discussion Do You Plan to Kill Off Your Character?

[Virella]

Lets see how well this new Discussion tag does shall we?

 

I am genuinely interested if people made characters who are meant to die at a certain point. Completely planned, and not due to some consequences due to roleplay.

 

Personally I have axed a few characters in my past, some planned, some not so planned. Avelyn for example, will die at one point on the mere fact I cannot see her story progress beyond retaking Ala Mhigo. All her other goals she has in life are nothing compared to retaking the temples she grew up in it, and hells, I don't want her other goals completed due to me enjoying a bittersweet ending. That said, if it turns out due to roleplay her goal completely changes, I won't be adversed to not killing her off, but it is unlikely.

 

But yes, I'm curious to find out how many people, if any, wrote characters who are meant to have their story end at some point.

 

Or alternatively, what do you think about people who kill off their characters? I mostly of the time simply continue to roleplay with the person on their new character. Of course I sort of miss the character itself, but in the end, it has always provided me with character progression when a close ties dies to my character.

 

Thoughts?

[Arrelaine]

Hmmm, I've never really planned to kill a character. If my character does something stupid where one of the outcomes could be death, I accept that as a consequence. I'm a 'natural flow' type of RPer, but rarely does one of my characters not heavily weigh the fact they might die. It's why Arrelaine rarely fights in the open, she prefers to snip from hiding places, use traps, etc. Moving Mountains would likely put herself in such a situation, mostly because she prefers the challenge of combat (though it's rarely shown).

[Caspar]

I think of how I would like my character to end upon creation, every single one, but obviously that is subjected to change depending on RP events. However in practice that rarely is necessary as the way to the end can be any number of paths. In any case so many RP I participate in end prematurely that I rarely get to enjoy the resolution. 

 

There are usually multiple ends with some normal and some bad, and I think of conditions under which those ends would be forced to give my partners some ability to bring about ones they would likely enjoy, particularly those happier ends. At the moment I have four possible fates for Virara in mind that are affected by the activities of other RPers and herself.

 

When I say end I mean a variety of different things, naturally. More often than not it's via death but there's also been lots of going irrevocably mad, ego-death, ceasing to exist, entering a coma, simply leaving the plot or setting, or turning heel then doing any of the above.

 

I think if it's impromptu and not at a narratively cohesive point in a storyline, informing your RP partners about it in advance (but being vague is fine) is the respectful thing to do. I don't mind character death at all, so long as it isn't done on a sudden whim and the player shows respect to collaborators who would be inconvenienced by unilateral story progression.

[Nebbs]

Hmm the discussion does not show in the subject or the latest threads, only the banner subject and the thread hierarchy.

 

Now, as to my character. No I never plan them to die, in fact I never plan my characters to achieve anything, that is all down to the RP. However, I don't RP to play killer, so I'm not about to let them die just like that. Even if they did die I'd probably use it as part of their RP story and carry on as dead or a ghost or reincarnated into something.

 

NPCs yes definitely they have the chance to die, but again I tend to leave their fate to the result of the players' actions.

[Roen]

Or alternatively, what do you think about people who kill off their characters? I mostly of the time simply continue to roleplay with the person on their new character. Of course I sort of miss the character itself, but in the end, it has always provided me with character progression when a close ties dies to my character.

 

I completely agree with this last part. Nero's death has been a huge catalyst for change for Roen, and I still miss that character dearly! I still plot with the player obviously, and I think it takes a lot of conviction to actually be comfortable in killing off a character you have invested significant amount of time and thought into.

 

As for planning to kill off characters I play...

 

Out of the three I RP/write, one is slated for death. I knew it from the beginning. She will complete her arc then her life and story will come to an end.

 

Another, I have always said that if her story finishes, she could die. Or retire.

 

And the third, I leave open. If RP throws a situation her way where her death is possible, I will consider it! If I think it makes for a good story, I may just go along with it! Certain players will have to be warned first though.

[Gabineaux]

If someone RPs with me long enough, and I mean LONG enough, wants to gift me a fantasia and paypal me $10? I will kill my character.

[GhostlyMaiden]

Both of my characters weren't written with the intention of being killed off. However, RP happens and certain events may occur where I'm leaving the possibility under consideration. I've done some thinking and with recent events in the RP world, and I have begun writing a plot which will possibly end with said character being written off.

 

I say possibly because, I want the people who will be involve to have more control of the plot then they think. Laying out three possible outcomes based on their actions. This way, it also prepares me to make sure "Am I truly ready to do this?".

 

If i'm going to write off a character, I want there to be a good story behind it. Not something that's just "Oh, she was robbed and it went horribly wrong".

[Caspar]

Both of my characters weren't written with the intention of being killed off. However, RP happens and certain events may occur where I'm leaving the possibility under consideration. I've done some thinking and with recent events in the RP world, and I have begun writing a plot which will possibly end with said character being written off.

 

I say possibly because, I want the people who will be involve to have more control of the plot then they think. Laying out three possible outcomes based on their actions.  This way, it also prepares me to make sure "Am I truly ready to do this?".

 

If i'm going to write off a character, I want there to be a good story behind it. Not something that's just "Oh, she was robbed and it went horribly wrong".

Yeah, it feels like a waste when it's just like "So and so fell off a cliff." Really? All that RP for an anticlimax? Sure these things happen in real life, but this is fiction. Where's the pathos? The story remains an incomplete circle and in some cases that can be fascinating, but it is that meaningless chaos inherent in the struggle of real life that drives people to write fiction in the first place.

 

The one thing I can't abide is disrespectful character death where people laugh at the emotional investment of others in their character, who mattered more to outsiders than the writer. I've seen it before in OOC discussions and I felt that was remarkably callous.

[GhostlyMaiden]

Yeah, it feels like a waste when it's just like "So and so fell off a cliff." Really? All that RP for an anticlimax? Sure these things happen in real life, but this is fiction. Where's the pathos? The story remains an incomplete circle and in some cases that can be fascinating, but it is that meaningless chaos inherent in the struggle of real life that drives people to write fiction in the first place.

 

I agree with this.

 

I also want to reiterate something. My fault on my part for not being more specific.

I'm sure there may be someway to make a "robbery gone wrong" scene work and actually seem interesting, but there better be a good reason as to why it happened. Maybe even add a little twist. Maybe it wasn't a robbery gone wrong, but an assassin that had been after said character through a certain period of time. Figure out a way to compensate for the simple death, even if all you do is extend the plot past the death.

 

Make the death memorable, that's how I see it. If you think a simple death like that is the way to go, then by all means go ahead, it's you character. However, you have to give me some story background to make me believe that was an appropriate way to go.

[Martiallais]

I can't say I've written any characters with a 'plan' to kill them off, at least not here in FF. I've definitely ended up going down that road in other MMOs/RP however. A great example was a Private Investigator I had in a Hunter (World of Darkness) game. I knew as he inched ever closer to 'slasher' (think horror movie killer) territory that he'd end himself before going that far.

 

That said, there are a few spots in Mar's storyline (in my head anyway) that he could definitely bite it....so I guess I've made allowances for it? In RP, well...this FATE 14 story could (I'd think) have the potential to be lethal so who knows right? >_> Either way, I'd make sure RP partners knew it was coming (though I've been told I'm not allowed to kill off Mar haha) either way.

 

I honestly have always wanted to make a character who was planned to die, and aware of this, but haven't just because I know in the instances where I've encountered a character like that seeing people NOT pull the trigger and go through with it cheapened things and I wouldn't want to be that guy. Eventually though, I'm sure I'll get around to it when I find a concept that works.

[Tami]

I'm used to designing characters specifically to last long enough to explore their themes then have them move on elsewhere or die. In FFXIV, however, it's not really that easy. Every time I want to change my character it's a $30 real world investment, since I don't even have the time to get my main character to 60, let alone a second one.

 

So for once, I don't plan on killing my character off or casting them away.

[Teadrinker]

I've not yet felt it was 'time' to kill off one of my RP mains in FF. Opportunity presented itself and I shook my head at it because it didn't seem right.

 

I played a character on a forum for...jeez. 3-4 years? I did finally kill her off but it was not a pleasant set of circumstances and was a tragedy for all intents and purposes. But it was a tragedy that 'felt' right, if that makes any sense.

 

The characters I have in FF now are simply not eligible for death at this point anyway because they are linchpins in other players RP and I'm just not that much of a jerk as well. Perhaps some people don't take that into account but I do. If the OOC headache is severe enough I'm probably gonna say 'no' regardless of how good the story is but that's my PoV.

 

I've found a 'near loss' of a person close to them is enough to leave a substantial impact on characters personalities without the end result of death and loss.

[Unnamed Mercenary]

Hmm the discussion does not show in the subject or the latest threads, only the banner subject and the thread hierarchy.

 

staff note: Thread prefixes only show up in the normal list of threads as they are brought in from a plugin. The reason it isn't shown in Latest Threads or other places is because those modules don't reference the other information that links prefixes to thread titles, much like the Linkshell Hall and other threads where users can tag their server.

[Jana]

I'm sure I've mentioned it before in these kinds of threads, but since my mains in MMOs have been leaning a bit on the villain side, I fully expect for them to be killed off. But I never plan for it.

 

My Tera character, a mad scientist/bioterrorist, was supposed to be killed off by the time I stopped playing it and made the switch to XIV... But partially because I waited too long (players with characters who would have helped see her die quit before I did) and partially because I wasn't willing to wait longer (players interested in saving her didn't quit right away, or at all), her story ended on retirement instead of death.

 

Jana in FFXIV is a bit different but she does commit evil acts, and drowning herself in the blood of others is probably going to happen if she stays the course. But I'm not planning to railroad her to it, an I'm always willing to take the interactions she has with other characters as means for her to change or even turn her life around.

[Askier]

Plan nothing. I did it. 

 

 

Waaayyy back during my first Bomb event, I had planned on Askier to die in the end. Seemed only fitting . But that got changed and Osric was a busy body and through IC changed all that So Askier go to stick around and be a pain for years. 

 

Now. For Jin'li.  Oh he was planned for death from the start. Back when he was just a Garlean slave, he was written to die. Back then was horribly sick and dying of diseases. His first death was at the cconclusion of an arc and it felt fitting. His second death is more complicated and lore stretchy so I'll leave that alone.

 

Lol. Point is, a character dying can, if done well, add real oomph to their story and makes you look back at them as a complete character. I view them as having completed their stories and feel actually satisfied with their endings. 

 

I'd rather a character die with a bang than have them fizzle out with a whimper.

 

As for my newest character, Hojo, I actually don't plan on him dying and have nothing planned with him Along those lines. I'm not opposed to his death one day. But it will need to be in a way that feels like the end of a good story. 

 

I'm not about killing off a character in a random bar brawl. My characters only get to die when I say they can. Lol.

[FallenFedora]

Situation dependent - I'm running two characters throughout a very long winded plot at the moment, where either (or both) can die at key points. They can kill each other, or fall off the wagon during an event, but it's all in keeping with a certain measure of 'Influence Points' matching a certain tally in one direction or another throughout the course of the story - if they don't meet a certain threshold... Well... 

 

"You have chosen... poorly."

 

 

And also interactions or combat with those involved would of course factor in. It can end up incredibly dramatic at the end, or fall incredibly short beforehand.

[Nero]

I generally plan to have something happen to the character. If I intend to shelve a character then I do plan to either kill them off permanently or just have them leave for an extended period of time. I tend to plan for multiple contingencies so that there's always a way out, so to speak. I absolutely hate finding that I've written myself into a corner so I tend to broaden my options as much as possible.

 

I don't really have something set in stone for them for the above reason. Roen killing Nero wasn't explicitly planned. That turn of events was purely an in-the-moment decision, one that I didn't even really make (although did encourage). I did plan for something to happen though; if Nero didn't die, he would leave the continent, that sort of thing.

[Coda]

I don't plan a character with the intent to kill them, but I'm open to it definitely. That said, I have killed several of my characters throughout my RP career. Some have deserved it, some haven't, sometimes people know OOCly beforehand, sometimes I keep it to myself until it happens. I'd say around... 40% of my serious 'mains' were killed or otherwise died before their time (plus one who actually did die of natural causes).

[Shofie]

At this time, no, though the nature of the character means it could happen.

[Evaleigh]

I have done this in the past.  The lifespan of my characters in other places have been short, often meeting in a bad end (planned and unplanned) depending on how the story progressed.

 

I have also created characters that I expected to have short lives only to find that they somehow survive.  In fact the first character I created with the anticipation of a short life-span survived numerous encounters and became a pawn in a much larger plot before her final (and unexpected) demise at the hands of an ally.  It was a wonderful tale and I had a lot of fun with it.

 

I have two more characters I expect to die at (some) point just due to the nature of who and what they are.  One is a lawful evil woman whom is currently crafting her diabolical schemes and research using "human" test subjects and working to manipulate the minds of other players.  I've had a number of people have interest in being involved with me in this, subjecting their "good" characters to the plot devices I am crafting but in every great fantasy epic eventually the villain is vanquished and I do not expect this to be any different.  One day... I expect the story will come to an end and she will be killed but until then.. I am enjoying stirring the pot and creating a nemesis of good.

 

I enjoy the "risk of death" in my roleplay.  I also enjoy observing the mortality of characters which is why everyone my characters legitimately lose due to character death often comes with true mourning and observation.  My main alone has hosted a few funerals and now a widow whom has buried two past loves... there is a sadness to her and a reservation when it comes to making new romantic ties.  Seeing how characters change and grow... is one of the main driving forces that makes me love RP.

[Parth Makeo]

I had a list of characters to die

....

But all my RP pals find some method to save them!

P'rita was suppose to die twice, Arala "was" planned on dying at the end of her story against Xyla, P'rth was suppose to die five times, Even Quint and Cobalon were suppose to die at some point.

 

I know that's nearly all my toons but...the amount of people saving characters prompt me to begin killing them off yet only for my pals to find the method to save them that I never hint at.

 

Now it's become a game within a game to see if they can find the method to save a character and I love it :3