Quote from: greylond;322106Yes, that's my point. If you're character isn't going to die(or permanently retired) then you really have nothing to worry about. You might fail the mission but you'll always know that you'll live. Sorry, but for me that's the epitome of boring.

I don't know if I should pity you for the meaningless and drab existance you face or take out a very large life insurance policy on you then send you out for groceries.

Quote from: Spike;322114I don't know if I should pity you for the meaningless and drab existance you face or take out a very large life insurance policy on you then send you out for groceries.

I work on a Corporate IT HelpDesk... Think there's a reason why I game?...

Quote from: greylond;322106If you're character isn't going to die(or permanently retired) then you really have nothing to worry about. You might fail the mission but you'll always know that you'll live. Sorry, but for me that's the epitome of boring.

To quote an Excrucian from Nobilis: "You have many things that you love. Remember, when it comes time to face us, that they are not immortal." Of course, that only applies if the PC isn't the sort of a total sociopath who only lives for the next "mission" and would without a second thought kill his family for XP and loot.

Quote from: greylond;322106If you're character isn't going to die(or permanently retired) then you really have nothing to worry about.

Man, if only I could live my real life so simply.  Honestly, from day to day, year to year, there are things I worry about a lot more than my eventual and inevitable death.

Not to wax philosophical on you, but the same carries over to my roleplaying gaming.

!i!

Quote from: Soylent Green;322111You see, for me the kind of game in which failing the mission is no "nothing to worry about" is my  definition of boring.  

But acutally it really all depends on the specifc game. If the survival is what is at stake, then death is effectively "failing the mission".  But not all games are about survival there can be other things at stake. If you personally find that survival is the only stake really matters to you, you should by all means go with it.  It's a matter of taste.

I think this sums it up.  Survival isn't really a stake in a Buffy game.  It would be out of character to do so, because one of the defining traits of being a teenager is feeling immortal.  I can't remove a PC so they can't come back, true.  But I can bone them over so hard they don't want to come back.  I can turn them into a vampire - they could 'come back' by getting a soul, but they're still a vampire.  They might be permanently crippled, physically or mentally.  Not to mention that 'failing the mission' in Buffy could mean the end of the world, the stakes can be pretty high.

I do run games where survival is at stake, such as Call of Cthulhu or All Flesh Must Be Eaten.  PCs can and do die in those games, as survival is a big part of it.  If you don't want lethality, I favor making it a part of the rules rather than fudging things.  Buffy you can come back with Drama Points.  I've considered using a house rule for Exalted that you can only die as the result of a stunt when you are incapacitated.  Thus, death is possible.  But only against another Exalt (the folks that can stunt) and only if they are intentionally landing a Death Blow.  Otherwise the Exalted are simply too tough to be slain outright.