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CHOOSING A DEATH MOVE
When a PC marks their last Hit Point, they must make a death move. Two of the three moves give the player full control over whether their PC lives or dies: with Blaze of Glory, the player is accepting the PC’s death, and with Avoid Death, the player is defying the PC’s death. Risk It All comes down to a dice roll—the PC has a nearly even chance of living or dying.
When a player is considering which death move to choose, make space for them to work and talk through their decision. You might give them a moment to think by shifting focus to another PC, or keep focus on the dying PC to let the player take the reins of the story.
Character death is not always satisfying in the moment, especially if the character’s cause of death isn’t directly tied to their personal story. But in a heroic fantasy adventure, death is always a possibility for characters trying to change the world. Death moves give a fatally injured PC a chance for a memorable moment, whether it’s going out in a Blaze of Glory or Risking It All on a roll of the dice.
Avoid Death
If a player is certain they aren’t ready to say goodbye to their PC, this death move ensures the PC’s survival—though they have a chance of taking a scar and permanently crossing out one of their Hope slots. If the character only has one Hope slot remaining when they make this move and they gain a scar, the player must retire the character. Even so, that ending may be preferable for players who would rather see their character give up the adventuring life than die. Using this move, the PC stays unconscious until healed by an ally or until the party’s next long rest. Try to give the player chances to participate in play if the party isn’t able to heal their PC or finish a long rest in short order. You might invite them to temporarily control an NPC in the meantime or, for something more character focused, narrate a scene of their PC on the knife’s edge between life and death. On this precipice, they could be visited by the spirit of a departed loved one, receive a vision of a disaster they need to avert, or encounter something else that keeps them involved in the story.
Even without gaining a scar, this move still comes with a cost: the current situation worsens, no matter the PC’s fate. Work with the player to determine how that manifests. The situation might escalate as a new wave of enemies approaches or a countdown ticks down. Alternatively, the PC’s fall might be what turns the tide of battle in the enemy’s favor—they might seize an important item from the heroes or draw power from the character’s suffering.
Risk It All
This is the move that the GM has the least say in. The Duality Dice decide the character’s fate, and with the exception of the 10th-level Resurrection spell (which can only be used once), that roll is final unless you provide another means of resurrection in your story. If the player rolls with Hope, help them decide how to divide the value of the Hope Die between Hit Points and Stress to clear. You might remind the player that if they choose to clear only a small number of Hit Points, they may be forced to make another death move after just one further blow.
Though it is important to reward your player if they roll with Hope by spotlighting this moment when their PC defies death, it is just as important to reward your player if they roll with Fear and their character meets their end. Let them have some final words with a friend or a memory that plays as they fade from consciousness. This gives them a moment to say goodbye to their character in a way that feels important and satisfying.
Blaze of Glory
If the player decides that their character will go out in a Blaze of Glory, work with them to ensure that the one action they take is as meaningful as possible without breaking the integrity of the story. When the seraph goes out in a Blaze of Glory, you might rule that their final attack is fatal, even if the adversary had more HP left than a critical success could possibly deal. But it might be a bad idea to let that same seraph shatter the barrier between the Mortal Realm and the Hallows Above to allow their god to walk freely among mortals. Consider the group’s agreements about tone established in your session zero when deciding the scale of action the Blaze of Glory can accomplish.
