Character Death
Character Death flips the script on the idea that death is some sacred element in roleplaying, and we’re going to do it with a good dose of sarcasm and just enough rage to make it interesting. Character death in roleplaying games is one of those tired, old tropes that should’ve been put to rest years ago, yet somehow it keeps staggering back to life like a zombie that just won’t quit. Well, this book is here to take that zombie out once with a head shot and for all. It’s time we stopped pretending that killing off characters is the only way to create drama or consequences.
We’ll start by dragging wargaming’s bad habits into the spotlight, because that’s where this nonsense all began. You’ll get a rundown of how death was carried over from a setting where soldiers are disposable into one where characters are the heart of the story. We’ll explore how this outdated mindset limits the creative potential of roleplaying by turning it into a "win or die" scenario rather than the complex, character-driven narrative it should be.
Next, we get real about the downsides of character death. If you’re still hanging onto the idea that it’s somehow noble, let’s cut that off right now. Killing characters doesn’t build drama; it robs players of agency, throws away their hard work, and yanks them right out of the story they’re invested in. We’ll unpack how relying on death as the go-to consequence limits your roleplaying to combat-heavy drudgery, when there are so many better ways to mess with your players without taking them out of the action. (Trust us, we’ve got ideas.)
Then, we’ll walk you through how to handle the inevitable “So, no one’s gonna die?” conversation with your players. It starts with Session Zero, setting expectations, getting consent, and establishing that, yes, this will still be a challenging and dangerous world, even if it doesn’t include slaughtering player characters willy-nilly. It’s all about crafting consequences that actually add to the story rather than ending it.
But hey, if you really feel the need to kill someone off (and we know some of you do), we’ll cover how to do it without ruining everyone’s fun. From keeping the player involved post-death to making sure the death impacts the story in a meaningful way, we’ve got you covered. There’s a right way to do it, and several very wrong ways.
Finally, we’ll dive into alternatives to death. We’re talking about consequences that leave scars, literally and figuratively, but keep the character in play. Let’s explore trauma, physical impairments, shattered reputations, and plenty of other ways to make a character’s life difficult, without ending it altogether.
This is a full-on guide to why character death is overrated, and how to make your roleplaying experience better without sending someone to the graveyard.
A Universal Sourcebook
You don’t need this book to play any of our games using The Simple Approach, but it’s here to spice things up if you want. It’s also written to be functionally system-agnostic, so feel free to throw its elements into any other roleplaying system your choice.
If you’re looking to use it with a different roleplaying system, don’t worry. There are notes at the end to help with conversion, and if you’re need more advice in translating material between systems, grab the Lightspress Handbook, available wherever you found this book.
Navigating This Book
Here’s a breakdown of the tools and resources you’ll find inside these pages:
Dead Men Tell No Tales: This chapter explores the roots of character death in roleplaying, why it’s stuck around for so long, and how it's holding back your storytelling. We’ll dissect the history, limitations, and what it’s costing your game.
Here's Why It Sucks: Let’s break down why relying on character death as the ultimate consequence is lazy, uncreative, and just plain bad for your game. There’s more to storytelling than rolling up a new character sheet every time someone fails a dice check.
Colonial and Racist Roots: We dive into the problematic elements of traditional fantasy roleplaying, exposing the colonial and racist undertones that hide behind "evil" races and looting mechanics. And yes, we’ll talk about how killing and looting reflect these issues.
Death-Free Zone: Ready to go death-free? This chapter is all about alternatives to character death, with practical tips on how to run a game without killing off your party. We’ll also cover how to address this in your Session Zero discussions so everyone’s on the same page.
Structuring Consequences: Just because your characters won’t die doesn’t mean they won’t suffer. We’ll show you how to structure non-lethal consequences, physical, emotional, social, and material, that keep the stakes high and makes the story better.
If You Insist (Sigh…): Okay, if you really must include character death, this chapter will guide you through doing it right. We’ll talk about how to make death meaningful, how to keep players engaged, and how to ensure that death actually matters in your story.
Death is So Basic: Here’s where we dig into the more interesting, non-fatal ways to deal with failure. We’ll discuss how to create consequences that shape your characters’ journeys without just killing them off and forcing everyone to move on.
What Else Can Go Wrong?: This chapter explores what happens to the rest of the group when a character dies. We’ll examine the emotional, practical, and narrative fallout, and how death should never be a footnote but an integral part of the ongoing story.
116 pages. PDF and epub files included.
Character Death flips the script on the idea that death is some sacred element in roleplaying, and we’re going to do it with a good dose of sarcasm and just enough rage to make it interesting. Character death in roleplaying games is one of those tired, old tropes that should’ve been put to rest years ago, yet somehow it keeps staggering back to life like a zombie that just won’t quit. Well, this book is here to take that zombie out once with a head shot and for all. It’s time we stopped pretending that killing off characters is the only way to create drama or consequences.
We’ll start by dragging wargaming’s bad habits into the spotlight, because that’s where this nonsense all began. You’ll get a rundown of how death was carried over from a setting where soldiers are disposable into one where characters are the heart of the story. We’ll explore how this outdated mindset limits the creative potential of roleplaying by turning it into a "win or die" scenario rather than the complex, character-driven narrative it should be.
Next, we get real about the downsides of character death. If you’re still hanging onto the idea that it’s somehow noble, let’s cut that off right now. Killing characters doesn’t build drama; it robs players of agency, throws away their hard work, and yanks them right out of the story they’re invested in. We’ll unpack how relying on death as the go-to consequence limits your roleplaying to combat-heavy drudgery, when there are so many better ways to mess with your players without taking them out of the action. (Trust us, we’ve got ideas.)
Then, we’ll walk you through how to handle the inevitable “So, no one’s gonna die?” conversation with your players. It starts with Session Zero, setting expectations, getting consent, and establishing that, yes, this will still be a challenging and dangerous world, even if it doesn’t include slaughtering player characters willy-nilly. It’s all about crafting consequences that actually add to the story rather than ending it.
But hey, if you really feel the need to kill someone off (and we know some of you do), we’ll cover how to do it without ruining everyone’s fun. From keeping the player involved post-death to making sure the death impacts the story in a meaningful way, we’ve got you covered. There’s a right way to do it, and several very wrong ways.
Finally, we’ll dive into alternatives to death. We’re talking about consequences that leave scars, literally and figuratively, but keep the character in play. Let’s explore trauma, physical impairments, shattered reputations, and plenty of other ways to make a character’s life difficult, without ending it altogether.
This is a full-on guide to why character death is overrated, and how to make your roleplaying experience better without sending someone to the graveyard.
A Universal Sourcebook
You don’t need this book to play any of our games using The Simple Approach, but it’s here to spice things up if you want. It’s also written to be functionally system-agnostic, so feel free to throw its elements into any other roleplaying system your choice.
If you’re looking to use it with a different roleplaying system, don’t worry. There are notes at the end to help with conversion, and if you’re need more advice in translating material between systems, grab the Lightspress Handbook, available wherever you found this book.
Navigating This Book
Here’s a breakdown of the tools and resources you’ll find inside these pages:
Dead Men Tell No Tales: This chapter explores the roots of character death in roleplaying, why it’s stuck around for so long, and how it's holding back your storytelling. We’ll dissect the history, limitations, and what it’s costing your game.
Here's Why It Sucks: Let’s break down why relying on character death as the ultimate consequence is lazy, uncreative, and just plain bad for your game. There’s more to storytelling than rolling up a new character sheet every time someone fails a dice check.
Colonial and Racist Roots: We dive into the problematic elements of traditional fantasy roleplaying, exposing the colonial and racist undertones that hide behind "evil" races and looting mechanics. And yes, we’ll talk about how killing and looting reflect these issues.
Death-Free Zone: Ready to go death-free? This chapter is all about alternatives to character death, with practical tips on how to run a game without killing off your party. We’ll also cover how to address this in your Session Zero discussions so everyone’s on the same page.
Structuring Consequences: Just because your characters won’t die doesn’t mean they won’t suffer. We’ll show you how to structure non-lethal consequences, physical, emotional, social, and material, that keep the stakes high and makes the story better.
If You Insist (Sigh…): Okay, if you really must include character death, this chapter will guide you through doing it right. We’ll talk about how to make death meaningful, how to keep players engaged, and how to ensure that death actually matters in your story.
Death is So Basic: Here’s where we dig into the more interesting, non-fatal ways to deal with failure. We’ll discuss how to create consequences that shape your characters’ journeys without just killing them off and forcing everyone to move on.
What Else Can Go Wrong?: This chapter explores what happens to the rest of the group when a character dies. We’ll examine the emotional, practical, and narrative fallout, and how death should never be a footnote but an integral part of the ongoing story.
116 pages. PDF and epub files included.
Character Death flips the script on the idea that death is some sacred element in roleplaying, and we’re going to do it with a good dose of sarcasm and just enough rage to make it interesting. Character death in roleplaying games is one of those tired, old tropes that should’ve been put to rest years ago, yet somehow it keeps staggering back to life like a zombie that just won’t quit. Well, this book is here to take that zombie out once with a head shot and for all. It’s time we stopped pretending that killing off characters is the only way to create drama or consequences.
We’ll start by dragging wargaming’s bad habits into the spotlight, because that’s where this nonsense all began. You’ll get a rundown of how death was carried over from a setting where soldiers are disposable into one where characters are the heart of the story. We’ll explore how this outdated mindset limits the creative potential of roleplaying by turning it into a "win or die" scenario rather than the complex, character-driven narrative it should be.
Next, we get real about the downsides of character death. If you’re still hanging onto the idea that it’s somehow noble, let’s cut that off right now. Killing characters doesn’t build drama; it robs players of agency, throws away their hard work, and yanks them right out of the story they’re invested in. We’ll unpack how relying on death as the go-to consequence limits your roleplaying to combat-heavy drudgery, when there are so many better ways to mess with your players without taking them out of the action. (Trust us, we’ve got ideas.)
Then, we’ll walk you through how to handle the inevitable “So, no one’s gonna die?” conversation with your players. It starts with Session Zero, setting expectations, getting consent, and establishing that, yes, this will still be a challenging and dangerous world, even if it doesn’t include slaughtering player characters willy-nilly. It’s all about crafting consequences that actually add to the story rather than ending it.
But hey, if you really feel the need to kill someone off (and we know some of you do), we’ll cover how to do it without ruining everyone’s fun. From keeping the player involved post-death to making sure the death impacts the story in a meaningful way, we’ve got you covered. There’s a right way to do it, and several very wrong ways.
Finally, we’ll dive into alternatives to death. We’re talking about consequences that leave scars, literally and figuratively, but keep the character in play. Let’s explore trauma, physical impairments, shattered reputations, and plenty of other ways to make a character’s life difficult, without ending it altogether.
This is a full-on guide to why character death is overrated, and how to make your roleplaying experience better without sending someone to the graveyard.
A Universal Sourcebook
You don’t need this book to play any of our games using The Simple Approach, but it’s here to spice things up if you want. It’s also written to be functionally system-agnostic, so feel free to throw its elements into any other roleplaying system your choice.
If you’re looking to use it with a different roleplaying system, don’t worry. There are notes at the end to help with conversion, and if you’re need more advice in translating material between systems, grab the Lightspress Handbook, available wherever you found this book.
Navigating This Book
Here’s a breakdown of the tools and resources you’ll find inside these pages:
Dead Men Tell No Tales: This chapter explores the roots of character death in roleplaying, why it’s stuck around for so long, and how it's holding back your storytelling. We’ll dissect the history, limitations, and what it’s costing your game.
Here's Why It Sucks: Let’s break down why relying on character death as the ultimate consequence is lazy, uncreative, and just plain bad for your game. There’s more to storytelling than rolling up a new character sheet every time someone fails a dice check.
Colonial and Racist Roots: We dive into the problematic elements of traditional fantasy roleplaying, exposing the colonial and racist undertones that hide behind "evil" races and looting mechanics. And yes, we’ll talk about how killing and looting reflect these issues.
Death-Free Zone: Ready to go death-free? This chapter is all about alternatives to character death, with practical tips on how to run a game without killing off your party. We’ll also cover how to address this in your Session Zero discussions so everyone’s on the same page.
Structuring Consequences: Just because your characters won’t die doesn’t mean they won’t suffer. We’ll show you how to structure non-lethal consequences, physical, emotional, social, and material, that keep the stakes high and makes the story better.
If You Insist (Sigh…): Okay, if you really must include character death, this chapter will guide you through doing it right. We’ll talk about how to make death meaningful, how to keep players engaged, and how to ensure that death actually matters in your story.
Death is So Basic: Here’s where we dig into the more interesting, non-fatal ways to deal with failure. We’ll discuss how to create consequences that shape your characters’ journeys without just killing them off and forcing everyone to move on.
What Else Can Go Wrong?: This chapter explores what happens to the rest of the group when a character dies. We’ll examine the emotional, practical, and narrative fallout, and how death should never be a footnote but an integral part of the ongoing story.
116 pages. PDF and epub files included.