Permadeath

The event where deaths of characters are permanent.

This pattern is a still a stub.

Wikipedia has a entry on Permanent Death in games.

Note: World of Warcraft uses Permadeath for other purpose ("roleplayed deaths" and removals of characters from servers). These connotations are not included in this pattern but see the entry on the WoWWiki for more information about this alternative use.

Examples

Some Tabletop Roleplaying Games do let player cheat death by reincarnation spells, memory backups, and other devices but these may not be available for players with inexperienced characters. For others, e.g. Call of Cthulhu and Hârnmaster, death is irrevocable either because they try to simulate reality closer or they focus on the frailty of humans.

The text-based adventure games NetHack and Rogue uses Permadeath so making single mistakes can lead to game sessions ending, and this feature is a central aspect of this type of games. Permadeath is considerably more rare in other type of computer-based games; there is a version of BatMUD where death is permanent and Diablo II has an option for "hardcore" gameplay that includes Permadeath. Player can restart from The Fallout series does not have

Also Fallout: New Vegas for companions in hardcore mode

Counter-Strike

Using the pattern

in a [Player] paper?

Relations

Lives Challenging Gameplay Replayability Smooth Learning Curves Save-Load Cycles

History

New pattern created in this wiki.

Acknowledgements

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