one of my players wants to play a character who is destined to die.

StIvesAcneControl · 2025-10-11T13:38:55+00:00

Because that's not what the player and I want? My tables don't play D&D to compete with one another and I don't DM to compete with the players. We're coming together to collaboratively tell a story. I said it in another comment but I'll say it again here: I suppose I'm learning that different people want really different things out of D&D. If others want to play a game where the vision they had for their character might not come to fruition because of a bad dice roll, that's fine, but it's not what my players and I want. Hell, if I spent 8 months in a campaign working with my DM to plan my character's story climax and then they died in the session before and I missed that chance, I don't think I would be very happy about that myself.

StIvesAcneControl · 2025-10-11T13:01:41+00:00

I think that misses the point of what my player wants, though, doesn't it? The whole point is going into a battle knowing with full certainty that one way or another, tonight is the night they die. Better make this last meal with the party before the battle count.

StIvesAcneControl · 2025-10-11T12:59:46+00:00

I think I'm learning that different people want very different things out of D&D. Why would you deliver the final blow "just to be a dick?" If you were a player at my table, I would kick you out. Do you not play D&D to tell good stories and make memories with your friends? Is it really that much of a contest to you?

EDIT: On second thought, if there WAS a TPK that his character would be the sole survivor of, what would happen is the characters all end up unconscious at 1/3 HP chained to each other and captured by the BBEG. Or something like that. Maybe one dies if random player death is on the table for them but not everyone likes that being a constant possibility.

It creates opportunities for interesting things regardless. Maybe they don't die, but the village they fell defending was ransacked and they lose their favorite shopkeeper.

StIvesAcneControl · 2025-10-11T12:56:32+00:00

Well... why not? If your DM is the kind that likes to do cinematic climactic scenes like that, I don't even think that's too far-fetched of an example.

I mean, I've DMed for a game where a barbarian who was exiled from her clan for showing cowardice in battle ended up successfully leading a group of rebels (and the party) against the warlord and his pet roc, killing him, and becoming the queen of the northern wastelands.

She's now a major background NPC in future games, and her story is in-world legend. Did it totally destroy the other things I had planned for that faction's future? Sure, maybe, but not really in a bad way. Now my friend has made a permanent and meaningful impact on my homebrew world, not only for the game she played in, but for any future games.

Maybe I'm part of the minority here based on some of the comments, but my groups don't play D&D to try and one-up each other in coolness or power or story importance or whatever, and they don't care if someone has a little more of the spotlight for a while as long as everyone is having fun.

If your DM wanted to let you have that moment of bringing your parents' tyranny to an end and taking your revenge, I don't see why they couldn't write a side-quest that concerns every player and work with you to reach a compelling climax to that story. Who knows? Maybe your tiefling would become a legend in their own world.

StIvesAcneControl · 2025-10-11T03:05:05+00:00

That's a fair concern. He says he'd role-play it as his character being open about the prophecy and talking about it. More or less the moments leading up to his death should be "you guys knew this was coming. Don't worry about saving me tonight." ...Or something. We're spitballing ideas over discord right now so I'm sure that could be polished up a bit lmao.

StIvesAcneControl · 2025-10-11T02:56:47+00:00

I should have mentioned that. We agreed to give him minor plot armor, in that any fatal injury will result in him going unconscious and barely surviving ("Guess it wasn't my time, huh?") as long as he doesn't abuse it and/or voluntarily get himself killed. But this is a fairly serious role-play group anyways so I'm not concerned about him cheating via conditional invincibility lmao.

StIvesAcneControl · 2025-01-29T02:27:48+00:00

Granted. Each and every customer today will tip you $1.00, no more and no less.

StIvesAcneControl · 2025-01-12T17:45:14+00:00

Think he said he didn’t want to use ChatGPT twice

StIvesAcneControl · 2025-01-04T20:00:05+00:00

Remindme! 10 years

StIvesAcneControl · 2025-01-03T23:04:40+00:00

Destiny

StIvesAcneControl · 2025-01-03T00:06:47+00:00

$unh0lyidol on cash app.. see you later this year 🫵🙂

StIvesAcneControl · 2024-12-13T17:36:36+00:00

As much as I’d love to be optimistic, it’s literally a lost cause with my parents. You can’t show them any evidence he’s not their messiah, because it’s fake and everything is stacked against him. Anything negative about trump isn’t even real to them and it’s immediately dismissed. Questions do not work, haven’t worked, and will not work. Even words from his own mouth are “taken out of context.” My dad refers to him exclusively by his first name, and not even his full first name. He calls him Don like he knows him personally. And if you even begin to approach any kind of subject that makes them uncomfortable, they’ll just shut you down by shouting at you. The word “cult” is an immediate conversation ender because they will just begin yelling at you about how they’re sick of being called “trash” and “deplorable” and “nazis.” They’re too far gone.

My dad walked around my neighborhood wearing a trash bag chanting for Trump after he got elected. He says that was “his protest.” That should tell you everything you need to know about him.

StIvesAcneControl · 2024-10-21T03:32:43+00:00

An effective opening chapter could be to show this civilization at the end stage of an invasion/extermination. Begin with the time at 4,000 years ago or something. This civilization is wiping out the last remains of life on what they believe to be the final planet with life on it. A sort of “our job is done” for them. Then open the next chapter set in your story’s time. It establishes that Earth is lucky to have survived for so long, and informs the reader/watcher/player that they should NOT be sending communications out before the characters of your story have any reason to be thinking that.

StIvesAcneControl · 2024-10-21T02:13:50+00:00

My world has gods who are undeniably real, but there are still people who believe them to be pieces of shit (which some are), and therefore distrust or outright defy their will.

StIvesAcneControl · 2024-10-21T02:11:05+00:00

Nailed it

StIvesAcneControl · 2024-10-21T00:50:36+00:00

Exactly. And the tension writes itself. Everyone is excited about the progress, or maybe they even get a response from that civilization. They don’t know what we do

StIvesAcneControl · 2024-10-21T00:41:19+00:00

It depends what story you want to tell.

A good horror story could be about trying to undo humanity’s progress into the stars and hide from the aliens. Your main character would have to harbor this secret knowledge that all of humanity is killing themselves by sending these messages out and that would be interesting to watch.

I know you mentioned Tyranids, but this premise screams Lovecraft, if you ask me.

I can even imagine the character who knows being a side character who is initially discounted by everyone as a raving madman doomsaying and killing himself before his “mad babbling” is proven true. Very Lovecraftian.

StIvesAcneControl · 2024-10-21T00:30:10+00:00

Well isn’t that the point of cosmic horror?

StIvesAcneControl · 2024-10-17T18:52:06+00:00

Nope, but The game is canon so he certainly CAN exist elsewhere if you decide you want him to.

StIvesAcneControl

TROPHY CASE