanics, unless you lack imagination, but the situation the PCs get themselves into and how the GM runs the game.
Phoenix Command: Die early, die often.
Classic Traveller.
You die during character generation!
Quote from: RPGPundit;936799So, which RPG did you find most impressive for the way PCs die? And why?
In general, Traveller. Because your attributes
are your hit-points. So no cartoon violence.
For my part, it's Aces & Eights. I love the way characters can die there. It allows the full gamut between someone getting their brains blown off in a single good shot, to someone dying agonizingly for days, much of it conscious, sometimes not sure if they'll pull through or other times totally aware that they aren't going to make it.
That makes for some high drama, as the last session of my wild west campaign showed.
Quote from: RPGPundit;939921For my part, it's Aces & Eights. I love the way characters can die there. It allows the full gamut between someone getting their brains blown off in a single good shot, to someone dying agonizingly for days, much of it conscious, sometimes not sure if they'll pull through or other times totally aware that they aren't going to make it.
That makes for some high drama, as the last session of my wild west campaign showed.
Yeah haven't seen a detailed wound system that's actually as playable as A&8's.
I know I don't much like "left for dead" type fate points and I ignore them in WFRP2. And games that give players narrative immunity from death are rubbish.
DCC zero levels funnels feature PC death as comedy and entertainment. I think it has one up on Paranoia, though the tone is similar. Zero level funnels should be required gaming for players who get hopelessly attached to their characters.