Where has Death gone?

Discuss rule quandaries, supplements, or anything else OVA related here.

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momosnyx
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Where has Death gone?

Post by momosnyx »

As far as I understand the combat chapter, there is actually no way to die "by the rules".
When Health reaches zero, damage is applied to Endurance and vice versa. If both reach zero, the character falls unconcious.
There are basically three options I know from other rpgs:
- The next hit (which should be easy to land) kills the character.
- There is a buffer (fixed amount like 10 Health or an amount based on your Health like 1/nth of Health) before you die.
- This is an intended game design. I know this only from one other rpg: Mutants & Masterminds. But M&M goes to great lengths to give a rationale for this design decision: Usually superheroes do not kill each other: The villains usually gloat or leave the heroes for dead; the villain makes a surprising return in a latter episode. And they supply the option what to do if you want a grittier version of the game.

So, which is the one intended for OVA?
Clay
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Post by Clay »

Intentional design decision. Except in particularly realistic anime, heroes simply don't die. And when they do, it's never at the hands of a "die-roll." It's always overly dramatic and calculated. This is why death is discussed under "Retiring the Character" and not as any part of the rules.

Appropriate genre books will include rules on death. But for the basic rules, which are heavily bent to heroic games, death as a rule simply isn't practical. Even "dead" villains have a habit of coming back...
momosnyx
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Post by momosnyx »

I guessed so. It fits in with the Gag Damage rules.
But again: It should've been mentioned somewhere (Combat or GM chapter) as it is quite different from "standard" rpg design. A short discussion giving some following arguments:
- it was introduced to encourage heroic role-playing
- people can be killed when it supports the story ( the villain killing the relatives / friends of the hero; the hero sacrificing himself in a last ditch effort etc )
- there is a "penalty" for being too daring which is not necessarily death, but being out of the game while your character is unconscious (now that I think of it, there is another rpg I know where you can't die: Toon. If I remember it correctly, the "penalty" for too much too much damage/death is being out of the game for a couple of minutes. After that, your character returns fully healed.)
Clay
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Post by Clay »

As you pointed out somewhere in another post, OVA has the potential to target a non-RPG audience. I made a decision early on to try not to refer to "common" mechanics in other games such neophytes will not know a thing about. I wasn't going to start with death.

Also, there IS a penalty for being too daring...it's called...being unconscious >:)
TsukasaGr
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Post by TsukasaGr »

First of all, I just bought, downloaded and read the game. It's amazing.

It actually manages to beat BESM where I think it lacked most, and in a big way: it is more fun.

Not the content of the game, of course, but the system itself. I know this may sound silly to some, but I consider fun the first and last thing a GM should be concerned with in an RPG. Great job. Can't wait to try it out.
Clay wrote:Intentional design decision. Except in particularly realistic anime, heroes simply don't die.
I hate to be the one to have to say this, but have you seen Elfen Lied? People die, and often and gruesomely. Although there will be people who will claim Lucy does not actually throw any dice during her attacks...anyway. ;)

Anyway, my point is that I can count many (almost countless) anime where a character dies, and a few famous cases where they do so almost randomly. I would mention "Touch", but that would only be a spoiler. So I won't. ;)

BUT: I really like the way Death is handled in this system. Although it makes playing a Diskworld session a hell of a job, it is clear in my opinion that players can die when they reach 0 HP and EP (if the GM wishes). That itself will become aparent in any haples player of mine who tries to be too risky thinking people can't die here. :) :) I GM'ed Paranoia. Don't mess with me. ;)

Any faults the system has, can really be corrected with minor tweaks. Which makes it right.

Again congrats, and a big "Hajimemashite" from Greece. I'll make people love this game aroud here. :)
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Clay
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Post by Clay »

Thanks for all the kind words, Tsukasa! I'm glad the game is finding appeal all over the world, it seems. ^_^ I hope your future sessions turn out well.

As for death, you bring up fair enough examples. But as you also pointed out, just because death is not automatic doesn't eliminate it as a possibility.

Either way, future supplements will include dark and gritty rules covering wounds and death, for people who really want it. But there will always be a bias against random death. It's just not very heroic. ^^ But then again, there are those anime that aren't very heroic either.

Anyway, good luck with converting the locals!
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