User Blog:
Variables - Killing in the Game Of

“So, we killed ten bandits. That’s 1,000 xp. There was the wizard selling faulty truth serums. We killed him, that’s another 400 xp. The town crier. He’s at least worth 10 xp, right?”

“No way. He didn’t pose a challenge, he shouldn’t be worth anything.”

“But the book says he’s worth 10 xp. Besides, I wasted a spell on killing him.”

Let me rephrase this.

“So, we just killed ten gang members. That’s ten grand. Then we axed the infomercial salesman. We got what? Four K out of that one? And the paperboy. We put him down. He had ten bucks on him, right?”

“No. I didn’t check his pockets. He was just the paperboy, not even worth our time.”

“I think he had a ten spot on him. Besides, we dented our bumper on him. He owes it to us.”

The first scenario sounds like the conclusion of a nice night of adventure gaming. The second scenario sounds like a bunch of sociopaths that would receive life sentences if they were lucky.

What’s the difference? Sure, there were bandits. If we kill off those that terrorize our communities, are we heroes, or vigilantes/murderers? Even if we kill in self-defense, is it considered acceptable to take the possessions of the fallen? Sitting that aside, what about the town crier? Why is his murder a joke around the table? Did a fraud really deserve to be murdered?

You can say that it’s just a game all you want, but in the end, you’re still garnering enjoyment through the emulation of excessive force, of murder. You’re laughing at the loss of life. Maybe the setting has a differing view of murder, and that’s fine. But really, we’re talking about the same thing. As players, we’re desensitized to violence. In our games, we often see it as something laughed off, ignored or encouraged.

Instead of going into the moral implications (I know, games don’t make murderers. I get it,) have you considered that maybe it’s damaging to your game? If killing is laughed off, how do you make the death of a prime story character important? If your players are used to seeing NPCs as a bunch of points to be cut through, you lose gravity when death is supposed to act as a dramatic element.