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Dealing with Character Death
by Dave Steffan
It's an inevitable consequence of any role-playing game that someone, somewhere will eventually die. I mean, monsters do it all the time. This causes a problem when it's another player who dies. I'll explain to deal with this from three perspectives; the dead character's player, the other players, and the storyteller.

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So you died, hunh? Don't panic, it's cool, it happens. It's pretty easy to lose your cool when a character dies, and I don't blame you. In role-playing gmaes it's very easy to become attached to your characters, you played this character up until her demise, and now you feel a sense of loss for her, as a creation and a friend. The character's death isn't the end of the world. In some gaming systems, death is a temporary setback. However, let's assume that death is permanent. The easiest step is the first:
Step One: Be Prepared. Most character death occurs in dealy situations, so you had an idea that the character might die. By having prepared for the intial shock of death, you can easily swallow your own gut reaction and move on to step two.
Step Two: Stepping Back. So, moments ago you were ravaged by orcs, took a 400 foot fall onto spikes, or humiliatingly exploded by a "golbin fanatic". The best course of action is to step back. By stepping back, I mean taking a few moments out of character to compose yourself. These moments should consist of quiet, non-disruptive, fair, contemplation of the character's last moments. I would ask that you make no attempts to deny, escape, accuse, or any other hostile actions involving your character's fate. Emotions run high during a character death, and out of character declarations can be made. Just like anything else said out of emotion, these remarks can be regretted later. Also, I would adise aainst complaining in any way at this stage. You ma think your character's death is unjust, but others will not think highly of you if you lodge emotional complaints. In teir mind you're hurting the overall game, and they would accept character death in the same situation (it is easier to criticize and know a course of action for someone else).
Step three: Acceptance. I know, I know, you're not talking about a drug addiction, but acceptance is a big issue. At this stage, it's best to accept what's happened. A good way to do this is to laugh and joke about it, or insist you hold no malice against the source of your death — and mean it. Too often I hear people making characters out of vengeance or because of out of character feelings. That is a nasty amount of meta-gaming, and it really hurts the game, while doing nothing to change the fact that your character died. This flows nicely into step four.
Step Four: The New Guy. Now that the past is gone and your head is cleared, it's time to make a new character. I encourage you to make the new character dissimilar to the old, this way you get a whole new role to play.

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As the peers of the dead character's player, your role is to make the player feel welcome, sympathize, and empathise as much as you can without encouraging the notion of an unjust death. Also, it's critically important to let the player know you still want to roleplay with him (this goes double if your character killed te other character). Make it clear that it's just a game among friends, and that you're sure their new character concept will be just as fun.

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You're here because you've killed a player, or because you will kill a player. The easiest way to keep the players from feeling that they died unfairly is preparation. The first rule is to be impartial during all aspects of the game. You might dislike some characters or even players, but that should never enter into a game situation. The second rule is to be understanding. Start by apologizing right after the unfortunate news occurs. Since you're an impartial force, and you probably have an idea of how much it sucks to have a character die, you should be sincere. Despite this sincerity, stick to your guns about the death. There are two reasons for this; firstly, you don't want players believing they can argue until things go their way, and secondly, your game is less fun if the fear of death is lost. Bearing this in mind, we move to rule number three. The character is gone, but not forgotten. Many characters have friends, relatives, acquintances, and enemies who will ask about them. You'll add some ironic humor and endear your players by having people ask about the dead people. Most importantly, your game will take on a sense of continuity, which makes it quite a bit more fun.

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Questions, comments, and complaints can be directed to semiokme@hotmail.com. If I use your e-mail, you'll get credit.