death question

munchkinator2010 · 07-14-2010, 08:29 AM

Hello, I am fairly new to the game and I was wondering why when you die in the game, you dont return to level one instead of just losing all of your stuff and keeping all of your levels?

morleydotes · 07-14-2010, 08:46 AM

Because that would really, really suck.

Pat

MunchkinMan · 07-14-2010, 10:00 AM

The easiest answer is, "The rules say so."

But, why do you think you should return to Level 1? The rules for Death are clear, and there doesn't have to be a reason for it, to be honest. That doesn't mean there isn't a reason (there is*), I just don't understand why the rules, as they are, can't be accepted.

* The game's premise is that you and your fellow players are playing in a role playing game (RPG). If you've traveled along with your fellow players, and everyone's the same level (in a true RPG, they should be pretty close), no GM in his right mind would have you roll up a brand new character that is "1st level," but rather let you adjust your new character to be the same level as the rest of the party.

thedag · 07-15-2010, 04:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MunchkinMan

* The game's premise is that you and your fellow players are playing in a role playing game (RPG). If you've traveled along with your fellow players, and everyone's the same level (in a true RPG, they should be pretty close), no GM in his right mind would have you roll up a brand new character that is "1st level," but rather let you adjust your new character to be the same level as the rest of the party.

I guess I'm not in my right mind!!!!

Thomas · 07-24-2010, 01:21 PM

Even though the rules could be made to say arbitrarily anything (and then that would be the rule), I think it was good game design to make this rule about death as it is.

If death caused a player to lose all their levels, then to die while other players are advanced would essentially take you out of the running altogether. It would effectively mean you had lost the game, even though you were still playing. The most you could do is interfere with other players, but without hope for yourself. Not a fun proposition.

By retaining your levels, you are still disadvantaged by losing your stuff, but you could still be in the running. It makes the game still worth playing, thereby sustaining interest and fun.

[In an RPG, it would also be unwise to have widely mixed level characters because of the difficulty of matching to the level of foes. Either there is no challenge to the high level characters or the lower level characters are perpetually creamed. You see the same thing in the level of foes that various comic book heroes face.]

MunchkinMan · 07-24-2010, 10:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thomas

[In an RPG, it would also be unwise to have widely mixed level characters because of the difficulty of matching to the level of foes. Either there is no challenge to the high level characters or the lower level characters are perpetually creamed. You see the same thing in the level of foes that various comic book heroes face.]

Exactly that. If your character dies early on and everyone is still close to the starting "level," maybe it's not big deal, but you're not going to run a D&D campaign with 4 players who are 10th level and one who's 1st level. That 1st level guy is going to be coming up with a new character every session.

thedag · 07-25-2010, 05:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thomas

The most you could do is interfere with other players, but without hope for yourself. Not a fun proposition.

I don't know about this. One person I play with seems to make this her mission. Generally I am the target which is fine. I still manage to win occasionly

07-14-2010, 08:29 AM	#1
munchkinator2010 Join Date: Jul 2010	death question Hello, I am fairly new to the game and I was wondering why when you die in the game, you dont return to level one instead of just losing all of your stuff and keeping all of your levels?

07-14-2010, 08:46 AM	#2
morleydotes Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Salem, OR.	Re: death question Because that would really, really suck. Pat __________________ Salem Midnight Crew / MIB 1987 Or the Wrong MIB. Salem Cell leader, for the clueless in Oregon. Ahhhh... I see the Screw-Up Fairy has visited us again. Closed Captioned for the Humor Impaired

07-14-2010, 10:00 AM	#3
MunchkinMan Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Macungie, PA	Re: death question The easiest answer is, "The rules say so." But, why do you think you should return to Level 1? The rules for Death are clear, and there doesn't have to be a reason for it, to be honest. That doesn't mean there isn't a reason (there is), I just don't understand why the rules, as they are, can't be accepted. The game's premise is that you and your fellow players are playing in a role playing game (RPG). If you've traveled along with your fellow players, and everyone's the same level (in a true RPG, they should be pretty close), no GM in his right mind would have you roll up a brand new character that is "1st level," but rather let you adjust your new character to be the same level as the rest of the party. __________________ Erik D. Zane *Munchkin* NetRep -- munchkin@sjgames.com MiB #1029

07-24-2010, 01:21 PM	#5
Thomas Join Date: Sep 2005	Re: death question Even though the rules could be made to say arbitrarily anything (and then that would be the rule), I think it was good game design to make this rule about death as it is. If death caused a player to lose all their levels, then to die while other players are advanced would essentially take you out of the running altogether. It would effectively mean you had lost the game, even though you were still playing. The most you could do is interfere with other players, but without hope for yourself. Not a fun proposition. By retaining your levels, you are still disadvantaged by losing your stuff, but you could still be in the running. It makes the game still worth playing, thereby sustaining interest and fun. [In an RPG, it would also be unwise to have widely mixed level characters because of the difficulty of matching to the level of foes. Either there is no challenge to the high level characters or the lower level characters are perpetually creamed. You see the same thing in the level of foes that various comic book heroes face.]