Comments on: Ashes to Ashes, Death to Life http://critical-hits.com/2010/02/26/ashes-to-ashes-death-to-life/ The Journal of Gamer Culture Sat, 11 Feb 2012 17:53:14 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: For Your Ennies Voting Consideration : Critical Hits http://critical-hits.com/2010/02/26/ashes-to-ashes-death-to-life/#comment-73096 For Your Ennies Voting Consideration : Critical Hits Fri, 16 Jul 2010 13:17:27 +0000 http://critical-hits.com/?p=12155#comment-73096 [...] Challenge, Bad Alignment, Railroading in a Good Way, I Hate Magic Items, 3 Rolls, 1 Check, Ashes to Ashes, Death to Life, and Beginner’s Guide to [...] [...] Challenge, Bad Alignment, Railroading in a Good Way, I Hate Magic Items, 3 Rolls, 1 Check, Ashes to Ashes, Death to Life, and Beginner’s Guide to [...]

]]> By: George Comits http://critical-hits.com/2010/02/26/ashes-to-ashes-death-to-life/#comment-69523 George Comits Wed, 03 Mar 2010 18:42:06 +0000 http://critical-hits.com/?p=12155#comment-69523 Wasn't there a trilogy (or more) old Ravenloft modules, which began with a TPK of this super-uber-badazz Headless Horseman, and the PCs began as disembodied heads on the shelf in a lich's laboratory? I never got to run all the Ravenloft I wanted... moral ambiguity and total surprises are always good for a campaign. Btw - If it matters, we just got "Dark Sun" preview and a Con Delve for Comicpalooza in Houston, Texas, on March 26th - 28th. :) We are also planning the big Battle Interactive. www.warhorn.net/comicpaloozahouston Wasn’t there a trilogy (or more) old Ravenloft modules, which began with a TPK of this super-uber-badazz Headless Horseman, and the PCs began as disembodied heads on the shelf in a lich’s laboratory?

I never got to run all the Ravenloft I wanted… moral ambiguity and total surprises are always good for a campaign.

Btw – If it matters, we just got “Dark Sun” preview and a Con Delve for Comicpalooza in Houston, Texas, on March 26th – 28th. :) We are also planning the big Battle Interactive.

http://www.warhorn.net/comicpaloozahouston

]]> By: Ignis Fatuus http://critical-hits.com/2010/02/26/ashes-to-ashes-death-to-life/#comment-69438 Ignis Fatuus Sun, 28 Feb 2010 13:10:57 +0000 http://critical-hits.com/?p=12155#comment-69438 Those are extremely cool ideas. The party I'm playing with has a shaman that isn't allowed to use raise dead for religious reasons. Instead she has a ritual that raises by filling the gap your soul has made with the soul or spirit of another being available to her (mostly a recent kill). As a result our rogue is now kept alive with the soul of the former corrupted chieftain of the shaman's clan and my character by a fragment of the coyote spirit that her clan worships. Recently our DM has introduced a Yugoloth trader in souls and spirits who is offering back our initial souls, but for a price of course... It's all a great deal of fun roleplayin all of this I have to say! Those are extremely cool ideas. The party I’m playing with has a shaman that isn’t allowed to use raise dead for religious reasons. Instead she has a ritual that raises by filling the gap your soul has made with the soul or spirit of another being available to her (mostly a recent kill). As a result our rogue is now kept alive with the soul of the former corrupted chieftain of the shaman’s clan and my character by a fragment of the coyote spirit that her clan worships. Recently our DM has introduced a Yugoloth trader in souls and spirits who is offering back our initial souls, but for a price of course…

It’s all a great deal of fun roleplayin all of this I have to say!

]]> By: Scott http://critical-hits.com/2010/02/26/ashes-to-ashes-death-to-life/#comment-69423 Scott Sat, 27 Feb 2010 21:02:13 +0000 http://critical-hits.com/?p=12155#comment-69423 Hey everyone, glad you enjoyed the article @Lugh, A second or multiple deaths under the 'guidance' of Mezanerin could be interesting to say the least. In certain cases where death occurs quite frequently i could see the Trickster wanting the souls of fellow adventures in return for ressurection, that would be some nasty sun. @Dwashba, it can be annoying how long that wait can be sometimes, haha! @Andy, Soemtimes TPK's can really bring back life to a campaign (i'm aware of the irony in that sentence). I was running a Shadowrun style campaign that was getting ahead of itself. The PC's were fighting a god at lvl 16 and winning i might add, when i was able to TPK the entire party after a really awesome battle. They then all woke up in the same temple they had 'died' in, only to find out it was 2000 years later and the Megacities had become one global Megacity and the god that had killed them had brought them back in order to destroy the entire city and restore nature. @HartThorn, Amazing ideas, especially by mashing all three components together with the Reapers of Mezanerin that need to hunt down Hilis... That could become quite confusing, lol. @TheGame, I thought i was a crazy DM, but to start a campaign with a TPK is MADNESS! But your right, some of my favourite RPG moments have come as the result of a death of a PC. .-= Scott´s last blog ..<a href="http://d4fantasy.com/?p=11" rel="nofollow">Test Drive!</a> =-. Hey everyone, glad you enjoyed the article

@Lugh, A second or multiple deaths under the ‘guidance’ of Mezanerin could be interesting to say the least. In certain cases where death occurs quite frequently i could see the Trickster wanting the souls of fellow adventures in return for ressurection, that would be some nasty sun.

@Dwashba, it can be annoying how long that wait can be sometimes, haha!

@Andy, Soemtimes TPK’s can really bring back life to a campaign (i’m aware of the irony in that sentence). I was running a Shadowrun style campaign that was getting ahead of itself. The PC’s were fighting a god at lvl 16 and winning i might add, when i was able to TPK the entire party after a really awesome battle. They then all woke up in the same temple they had ‘died’ in, only to find out it was 2000 years later and the Megacities had become one global Megacity and the god that had killed them had brought them back in order to destroy the entire city and restore nature.

@HartThorn, Amazing ideas, especially by mashing all three components together with the Reapers of Mezanerin that need to hunt down Hilis… That could become quite confusing, lol.

@TheGame, I thought i was a crazy DM, but to start a campaign with a TPK is MADNESS! But your right, some of my favourite RPG moments have come as the result of a death of a PC.
.-= Scott´s last blog ..Test Drive! =-.

]]> By: Saturday, February 27th… « Old School Rant http://critical-hits.com/2010/02/26/ashes-to-ashes-death-to-life/#comment-69418 Saturday, February 27th… « Old School Rant Sat, 27 Feb 2010 14:22:41 +0000 http://critical-hits.com/?p=12155#comment-69418 [...] all friends here, so it’s OK… you can talk about TPK’s if you need to. (Absolutely love the pic placed in this [...] [...] all friends here, so it’s OK… you can talk about TPK’s if you need to. (Absolutely love the pic placed in this [...]

]]> By: The Game http://critical-hits.com/2010/02/26/ashes-to-ashes-death-to-life/#comment-69417 The Game Sat, 27 Feb 2010 14:05:34 +0000 http://critical-hits.com/?p=12155#comment-69417 My previous campaign essentially kicked off with a TPK, the characters (and their entire town) being killed off by 5 mysterious figures, then the PCs were brought back to life and commanded to repay their debt by going on specific quests. Eventually, of course, the two were linked. So like Scott's article points out, death can be just the beginning of the story... though at that point, it isn't really a "true" TPK :) My previous campaign essentially kicked off with a TPK, the characters (and their entire town) being killed off by 5 mysterious figures, then the PCs were brought back to life and commanded to repay their debt by going on specific quests. Eventually, of course, the two were linked.

So like Scott’s article points out, death can be just the beginning of the story… though at that point, it isn’t really a “true” TPK :)

]]> By: Ravenous Role Playing » Blog Archive » Friday Five: 2010-02-26 http://critical-hits.com/2010/02/26/ashes-to-ashes-death-to-life/#comment-69406 Ravenous Role Playing » Blog Archive » Friday Five: 2010-02-26 Fri, 26 Feb 2010 23:49:37 +0000 http://critical-hits.com/?p=12155#comment-69406 [...] Ashes to Ashes, Death to Life Scott Wallace has some interesting thoughts on bringing characters back to life and how it’s usually done in a fantasy setting. I found the read quite enjoyable and I think you will to. Go check it out. var addthis_language = 'en';var addthis_options = 'email, favorites, digg, delicious, myspace, google, facebook, reddit, live, more'; [...] [...] Ashes to Ashes, Death to Life Scott Wallace has some interesting thoughts on bringing characters back to life and how it’s usually done in a fantasy setting. I found the read quite enjoyable and I think you will to. Go check it out. var addthis_language = 'en';var addthis_options = 'email, favorites, digg, delicious, myspace, google, facebook, reddit, live, more'; [...]

]]> By: HartThorn http://critical-hits.com/2010/02/26/ashes-to-ashes-death-to-life/#comment-69398 HartThorn Fri, 26 Feb 2010 17:17:42 +0000 http://critical-hits.com/?p=12155#comment-69398 @Andy: Ha!! Wouldn't it be great to basically "stage" a TPK. Arrange it for near the end of a game session, then tell everyone that you'll work out a new game for next week, and at the start of the next session hand them back their characters and explain they are all now Reapers (maybe even Reapers of Mezanerin), and their first target is that horrible cheater of death Hilis! @Andy: Ha!! Wouldn’t it be great to basically “stage” a TPK. Arrange it for near the end of a game session, then tell everyone that you’ll work out a new game for next week, and at the start of the next session hand them back their characters and explain they are all now Reapers (maybe even Reapers of Mezanerin), and their first target is that horrible cheater of death Hilis!

]]> By: HartThorn http://critical-hits.com/2010/02/26/ashes-to-ashes-death-to-life/#comment-69397 HartThorn Fri, 26 Feb 2010 17:14:46 +0000 http://critical-hits.com/?p=12155#comment-69397 Yeah, I really liked all three of these vignettes as cunning little scenarios that provide hooks for much larger adventures. The Hilis one is especially interesting to me since it has many shades of moral ambiguity. I mean, she is still providing healing and resurrection for basically free to a class of people who would normally never be able to afford it. You could make the situation even stickier if you add that Hilis has also been using her borrowed time to try to find a way to usurp her infernal patron. She might try telling the heroes that all she wishes to do is take her patron's power so she can just keep doing what she has been doing without risking letting the beast roam the world. This could be true or she could just be looking for a path to true immortality, and she would in fact be just as wicked as her infernal partner. The Reaper idea would be excellent as a Paragon Path or Epic Destiny. Maybe a series of feats or powers, or even a MC Only class (like the Realm's Spellscarred) and some linkage to the Revenant race (maybe all Revenants are Reapers?). And you could probably make one for the "Annexed Believers of Mezanerin", granting them some specific Trickstery abilities if they decide to throw their lot in with the Trickster God. For divine classes, maybe they could get the ability to pick up multiple Channel Divinity feats as they learn to "impersonate" the clergy of other gods, just like their deity impersonates other gods to their clergy ;-D. Maybe even have one of Mezanerin's rules being that you can never present yourself as a disciple of Mezanerin, you have to say you are the clergy of some other deity. Fun times! Yeah, I really liked all three of these vignettes as cunning little scenarios that provide hooks for much larger adventures. The Hilis one is especially interesting to me since it has many shades of moral ambiguity. I mean, she is still providing healing and resurrection for basically free to a class of people who would normally never be able to afford it. You could make the situation even stickier if you add that Hilis has also been using her borrowed time to try to find a way to usurp her infernal patron. She might try telling the heroes that all she wishes to do is take her patron’s power so she can just keep doing what she has been doing without risking letting the beast roam the world. This could be true or she could just be looking for a path to true immortality, and she would in fact be just as wicked as her infernal partner.

The Reaper idea would be excellent as a Paragon Path or Epic Destiny. Maybe a series of feats or powers, or even a MC Only class (like the Realm’s Spellscarred) and some linkage to the Revenant race (maybe all Revenants are Reapers?).

And you could probably make one for the “Annexed Believers of Mezanerin”, granting them some specific Trickstery abilities if they decide to throw their lot in with the Trickster God. For divine classes, maybe they could get the ability to pick up multiple Channel Divinity feats as they learn to “impersonate” the clergy of other gods, just like their deity impersonates other gods to their clergy ;-D. Maybe even have one of Mezanerin’s rules being that you can never present yourself as a disciple of Mezanerin, you have to say you are the clergy of some other deity. Fun times!

]]> By: Andy http://critical-hits.com/2010/02/26/ashes-to-ashes-death-to-life/#comment-69396 Andy Fri, 26 Feb 2010 17:04:36 +0000 http://critical-hits.com/?p=12155#comment-69396 That's fantastic! Gets me thinking, too. Almost makes a TPK desirable at a certain point, just so you can pull one of these plot twists on the players. .-= Andy´s last blog ..<a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ThePlayersSideOfTheScreen/~3/zvGayORYDXg/journey-system-little-poll.html" rel="nofollow">The Journey System: A Little Poll</a> =-. That’s fantastic! Gets me thinking, too. Almost makes a TPK desirable at a certain point, just so you can pull one of these plot twists on the players.
.-= Andy´s last blog ..The Journey System: A Little Poll =-.

]]> By: dwashba http://critical-hits.com/2010/02/26/ashes-to-ashes-death-to-life/#comment-69395 dwashba Fri, 26 Feb 2010 15:46:14 +0000 http://critical-hits.com/?p=12155#comment-69395 This is awesome, now we wait for a PC do die! hehe .-= dwashba´s last blog ..<a href="http://homeden.wordpress.com/2010/02/24/terror-tuesday-4/" rel="nofollow">Terror Tuesday #4</a> =-. This is awesome, now we wait for a PC do die! hehe
.-= dwashba´s last blog ..Terror Tuesday #4 =-.

]]> By: Lugh http://critical-hits.com/2010/02/26/ashes-to-ashes-death-to-life/#comment-69392 Lugh Fri, 26 Feb 2010 12:44:32 +0000 http://critical-hits.com/?p=12155#comment-69392 OK, wow. I have to say that both the Mezanerin and Hilis options are fantastic. The Hilis option has the downside of making it unlikely for a PC to use her services multiple times, but otherwise is a marvelous plot. Mezanerin has some fascinating implications for faith-based characters. When you next visit your temple, the other priests notice something is out of whack. Soon, Mezanerin's trickery is revealed. Now, the ultimate fate of your soul is in question. If you die, you may not be allowed into the presence of your god. So, you must fight against Mezanerin. But, if you deny one of his requests, he revokes the deal, and you die before you achieve atonement. Additionally, if you happen to die a second time in the course of your adventures, Mezanerin appears again. With effectively the same deal, but this time without the trickery. If you take the deal, you completely undo any progress towards atonement, and put yourself further in the hole with your deity. If you don't take the deal, you die, and you have to take the chance that you have done enough to regain the grace of your god. .-= Lugh´s last blog ..<a href="http://immagini-di-vita.com/2010/02/02/advice-we-can-all-take-to-heart/" rel="nofollow">Advice we can all take to heart</a> =-. OK, wow. I have to say that both the Mezanerin and Hilis options are fantastic. The Hilis option has the downside of making it unlikely for a PC to use her services multiple times, but otherwise is a marvelous plot.

Mezanerin has some fascinating implications for faith-based characters. When you next visit your temple, the other priests notice something is out of whack. Soon, Mezanerin’s trickery is revealed. Now, the ultimate fate of your soul is in question. If you die, you may not be allowed into the presence of your god. So, you must fight against Mezanerin. But, if you deny one of his requests, he revokes the deal, and you die before you achieve atonement.

Additionally, if you happen to die a second time in the course of your adventures, Mezanerin appears again. With effectively the same deal, but this time without the trickery. If you take the deal, you completely undo any progress towards atonement, and put yourself further in the hole with your deity. If you don’t take the deal, you die, and you have to take the chance that you have done enough to regain the grace of your god.
.-= Lugh´s last blog ..Advice we can all take to heart =-.

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