So what is a fantasy game where you can be heroic but still can die?

So what is a fantasy game where you can be heroic but still can die?

You know like giving players less death protection mechanics but still being lethal enough

>You know like giving players less death protection mechanics but still being lethal enough
>killing players
You know this is illegal, don't you?

Your answer is in your own pic related

Find a way to reward them for it. If their caution is keeping them from assisting a teammate across the battlefield, implement a mechanic which would reward them for that. Don't make it too specific, just something like an active ability that lets them deal bonus damage per 5ft remaining in their move leading up to the attack. I assume you're coming from D&D, and the problem with that game is that despite being clunky as it is, it doesn't have mechanics to support actually using the environment and so many things that you should theoretically be able to do. For example, give rangers an actual bonus for shooting enemies from above. Just that rule alone opens up so many doors, you now have more of a reason to create scenarios with levels of elevation, you now have to think of how the ranger is going to get there so you have to create new pathways or tweak/create mechanics for acrobatics.

If you don't want to try to work out a good mechanic, you could also just use magic items. Treat magic items like DLC or patches, once you see something that is hindering the game somehow you can just throw in some magic equipment. If your fighter is too bogged down in combat to be able to help a teammate, give them a bonus to attacking enemies attacking or adjacent to teammates, if you want your ranger to have the higher ground bonuses give them a special bow or ammo, boots to walk on walls, a throwable teleporter, whatever will allow them to take advantage of that bonus in various scenarios.

Ultimately to push players forward into heroics you need to create the environment for them to be able to have the moment of creating the perfect plan or having some tricks up their sleeve, of course without it being so obviously "oh we were getting trounced and now we have good gear" or "here's wallwalking boots and in the next room we're walking on walls wowee"

RuneQuest
Genesys/Star Wars once you get your GM bearings
Ryuutama
Savage Worlds, but that's only because everything explodes.

Are you asking for systems?

Savage worlds fits the bill.
So do some of the apocalypse world variants.

What game is it from?

Why savage world?

It is D&D. He is telling you to play D&D.

GURPS dungeon fantasy

>A portion of things everyone can do can't be done by martials

Zweihander is lethal as shit but you feel like a badass killing monsters that frighten the peasants
It's grim & perilous but not necessarily dark. You can still be heroes

Old school dungeons and dragons. I recommend B/X with the AD&D DM's guide for whatever tables you could want. Lethal, yet it feels fair. When my players complain about having low hp, I remind them that enemies are just as bad.

Exploding dice mean lots of crazy action shit, but since it also applies to enemies a goblin with a rusty pocket knife can kill a legendary hero if they roll well enough. Fantasy isn't really one of the systems strong suits, although it's not bad for it either and you have shitloads of magic systems to choose from if you dig through the splats

not all d&d editions do that i play 5e and heroes feel too healthy

>thatsthejoke.png

Find love.

Isnt 2e this?

Bump

Rolemaster

Torchbearer can turn lethal in a damn hurry if the players approach conflicts with the usual fantasy murderhobo mindset.

Warhammer Fantasy RPG 2e is pretty good at that. You've got Fate points that keep you from dying to a single bad roll, but death is still very much a possibility. Just....don't use the disease mechanic except as a plot point. It's pretty bad.

anima beyond fantasy fits that pretty well
combat is lethal enough that you can die very quickly if you end up in a bad situation

Mythras, especially with Classic Fantasy. It even has a rule listed for taking a heroic action during death.

Runequest. You might not be world-conquering heroes, or even the ones who get immortalised in history, but by God you can be heroes they will sing songs of. Even if it's a song that goes "and then Ulrich leaped to defend his fallen companion but took a spear in his chest, and fell next to his friend."

>i play 5e and heroes feel too healthy
Then play the optional rule from the Dungeon Master's Guide, where it takes characters several days to recover HP

- page 267
"GRITTY REALISM"

Or make players roll hp at lvl 1

Runequest, Shadow of the Demon Lord, Gurps Dungeon Fantasy, and Scarlet Heroes are all solid options

Or play OSR, that's probably the best option

Which OSR does what op wants?

They're all the same. B/X, if he can't look past AD&D's bloat and gets worried about learning such a 'big' system.

bitch, i DM a casual game- with good friends- newbies- and i have recently made it clear that if you fuck up irredeemably and kill guards while inside the prison, you WILL be executed. unless you can somehow escape.

You have to go through all that trouble just to die? just cause theyre newbs doesnt mean you gotta go easy on them.