Power & Influence

Not Power and Influence
Undead Viking mentioned this topic in his video blog I watched this morning over on Youtube and it has rolled around inside my head until now. Player characters need to have the power to influence events and be the actors in the collaborative story that emerges from game-play. To that end their power and influence is relevant, but also relative. They certainly don't need to be the most powerful and influential figures in the fictional society that comprises the game milieu. In fact, those roles are best played by NPCs. They do need to be the hero of their own story.
Referee advice gleaned from a number of sources tells us that (in most games) starting players should begin play relatively weak and increase in power over time. That is the basis for the level system in White Box and the many editions which follow. The game functions best if the PCs start out as nobodies, or at least as the up and yet to come generation rather than the established leaders of society. A campaign based around the newly annointed would run against the norm, but could be interesting...something like the young PCs Alexander or Frederick thrust onto the throne at an early age and given the opportunity to earn the title "The Great", but I digress.
Performing tasks in service of the king, or leading the rebellion to replace the king are roles more suited to low level play. The ultimate goal, if the PC survives, is to increase in levels to the point where the PC has attained power and influence enough to build a stronghold, attract followers and become a player in the politics of the region. This accomplishment marks a major milestone in the evolution of a campaign and a transition in the role the PC plays. For most of the campaign leading up to this point, the PC has functioned beneath those at the top, accumulating power in terms of coin and ability and influence in terms of social rank and friendships formed during play.
This balance is part of the referee's responsibility. The PCs need to be relevant in terms of power, but obviously not overpowered to the point they intimidate the established power structure of the milieu. They do however need to be able to influence plot events and the established power structure through role-play. Undead Viking mentions the grim-dark play style and I use this term, borrowed from the literature sub-genre, to describe my preferred fantasy RPG milieu, one that is low magic, low powered and gritty, where life is cheap and everything seems a bit shady. Dungeon Horror! would be another term I rather like. The danger with a grim-dark setting is for the PC to feel helpless. The referee must avoid this by allowing (presenting) opportunities for the players to express level appropriate power and influence through their PCs.
Challenges are necessary for entertainment, but a feeling that success is possible must accompany the challenge. Occasional character demise instills a healthy sense of tension in the game, but too much character death and each character becomes meaningless and the game runs the risk of discouraging risk taking. My personal approach to balance is to referee in favor of the players, but to roll dice in the open and play the results as they fall. I have found that by designing challenges that I believe  should be within the players' capabilities, and encouraging them to be creative and smart (and to roll well), an occasional run of bad luck results in character death as the dice dictate. Does that death sometimes feel random...Yes!
So the question is: what about random PC death? Is it a bad thing? I know that players prefer a meaningful death, a sacrifice that saves others or accomplishes a goal, but the random nature of dice will sometimes mean the PC just runs out of hit points and expires. I try to make even this an event in the campaign by giving the remaining PCs time to take a moment and address the loss. Honor the fallen, if you will. Players being players, they soon enough strip the body of everything valuable and move on.
A memorable death can make the story, however, and occasionally you can see it coming and role-play it out making the most of the opportunity. In a recent game of Dungeon Crawl Classics, my Dwarf ran out luck and ended up alone facing the big bad (the last of his companions having run-away to fight another day). I announced he raised his hammer and began singing his death ballad. This went on for a number of rounds as the referee seemed to enjoy missing mister dwarf who continued to swing and sing. Finally a critical hit to the heart put an end to the death song. Meaningful - not particularly. Fun - most definitely!