Deadly Dice

...then cast Raise Dead
The dice bag pictured above expresses a sentiment often adhered to by older gamers (like me). Those of us who first wargamed and then discovered role-play and finally story games may have a different view of dice than say someone with a different background. I started wargaming with Avalon Hill's Waterloo, a campaign game about Napoleon's last campaign during the so-called Hundred Days which culminated in defeat at Waterloo. One player took the French forces of Napoleon and the other the allied forces under the Duke of Wellington. As a campaign game, there was no guarantee that the battlefield of Waterloo would be the decisive point, but it often worked out that way when I played. One thing that was a constant in every game, whether it was Waterloo or Risk or Monopoly, was how we treated dice rolls. They were final and often decisive. More than once the outcome of the game would hang on a single roll of the die, always rolled in the open for all to see, and we all accepted that there was no re-roll, no "fudging". One dropped or rolled the dice and the result was final. The outcome was accepted as the "rule of fate". There was no appeal, no do-over, no raise dead.
So we came to White Box play with much the same assumptions about dice. I still roll the dice in the open, for all to see. There are no do overs, but there is raise dead. Dice rolls can be dramatic when rolled in the open with known consequences at stake. The suspense of such die rolls is why I still prefer Save or Die saving throws. The campaign has to be set up to accommodate such play, however, and frequently this is overlooked. A dead PC should not end a player's time at the table. White Box and other systems that allow for quick chargen can usually solve the problem with a few minutes aside while a new PC is generated. Other solutions include raise dead magic, or allowing players to run more than one PC at a time, or to promote a hireling or henchmen to PC status. Once the campaign reaches maturity and higher level PCs are partying, there must be a way for the player who loses a high level PC to continue gaming. This can be handled by having each player control a number of PCs ranging in level from highest on down, which admittedly requires pretty frequent play to keep such a campaign going, or balancing things so that a 1st level PC can run with a high level party and feel like they can contribute. I've seen it done, but it is tricky. Personally, I prefer raise dead.
The above dice bag is by The Gallant's Hand Gamers Gear.