fictional death

[serenissima]

In our D&D game, Chris killed off one of the main characters, one with whom my character was in love.
I cried.
He was surprised I was so upset.

I watched the 4th Harry Potter movie on Friday night. (Chris came along to keep me company. I think he enjoyed the popcorn more than the movie.) I thought it was fun but not thrilling. This may have been because I reviewed the plot on Wikipedia beforehand. A lot of things from the book were left out, probably for simplicity's sake; as I recall, book 4 is very thick. One thing I didn't like was that Voldemort, upon being restored to life, has no nose, just nostril-slits. Otherwise he looks like a fairly normal, tall, bald man. I think he would look more believable if they gave him a nose.

Comments

[aristeros.livejournal.com]

Hey, now. That death wasn't at all gratuitous! I can't blame dice, but I can say that I'd steer clear of something that wasn't dramatically and logically appropriate.

Except for cassava in temperate climates.

The popcorn wasn't very good, either. There was one scene with tiny dragons being drawn from a bag, which, although gratuitous use of cgi special effects, pleased me because I wanted a tiny dragon.

I would name it 'Steve.' Then again, I name everything Steve. Except for the things I name 'Bill.'

[copperwolf.livejournal.com]

Dramatically and logically appropriate in the context of that problematic situation, but I don't see why the situation arose other than the whim of the GM. Or are you trying to provide a benefit (an army of allies) while balancing it by taking away a party member? I can't say I like the trade. The army may break the siege, but now I have no protector when I face my enemy. Perhaps further developments will clarify the appropriateness of what happened?

[aristeros.livejournal.com]

Bah.

The relief force has wagons on a scale that require an appropriate bridge unless the force is to be split or delayed. Either would change the particulars of the citadel outcome, although it might not be apparent -why- until later, when the brute on the coast--"The Baron"--begins his mischief.

It would be ghasty if he won the war, by the way, in the long and short term. As unpleasant and selfish as Maluk may be, at least he'd be an able administrator.

So there needed to be a bridge there by a particular time for prompt relief of the citadel, which is required for the macro-level outcome you're shooting for. Pragmatic as he is, D builds a bridge, expecting that it'll come in handy sometime within the next several months, and he's right, and it shouldn't be a surprise that he's right.

As for whether or not you'd have a bodyguard, I'd have made sure that your yojimbo was conveniently unavailable so the heroine has to face her 'final' challenge alone, or conveniently distracted such that she might as well be.

Haven't you noticed that in every difficult situation and even most decisions that really mattered (red lights, ice cave, wind spirit, shapeshifting birds, dreams, menagerie, apprentice with pet zombies, ogres' parents) you have been left to face the most difficult task alone?

That has to be done, otherwise the henchmen and friends and so on either have to be helpless or witless, or most of the problems will be overcome -for- you. It is supposed to be an "unlikely hero" story, after all, not an "unlikely sidekick" story!

[daisho.livejournal.com]

FWIW, Rowling described Voldemort like that in the book, so it is at least canonical.

And there's nothing wrong with getting attached to RPG characters, even if they're NPCs. You're sharing their life, in a way, so you're clearly going to share some sort of bond with them, too. At least, I do. :)

[copperwolf.livejournal.com]

Oh... it's been a while since I read the books. I have yet to read book #6. Considering that film #5 isn't coming out until 2007, I'm in no big hurry.

As for the NPC, the fact that he's played by my boyfriend may have something to do with the attachment. ;) After all, all the "eligible bachelors" that my character has encountered had a certain amount of appeal, though each was inappropriate or unavailable for various reasons. I'm not sure my patient, creative GM considered the "love interest" angle when we began the story -- I think I take a different approach to the game than the players he was accustomed to, back in the day -- but I get a kick out of it. :)</tt.

[aristeros.livejournal.com]

Fft. I can write romance, too. Would you prefer cheesy, or sleazy? I'd made Jared engaged thinking that it would potentially create tension, actually, and I thought it did.

No, I can't really say I'm used to strapping lads and buxom maidens outside of pure atmosphere. My old group was more the "take no prisoners and, actually, let's burn the city" type. Including the lads and maidens. Not very practical of them, really; they could probably have been sold off.

I tried to make the supporting cast members--male and female--all reasonably sympathetic or at least interesting. Not just people who are helping, but sometime enemies, as well. You may even discover that the primary villain is a character for whom you'd have some sympathy!

Mostly, I've been interested in scratching my "worldbuilding" itch, watching you try to puzzle your way through problems encountered, and practice building sympathetic characters, because I figured I needed it.

If you want a wuv stowy, you might be best off going to the used bookstore for dollar paperbacks.

[aristeros.livejournal.com]

I should watch myself, else I may end up sleeping on the couch. If I did that -last- night, maybe I'd not have caught her cold. ;)