During the course of a Characters Story, a number of effects may cause their Story to End. These include:
- Exceeding the number of Wounds a Character can sustain (typically 3)
- Exceeding twice their Damage Limit.
- Exceeding a Stress Level of 20
Once a Character’s Story has Ended, the Character has only a limited capacity to affect the broader narrative, and in the case of a Player Character the Player should work with the GM to describe how the Character’s Story ends.
This End may be described immediately in response to satisfying one of the above triggers, or it may occur at the end of a Conflict (although the Character will from the moment they exceed the number of Wounds they can sustain be unable to participate in said Conflict).
When Death is not the End
In many Roleplaying Games, the end of a Character’s Story will commonly be their untimely death. However, this should be seen as only one possible Ending among many possible Endings.
Instead of Death, a Character could lose the will to continue participating in the adventure, abandoning their dreams and fading into the background as a Character in the control of the GM.
They could be turned, either choosing to side with the Player Characters’ adversaries, or perhaps transformed to become a Monster themselves.
Or perhaps the Character is simply lost, never to be seen again.
Alternatively, a Character could become harmed to the point that they feel unable to continue, be it through physical injury or mental trauma.*
The only limits to a Character’s Ending are that their Ending does not cause further change to the overall Narrative.
*Groups should practice caution in using this form of Ending as it can imply that physical or mental disability may pose a barrier to certain Characters participating in a Story. When using this form of Ending, ensure that all Players are comfortable with what is being suggested and understand that it is the Character themselves who feels unable to continue on account of how they relate to the harm they have taken, and that their choice is not a reflection on people who live with similar circumstances.
Final Act
At the GM’s discretion, a Character may be allowed to make one Final Act when their Story Ends. This may be to convey their last words to the other Players’ Characters, it may be to make a small gesture, or it may be to hand over a precious possession. In some cases, a Final Act may be more dramatic, such as to push the self-destruct button of a Villain’s Lair or complete the last incantations of a ritual.
No strict rules are defined for how GMs and Players may choose to use their Final Act: it should come out of a discussion between the Player and the GM.
However, a Final Act should represent the climactic close to a Character’s Story. It should therefore be allowed to feel meaningful to the Players at the table.
A Final Act however also should also not invalidate the Characters’ choices which led to that point. A Final Act might contribute to a successful conclusion of the greater narrative, but it should not be the conclusion itself.
During a Character’s Final Act, other Players should be mindful that the Characters Story has at this point already Ended. While they may have features or abilities which can heal or otherwise bring Characters back from desperate situations, their use is not appropriate during a Characters final moments.
Ending a Story Early
In addition to Ending a Story as a Result of Damage, Wounds or Stress, a Player may decide they wish to end a Character’s Story early.
There are many possible reasons which may contribute to this.
- They may feel their part in the Story has concluded (e.g. they have reached the goals they set out to accomplish)
- They may feel it doesn’t make sense for the Character to continue participating (e.g. they lack the motivation to participate in the adventure)
Or the causes may be external to the Story, such as the Player no longer having fun playing that Character or being unable to continue participating in the game.
Players should discuss with their GM when they wish to end their Character’s Story early. Attempting to deliberately cause a Character’s Story to End early through the game’s mechanics without such discussions can lead to confusion, both for the GM and the Group, who may not understand that you are intending to end the Character’s Story.
When a Player and GM decide to work together to End a Character’s Story Early, avoid doing so using the Game’s Mechanics (e.g. do not deliberately put the Character in circumstances which guarantee their Story will End).
While it may be tempting to make an Early End appear organic, doing so breaks one of the Four Falues of the Game: Finding Out. If there’s an agreement for the Story to progress in a certain way, then the Game’s Mechanics do not have a role in causing the Story to progress in that way. Together the GM and the Player may describe the Character’s Early Ending, but they should make it clear that this Ending is happening due to their decisions, and not the luck of the dice.
Undoing an End
Often in Fantasy a Characters Story might appear to End, only for that End to be undone in some way. The most common occurrence of this which is when a Character has died, only for them to be brought back by means of magic or advanced science, but it might also include other mechanisms such as causing a Character to recall their original purpose, or being transported back to where the Story takes place from the distant lands they departed to and more.
Whenever a Game Mechanic would return a Character to the Story, the controlling Player of that Character may choose whether or not to allow it to work. For Example, for a Character to return to life they must be willing for the effect to work.
A controlling Player may also allow such effects to work, but may also choose to no longer control that Character (perhaps they would prefer to play another Character or they otherwise feel like that Character’s Story had a satisfying conclusion). In such cases, control of that Character passes to the GM, although they may consult the original Player as to what actions their Character would be likely to take.
See Also
This Page is part of the Core Rules Chapter.
The Next Page in this Chapter is the Conditions Page.
The Previous Page in this Chapter is the Stress Page.