Death of Heroes

[Blue]

There have been threads about the killing of heroes in-game. But I think I'll take this another direction. Bordering on a WWYCD thread...

 

After a great and pitched battle, the dust settles and your character meets his untimely end.

 

Think of Captain Mar-Vel's funeral attended by a pantheon of characters; Think of Spock being brought back through a quest but lacking all his faculties; Think of Buffy ripped from heaven by well-meaning heroes using a ceremony. What happens to you in your universe?

 

Tell me tales of the character's demise and his impact on the world at large.

[Redmenace]

Re: Death of Heroes

 

Dead is dead to me and I like to see it that way in my campaigns unlike say Marvel death. If it was a magic campaign I don't see why you couldn't retrieve the soul and find a body but the lessened impact still waters down death defying heroism too much.

 

As an example of a well done post mortem return, check out the first arc of the City of Heroes comic volume 2 by Mark Waid. It had a well done mini quest tied to a ressurection.

[Blue]

Re: Death of Heroes

 

I've got to think that if Anthem died that she'd likely stay dead. But since there's a character in the city's superteam who can ressurrect people (if within an hour of death) then I have to think there's a chance she'd return anyway, depending on how set that player was on doing so.

 

Uncle Slam is a special case. I've got a patriot spirit in game who consults American heroes who know how to call on him; He can't affect the real world. I think since he's been around since 1776 that he'd likely rest at last and Slam might take over his position; Or it might be a Yoda/Ben Kenobi situation with both appearing.

 

Audra Blue I might make a special plot for. She's got a lot of cybernetics and spends most of her time online; So either a virtual version of her might exist only inside the 'net, or perhaps her consciousness might be downloaded into another body if properly equipped.

 

Of the three, Uncle Slam definitely gets the big heroe's send off. Probably burial in Arlington, rather than in the campaign city. All the major heroes would be present. At Anthem's funeral would only be the team and perhaps, if allowed by the courts, her father, who is not as mental these days since he's on a coctail of medications.

[Zed-F]

Re: Death of Heroes

 

The ultimate fate of Soulbarb's soul is one of the major plot points for the character. What will her final reward be? Will her infernal connection drag her down, will her lack of faith in organized religion or a single monotheistic God damn her, will her eye-for-an-eye attitude towards justice and vengeance condemn her to the same fate she would hold for others, or will her heroic attitude and example be sufficient to save her from all of that? I have to think that if Soulbarb dies, she will remain dead, and she will meet whatever eternal reward she's earned. To do otherwise would treat the sorts of questions she must come to her own answers for too lightly. If something of her remains in the world, it will be her legacy rather than her body or spirit. Soulbarb would not get a big funeral, but there are those who would mourn her in their own, private ways.

 

Cerulean is in a setting that might well permit a return from apparent death... or even real death, circumstances permitting. If nothing else, his mentor has ample power to be able to accomplish such a task. I would tend to think that if his mentor were the one that did it, however, then Cerulean would probably not remain on Earth, but would return to his own dimension.

[Guest lucky]

Re: Death of Heroes

 

If the necromantic armies of the Pretender-King stay buried, then Samuel "Shallow Graves" Blackmoor, scourge of the Three Seas and Hero of the Battle of Deathwing Pass, will eventually succumb to a combination of cirrhosis of the liver and syphillis, comfortably ensconced on his private island hideaway.

 

If the undead legions return to once again threaten the Kingdom of Ironfist, then he'll probably leave this world the same way he entered it: naked, screaming, and covered in blood.

 

[Enforcer84]

Re: Death of Heroes

 

Say hello to Enforcer85!

[assault]

Re: Death of Heroes

 

Meh. Assault will be back next week. Maybe he'll be able to fly this time.

[Badger]

Re: Death of Heroes

 

If the one who killed his mother and sister has already been killed in the past. Then would peacably go into the afterlife. If he is still around......well Badger will do some haunting....his spririt wouldnt rest until that matter has been dealt with. (How? I dont know). Though it would be appropriate for him to go down in a climatic battle where he takes down this arch-nemesis for good. Only to succumb to mortal wounds that his opponent inflicted on him during combat. Just saying...

 

 

Frosty Bob- Well he is immortal. Though I guess there are ways to kill them off. In any case, he will stick around as a ghost. And being invisible, would have the advantage of sneaking into bathrooms of his former female teammates to watch them shower. Yes, Frosty Bob would do that.

[Badger]

Re: Death of Heroes

 

Oh and funerals. Let's see....

 

Badger- Small funeral if any. Might be just cremated and ashes scattered in secret. He isnt much for show, so that would be the only appropriate go-out.

 

Frosty Bob- Not sure. Most of his former associates are either dead, afraid he will come back to life, or never would want to see that son of a ***** again. Though that last group might come for laughs.

[Marketeer]

Re: Death of Heroes

 

Blackberry would be sorely missed by the people she left behind. Some would be angry, others sad, all would be distressed at the loss of a bright light in the world.

 

Her funeral would not be a big public affair, but a surprisingly large number of friends and "enemies" (who, in spite of their best efforts, would still be her friends) would attend. There'd be no violence, even though her web of connections was wide.

 

I can definitely see a "closure" subplot opening up for everyone else, but Blackberry would almost certainly remain dead.

[Patriot]

Re: Death of Heroes

 

After a massive demonic insurgence into Earths dimension, Patriot fell at the Battle of the Sahara, 66 legions of demons, and a like number of angels fought , along with (or maybe inspite of) Team Vanguard, The ArchAngel Micheal interceded veiwing Patriots spirit as Good , wholesome, and a warriors to boot revived him as an angel, when the battle ended he reverted back to his human form , still alive.

 

Cheez, maybe

Good story , yup

This incident happened about 4 years ago In Team Vanguard continuity

[Seenar]

Re: Death of Heroes

 

Seenar, orginally being a AD&D character sees death as a temporary setback more than anything else.

[Lord Mhoram]

Re: Death of Heroes

 

For Blackcat we actually played that.

 

We had a "days of future past" kind of adventure, with the moment that started the entire evil world was a superfight we hadn't got to yet, and the death of the youngest team member (just post teen), who was also a mutant, but that a extreme mutant team kills a member of the bad guy team for revenge, and thus started a superwar.

 

When the fight showed up, Cat saw a special weapon being aimed at Kid Thunder, she dove in the way and was killed. She had a huge state funeral, and with the team preaching peace, nothing developed.

 

Then they found her soul, and she came back, but had lost all her martial arts, and was possessed by her darkforce powers, went evil, killed a villian (neo nazi) got depowered, went to Stronghold, got all her martial arts skill back and then some, thestopped a stronghold escape, got pardoned and went back to superheroing.

[Powerhouse]

Re: Death of Heroes

 

Just focusing on one of my characters: Lady Silver. Her death would be a big deal since she's the leader of the world's foremost team of heroes, the Silver Knights. She's also one of the world's most popular and noble heroes and her untimely death would be just a notch below the Kennedy assassination in terms of "where were you when Lady Silver died."

 

I actually got that idea from the Silver Age Sentinels where one of its characters (I want to say Starlight) was killed and it was on par with Kennedy or Martin Luther King Jr's deaths in terms of shock and impact. Lady Silver's isn't quite as eventful but she is beloved enough to have quite the impact.

 

The funeral would most likely be televised and properly have some VIP's there, including possibly the VP (I don't think that she'd rate the President but who knows?). The coverage would also include the requisite histories and retrospectives in addition to people on the street saying what Lady Silver meant to them (both good and bad).

 

Moments include:

 

Nova (her best friend) breaking down in tears while trying to deliver her eulogy.

 

Lodestar (her fiancee): strong but sad as he stands tall to wish the woman he loves goodbye and vows to continue forth in her example.

 

Tyr: always grim but otherwise stoic, no one can miss the long tear that streaks down his face. This rare photo of such deep emotion is nominated for the Pulitzer as it captures how hard the death has struck all who knews her.

 

Yeah, it's sappy and over the top but its my world. It would be akin to someone in the Avengers or JLA buying it in their respective worlds.

[Vondy]

Re: Death of Heroes

 

My character Anthem did die (after 13 years of playing him a run through four inter-linked campaigns (I was the primary GM, but others ran games in the same world that he starred in as well. He was a PC and GM PC). I killed him off because it was just time for him to go, and because it suited the dramatic end to the last campaign I ran before moving to Israel. He played critical roles in WWI, WWII, the Israeli War of Independance, and forming America's Freedom Patrol (1950's era hero team in an atomic horror/red scare/espionage/weird occult game that happened to have people with powers). He died in one of those "could return" accidents, but he won't. He destroyed the alien invaders space ship while he was one it (along with his arch-nemesis and the campaign's principle villian). In fact, of the Patrol, 7 of its 18 members were killed (most of those before the ship was destroyed). His funeral was a small affair attended by those in the intelligence world who knew of his contributions. It wasn't just his funeral though. It was the funeral of all of the Patrol's fallen members.

 

Edit: He was interned, however, on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. The others were buried at Arlington National Cemetary.