At 07:32 PM 1/12/97 -0500, Robert Harper(rob.harper@sympatico.ca)wrote:
>
>I think all sides of this discussion have good points. Certainly any more
>"literary" setting that is not really working hard to incorporate game
>elements will treat death seriously and finally. So that the BR fiction
>books act like raising the dead isn't possible shouldn't surprise.
>
>Raising the dead is a gaming-based convention to allow continued fun and
>enjoyment of a developing character. In books the finality of death adds
>tension, drama, and meaning. In games, it can do the same but can also just
>spoil the fun. Fun is the objective.
>
>The flip side of resurrection not fitting in books is that in books, major
>characters never die simply because they were unlucky. They die because of
>character flaws or character virtues, tragically or heroicly. IF a PC is
>about to die because of dice rolls and not character choices, perhaps they
>should instead be maimed, captured or some other unpleasant but less
>permanent faith.
>

Thanks for putting it in a straight forward perspective. I agree with you on
not letting a PC die just because of bad dice roles. It does affect the
heroic style of AD&D, so in some encounters death should be replaced with
some other nasty effect.

>
>Just as it seems clear the fiction books don't deal with it, it's clear the
>Rulebook permits it. An AD&D setting where Raise Dead doesn't work or is
>difficult is Ravenloft. Its rules clearly set this out. The BR rules
>don't, and they do give players access to standard AD&D spells. That
>includes Raise Dead and Resurrection.
>

So true, but I was just wondering if it would be possible, with spell
restrictions, to capture some of the drama from the books.

>
>If you're going to run a variant campaign because it "feels right", you
>should tell your players immediately that in this world, "no one ever
>returns from the dead except as undead". I believe that any information
>contained in the Players Handbook or an equivalent should be used as written
>and if not players told up front. I have no qualms tinkering all sorts of
>other things and letting them find out by discovery through the campaign,
>and I've never had a serious gamer complain because my goblins are smarter
>and better organized than the MM entry seems to indicate.
>

Its always a good idea to make your Players aware of any house rules before
you start playing. Particularly something this big. In my case my Players
came up with this themselves, and just assumed it was a standing rule in BR.
I told them it wasen't official, but they think it should be that it should
work that way. I'm inclined to side with them, since the whole group likes
the idea. Again thanks for putting things so clearly.

Undertaker, richt@metrolink.net
RL Homepage: http://www.metrolink.net/~veleda/sepulcher.html