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Any D&D/D20

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[Mephisto]

Bad characters I understand. They can be fun to play. But the end state of a dead character is "do it again".

[NullForceOmega]

Yah, I've never really understood why some designers include 'die in char creation' as a thing, it really doesn't add anything to the game, as the point of the game is to play.  It can be fun or silly, but it really is pretty useless as a feature.

Edit: I suppose I should say 'seems' pretty useless as a feature, I suppose it could be something for role-play (dead family member, w/e) but from a function standpoint it comes across as a bit of a 'fuck you'.

[Trekkin]

In many cases, though, the possibility of death in character creation is an emergent property, not a directly designed one. I can see the logic behind accepting a rare "do it again" outcome as a cost of a wider or more interesting range of other generated characters.

[NullForceOmega]

I suppose it could be a draw to more randomly-determined systems, where you don't generally start with a strong concept of 'character' and let the rolls determine what you play.

I've played a few systems like that, but I found that while I'm generally okay with having a character with poor stats, I really don't like having my playstyle dictated by the rolls as generally happens with randomized character construction.  But that's very much an issue of personal preference.

[Kadzar]

I've heard that the possibility of character death in Classic Traveller is meant to be a sort of risk/reward thing, as the longer you spend in it, the better starting bonuses and/or credits you'll have at the beginning of the game, so it's meant to encourage you to cash out while the going is still good.

[Dorsidwarf]

I actually love systems that can roll... bad or dead characters, mongoose's version of traveller for one is awesome for making characters who feel like real people.  I'll have to check out deadEarth, does it have any sort of character generator I could just mess around with?

There’s a spreadsheet that automates some of the stupid math and the 200d6 rolls I think, if you’re interested

Edit: also with regards to dying in character creation, don’t stop rolling if you get a RadMan that kills you, cause you might get another RadMan that gets you get rid of the RadMan that kills you (and Word Of Author, RadMans with serious negative effects take a couple of days to kick in so your best bet if you were to roll one of them in-game is to go find some uranium and use it like shower soap)

[Dorsidwarf]

So, I have reconciled the fact that another PC killed a child with my character's belief in heroes and such, without resorting to trying to kill the guy.

I hoped it wouldn't come to this, and the other character would keep quiet about the child killing, but it turns out that an ex-PC's character was spying on them at the time and revealed this information.

Guy got arrested and due to prejudice shenanigans, got off with a slap on the wrist. First thing I did when I saw him was throw the nearest object at him (which happened to be a bread bun). Then we got into a Mexican standoff where I was prepping to throw a bottle at him, everyone else was prepping to do magic at whoever moved first, and the kiddie killer was ready to eldritch blast me. He than laughed and walked off to the bar, and since my character had no idea how to deal with a situation where an obvious bad guy wasn't doing something obviously evil, he just kind of put down the glass and kind of ambled about.

I did get into PvP with the guy later, but that was more a kind of grudge match thing. I rolled pretty abysmally, but still dropped them to 10hp before they dropped me in spite of that.

Anyway, if I'm in a situation where I can save him and nobody else is around, and if I don't he dies... My character will have no issue letting him die. Unless he starts being good again (In my character's eyes, that is), which will require one hell of a lot of good behaviour.

Seems like a good way to handle it.

[pikachu17]

So, why did you character not know what to do when an obviously evil person laughs ominously and then walks away, presumably to do more evil?

[Rolan7]

DND went on a bit late.  Hmm....  /drunk

We had to deliver a devastating bomb as low as possible in an "abandoned" building, and were forced to enter midway up it.
Pathways Into Darkness Intensify

We talked our way past the blind senile guard (on the 5th floor of the fire escape, the only entrance) and proceeded down.  We saw many horrors.  Grabbed some robes off some dumbasses who suicided around a pentagram. 

Passed by a grisly collection of mutilated people, some of whom still begged for rescue.  The rest, for death.
Wouldn't a "lucifarian" be someone who only consumes light for sustenance?  Ha, the jokes we reach for, in such a place.

We aimed for the basement, but on the first floor we encountered an impaled goat within 3 layers of electric-powered warding, stapled to a particularly load-bearing beam.  We determined that the goat was focus for a powerful, contained demon.  Clearly we had to drop the package nearby.

No, said my allies, we must toss the bomb into the circles.  I object- I rolled a 0 on my occult, and agreed.  They discussed at length, we made another roll.  "I worry that-" I rolled another 0.  "-that you know more than I".

In a neat twist, the GM ruled that an exceptional success (5 successes) would mean we struck the goat.  Our wizard (a male swamp witch who goes on about wood and water) tossed the package, with only 4 dice.  5 successes, 4 of which were explosions.  That's not likely.

The goat sprouted 8 arachnoid limbs as it rolled out of its containment.  "I thank you" it gnashed, even as its head twisted backward.  We ran.

I will spare the mechanical rolls, but two of us were caught, and one of us told the other to flee.  I fled, but not before flinging a holy item of my mythos god.  Lost forever, but the many-pointed star cut a gash of true faith across the demon, and gave it pause.  But, I fled.

Stumbling down the fire escape, I clumsily caught my leg in a rusty edge as I passed a boarded window.  The boards splintered as my ally was flung against it.  I ripped my leg free, bloodily, and lept 10 feet to the ground below.  "Trigger the bomb!"  I shouted to our faster ally, waiting further on.  "Before it takes his soul, or escapes!"

But that wasn't the fate of Hart the Grey.  As our ally held her finger on the "call" button like a deadman's switch, Hart weathered the massive spiderdemon's every-replicating limbs.  A dodged blow smashed a whole in the windows behind him.  Two health from death, prompted by the GM to choose last words, he chose... "HOLY GUACAMOLE"

8 successes on like 6 dice.  .05%  PERCENT
He stabbed the demon straight in the essence, with a staff carrying his artifact of true faith.  It screamed as he backflippped off the 2nd floor to the ground, landing beside my character.  It crumpled like a dead spider.

We stumbled to our feet, but he shouldn't have been standing.  I supported him as we stumbled to cover.  On the way he collapsed, but we dragged him together, and triggered the explosive.

Death to all lucifages/light-eaters.

[scriver]

Creepy. What WoD were you playing again? Or just all of them together (can you do that? I think they're supposed to be written to at least passable fit together)?

Also, since your group seem to enjoy this kind of stuff, have you heard of the Swedish 1991 rpg Kult? I haven't played it myself, so I only know it by hearsay, but it seems like something you or your friends might be interested in and I feel obligated to mention it it as a Swede. There's an official English translation so no need to worry about that.

As a bonus, if you are a Paradox fanboy like I am, it was originally published by what would eventually become Paradox.

[Rolan7]

NWoD is pretty modular in what you face, but most templates are forbidden from being stacked.  We started as baseline-human investigators, but were gifted the ghoul template by our agency (the EPA... which apparently has an extensive vampire program in its paranormal division).  We also received two items of true faith, each, in a previous session while banishing ghosts.  I did lose one of them last night, but for a good cause.

My character is basically a nerdy photographer, but the Mythos stuff is because of his weird backstory as a rejected changeling.  So now he's terrified of all things fey, and worships Shub-Niggurath.  Mechanically, he uses his high Occult to do divinations for guidance.  But he's 7 morality, not a murderer or anything.

That character Hart is an expy from this hilarious failed show Deep South Paranormal, he looks like a wizard and acts like one.  I was just tickled that he pullled an accidental and extremly-fortuitous Gandalf transformation, somehow killing the Balrog while we ran.  In our defense, he is the only one of us specced for combat at all

[scriver]

Sorry, that clip has been blocked in my country

Are Items of True Faith giftable? I assumed they had to be personally tied to you somehow, and got power from your faith.

[Rolan7]

Aw ):  Well if this image link works, it about sums him up:  https://i.pinimg.com/originals/28/dc/5c/28dc5c08e6d822a7bea0f672651b03c1.jpg
Looks like Gandalf, talks like a... deep south crazy hermit.

We found the items of True Faith in the study of a dead occultist who collected relics from various religions.  They wouldn't have been true faith for him, but we each found some things that worked for our characters personally.  I think our author lady just has a cross and a Mary figurine.

Anything can theoretically be an item of true faith, but it has to be valuable and actually spiritually meaningful to your character.  There are tiers, too.  A splinter from Jesus's cross is vastly more effective than a pewter mall cross, but my character couldn't discorporate a ghost with either.

Edit:  Rereading your question, I think that having a personal history with the item might help?  It's not required, though.

[Rolan7]

Also, since your group seem to enjoy this kind of stuff, have you heard of the Swedish 1991 rpg Kult? I haven't played it myself, so I only know it by hearsay, but it seems like something you or your friends might be interested in and I feel obligated to mention it it as a Swede. There's an official English translation so no need to worry about that.

As a bonus, if you are a Paradox fanboy like I am, it was originally published by what would eventually become Paradox.

Oh sorry, I almost missed this!  This does look right up our alley, heh.  I'm under-informed on Gnosticism but, based on this description, it's similar to stuff in our games.  Seems like the inspiration for a lot of "occult" stuff, heh.

Jeez, that mental balance and "Awakening" mechanic...  Yeah this is cool, thanks.

[scriver]

Neat! Also the name is not just a Kool Zpelling Wurd Nayme but just how cult is spelled in Swedish. They kept it when translating, presumably because it was the 90's and Kool Zpelling Wurd Nayme trend was at it's most XXXTREME!!!1!