Character death can be extremely disruptive to an ongoing RPG, particularly in a game where character agendas are the driving force behind the plot. However, for a good story with a sense of conflict and danger, there needs to be an opportunity for some kind of loss.
I've recently picked up a game called Eclipse Phase which does a great job of making character death much less likely, while still allowing for danger and loss. At a very high level, characters are using disposable (but expensive) bodies while their brains are backed up elsewhere. Losing a body is an expensive setback, but a PC is very unlikely to truly die from anything short of a very deliberate NPC action. I'm looking forward to trying it out.
In my other games, the players tend to be somewhat fearless so it is difficult to set up a situation where they might flee from an encounter.
What are ways to signal to the players that they should back down, without creating an atmosphere of unfairness?
Similarly, equipment loss or permanent character disability (e.g. losing an arm) tend to not be viewed as fun.
What can you do to cause some lasting harm to the character, without offending the player?
Best Answer
Give the players some objectives that they can fail without PC deaths. For example, the party hears rumors that a merchant is willing to pay handsomely for an escort through a dangerous area that is well known for containing threats that should be exceptionally difficult for the players to handle at their current level. If the players attempt to take the challenge, despite obvious clues that they aren't strong enough, give them a very difficult encounter. It shouldn't be impossible, but you should expect them to lose. However, this gives you a logical way to defeat the party without having a TPK. Perhaps the players get ambushed by bandits led by a powerful warlock and some other foul creatures -- a few party members can get knocked unconscious, the merchant attempts to hold onto his treasure and loses his life in the process, and the bad guys get away with what is now revealed to be a powerful magical artifact.
Try to set up battles in terms of objectives, rather than win/loss by one side wiping out the other. Here are some brief ideas which I believe fall under creating lasting harm for a character without offending the player:
Villagers or other innocents are evacuating, PCs have to hold off the enemy for some number of rounds. For every round the PCs fall short, some set number of villagers are killed, and the attitudes of the survivors will be based on this.
Escort a VIP or item, as detailed above.
Players must fight through enemies to interrupt some dark ritual -- failure results in a strengthening of the enemy. Perhaps instead of focusing on their main objectives, players would then be forced to spend time/resources on defending (loss of the battle effectively puts the players on defense)
The players are faced with an almost impossible combat -- if they begin to lose and choose not to retreat, a rival adventuring party saves the day. However, now the townspeople view the rival party as the "true" heroes. PC reputation takes a hit, and whenever PCs get cocky about things, townspeople and rival heroes always seem to be around to point out the players would be paste on some dungeon floor if not for the bravery and courage of these other heroes.
Most of these scenarios end with either the players' enemies growing in strength as the result of an attack where the objective was not to kill the PCs, or the players' standing falling because they failed to be perfect. Again, these should be hard challenges the players have a chance of beating, not impossible situations.
Another idea revolves around player sacrifice, and again the above situations can be adapted to this. Give the players situations where failure means they have to choose how they fail. This can help remove the feeling of invincibility some players get, while at the same time letting the characters have a sense of virtue. Perhaps a situation where the characters, if they can't outright destroy their opponents, have to make some sort of choice -- do they let the bandit leader escape (which means he will take the treasure from this dungeon, and no doubt find the players again), or do they pursue him and fail to save a much-loved NPC from the environmental hazard he/she got caught in during the last encounter? Sure, the characters lost the fight, but they saved their buddy, and can feel good about that. Plus, they'll feel good when you inevitably bring these once-victorious enemy NPCs back so they can exact revenge :)