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Permission to kill off a character needed?


Redalia
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Does anyone else ever struggle with that one player that continually puts their character in stupid tight spots, and then their character isn't even good? Like, they're super angsty, and have had a ton of opportunities to get over it? It's as if the character never developed! But then, when you have an obvious opportunity to kill the annoying character off, you can't because you have to have permission first. 

 

Does this drive you crazy?

Would you still try to kill them off?

Is this rule occasionally pesky?

 

One of my favorite ways to role play is the surprise factor of death. Whether that involved my character being stupid for one moment, heroic, or just at the wrong place and time. Does anyone else find this favorable? Especially when the death is actually rather plot building, and character developing for the other characters? Do you think it makes for a powerful moment in a role play when such surprise deaths happen without any prior discussion? and if so, should this rule exist? I'm genuinely curious to hear your thoughts and opinions!

The world could always use a splash more color and a tidbit more light!

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I think getting permission to kill is kind of a courtesy. I wouldn’t want someone just killing my characters if I didn’t say they could, so I don’t do that to other people. 

 

If I want to do a surprise death I’ll kill off my own ocs when they do stupid enough things, but I know some people aren’t like that. They keep the character alive despite situations where their lack of forethought, preparation, skill, etc would get them killed. 

 

I get annoyed at it eventually too, but then I see an opportunity if it’s worth it to talk to that person. “Hey your character wouldn’t realistically be able to get out of this situation unscathed (with reasons or examples if needed). For them to not get hurt at all breaks the immersion in the rp.”

 

Depending on the rules of the site/rp you’re on, permission to kill can be needed and it can also be against the rules for characters to get out of dangerous situations without consequences. It can either be godmodding, ignoring ic-consequences, ignoring lore, etc. 

 

it should be ok to still try and kill the character. Maybe it’s not a successful kill, but if such a character somehow manages to get out unscathed and its not believable , it’s probably breaking another rule. If it’s not breaking another rule, maybe it’s still time to set a boundary and not rp with them as often, or to talk to staff or the plot’s Game Master, and See if anything can be done. 

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I believe permission-to-kill should always be granted, no matter how frustrating another player’s ability to roleplay a dynamic character may or may not be. Kazetatsu makes some extremely valid points though—I never let that rule prevent me from playing my decidedly evil character as she was intended to be. (She tries to kill/maim anyone that gets remotely close to her.)

 

What some people don’t see eye to eye with me on though, is the fact that a character that can mysteriously weasel themselves out of a situation unscathed is no different from godmoding. It is nice to read that some sites do—please remember I’m relatively new to forum RP.  Before this, I RPed via MUDs, and this form of godmoding—actually any form of it—is pretty much accepted as standard. I find it to be common among several people I know that RP on Discord as well. I’ve seen new characters that are mysteriously stronger with absolutely no history than a character with over a decade of roleplay (most of which are logged and available for reading) backing their power too. 

 

Unfortunately, we aren’t God in these universes. It’s not our decision, and it shouldn’t be, on whether or not we get to kill someone’s annoying character. (Though I’ve seen it done before, by “God” characters—and this was their way of controlling such an out-of-control godmodder.) If you’re looking for some spice, put your own character into a risqué situation. Have them die, go to the Underworld, and fight their way out. Have them become complete and utter monsters. But please don’t make other people’s decisions for them. 
 

Remember also that just because one character may seem horribly flat to you, doesn’t mean it does to someone else. If it’s an ongoing issue like it seems to be, and it is adversely affecting your RP, talk to the person in question. If it can’t be resolved, you do have the right to choose not to RP with them. 

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This bothers the shit out of me, so I just... stop writing with them, honestly. And I tell them why. If they get insulted over hearing "it's annoying that you're taking advantage of the rules to prevent your character from facing consequences" then so be it. I find that these people usually alienate everyone on a site and move on to another one before long because people get fed up with them fast. 

 

However, I won't join a site where other people can kill my characters without permission. I find that not having that rule in place typically ends up in abuse of some sort, whether it's someone's character suddenly one-shotting mine in a thread or even in some cases a staff member announcing that a character has been killed to further the plot without consulting that character's player. 

 

I do think it's appropriate to approach a staff member if it becomes super unrealistic. There's a point where someone needs to be told to behave even if they're not breaking rules. Or just tell the person in DMs, "Hey, you can edit your post if you want, but if you keep your character doing xyz, my next post is gonna be my character beating yours within an inch of their life." But I've never ended up being happy writing with someone who constantly weasles their character out of harm, so... I just tell them to knock it off or I'll stop writing with them. 

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I've definitely tapped people and gone, "hey, if things keep heading in this direction my character will be trying to kill them - are you okay with that?"

 

On sites that have kill mechanics built in, I've also built characters with the explicit intent of using them.

 

For sites that don't have that - some people just want to write about impossible odds. The reaction to the first method, if nothing else, tells me whether this player is someone who will handle stories of those types in a way that can be mutually satisfying.

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  • 3 weeks later...

This sort of thing really annoys me. It's not correct to just kill them in the thread, as fun as "suddenly he grabbed the frying pan and hacked at her neck and he continued even after she was surely dead" would be to read....it's considered godmodding a character. I refuse to join a site if a member can just kill mine off without my consent. Really, the typical site rule is about godmodding and this usually covers the no killing rule. You don't want the staff to PM you telling you off for breaking the rule and the member whining to them making you the bad person. 

 

You can tell them that you won't post with them anymore because their posts are having their character behave too unrealistic for your liking. Flat out call them on their BS. Your character does this....survived this without harm....beat up a professional assassin when they are a baker....keeps hitting on every single team member when it's OOC for their canon who is not such a flirt....does whatever when it doesn't seem realistic. Really, a character doing XYZ should get this happen to them and yet you're basically godmodding by avoiding all the consequences. 

 

If you don't feel like talking to them, tell the staff it's like they are breaking the consequences godmodding rule. Even if there's no clear rule it's still actually an unspoken rule not to make such wacky behaviours that contradict site lore and general character capabilities. Unspoken rules can still be enforced. But really, I'd PM them and say their character behaviour is annoyingly godmoddy and you won't be roleplaying with them anymore so long as they continue ignoring consequences and being some immortal, know it all, however-they-violate things type. 

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I love a good surprise death. If I toss my character into a super tight spot where there would be death as a consequence, usually I'm doing it because I wanna see if they'll die, lmao. I do like to be warned, or asked, but only in certain circumstances.

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Obviously every circumstance is different, but as an admin, I do require a certain level of realism in roleplay. If your writer wants to break their hand, or get shot, or stabbed, or whatever, they have to live with that injury until it would reasonably heal, no magic next-day cures (unless magic is a thing there). That might mean your character can't be in physically demanding plots for months, or work their normal job, and if you want that drama, then your character needs to suffer the consequences. 

 

I don't think it's fair push someone to kill their character, but they also can't openly defy logic, and it may be reasonable to discuss this with the admin. As an admin, I would approach the situation something like this: if do this, your character would break their hand, and then have to live in recovery for 2 months in "game time", or whatever. When people realize how lame that sounds, they might scale back on the theatrics, or they might not.

 

I let people kill my characters, and I do sort of enjoy it, but I'm not going to push that onto someone else unless they offer. Personally, I think the "surprise death" is a trope that television uses when it doesn't know how else to engage the audience, and I'm over it.

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Yes I always require permission for killing off someones character. I tend to expect fairly extensive backgrounds from characters in my games, so just suddenly cutting that off from someone just wouldn't be fair to them. If it were to happen to me, I know it'd be a punch to the gut.

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One of the sites I run has a rule. If you try not to die, you won't. If you do something that is going to end with your character dying, you will be warned. Only Game Managers have the authority to kill a character without explicit permission for this very reason. 

To put it in context. PLayer A and Player B are in a thread with the Game Manager. 

Player A throws a grenade into a crowd of people. Player B, after that post runs into that crowd of people to kill them with their sword! The Game manager goes "Hey player B, if you run in there to kill them with your sword, you're going to be in the blast radius of the grenade. Are you sure you want to do that?" Player B says yes. Player B's character then gets hit by the grenade, and depending on how the GM feels, they have either been killed or maimed. 

Though, if PLayer B ran in before Player A threw the grenade, the GM will come up with some reason for Player B to survive. He won't walk away unscathed, but he'll be able to keep fighting. 

If player B says to Player A "Hey, throw a grenade so that my character can be maimed" then the GM will probably not get in the way of the scene. 

Context is shockingly important when it comes to if a character should die. IF someone is abusing the rule, then you need to change the rule. Actions have consequences, and I actually find people are more thorough with what they are doing when they think there is a chance for their characters to die, than not. They describe more, when they understand misunderstandings can end in death. They are very deliberate, and it makes for some very interesting reading. 

My favorite rule is "Just cause I can't kill you for abusing this rule, doesn't mean I can't make you wish you were dead," and if I cant do that then "Just cause I can't kill you for abusing this rule, doesn't mean you will continue in this plot." Who cares if the character them self is still alive, if everyone else thinks they are dead?

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  • 2 weeks later...

I think I've been lucky to never actually encounter a writer who had their character do stupid stuff and tried to dodge the consequences over and over again. As an admin I've seen players talk it out and most have been mature enough to realise "Yeah, what my character did was stupid, I'm going to take that hit" and if they didn't want to die, they talked it out and found a way around it that didn't make it seem like a cop out. I've never established any rules specific to death, other than "you can die and people will kill you if you don't pay attention." It was a culture of talking things out, so everyone got permission from the player if a death might be coming on. Sometimes a thread was there purely with the aim to have a character dead at the end.

 

My own reaction to a writer like that would probably be to let someone else deal with it. I don't tend to play bloodthirsty characters, so I can justify someone getting away without it looking really stupid. However, I'll definitely make a note of it and I might even clearly point it out in a group chat so that they know what they did was not cool and other players will know too. I like the permission rule myself, but it definitely is at risk of misuse.

 

Right now I play on a forum where you have a specific series of steps to fulfil before you can outright kill someone (warning, warning, action), but a caveat where if someone has pushed their luck too much and bailed the moment death was on the table multiple times, there doesn't need to be a warning. This is a perfect compromise to the dilemma of death dodgers, I think. I was actually recently in a thread where my normal dude faced off against a vampire and got his ass thoroughly kicked. He struggled so much the vampire got annoyed and gave me my first warning. I would've let that play out and taken the death to the face, but someone else jumped into the thread and managed to save the character (in context this made sense, they'd been making a helluva racket).

 

No one wants to see their character die (most of the time), but consequences follow your actions. I was prepared to die and at peace with possibly losing the character. If someone is not prepared to lose a character, they shouldn't get into fights they'll lose. A writer who death dodges and defies all logic and contextual cues is a bad collaborative writer, in my opinion. There's no single hero to this story, you don't have plot armour.

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