permadeath
Sign in to saveAlso known as permanent death, player death
Permadeath (a portmanteau of permanent death) is a game mechanic in both tabletop games and video games in which player characters who lose all of their health are considered dead and cannot be used anymore. Depending on the situation, this could require the player to create a new character to continue, or completely restart the game potentially losing nearly all progress made. Other terms include persona death and player death. Some video games offer a hardcore mode that features this mechanic, rather than making it part of the core game.
~12 min read
Article
8 sectionsContents
- In single-player video games
- In multiplayer video games
- In massively multiplayer online role-playing games
- In tabletop games
- In other games
- See also
- References
- Bibliography
Permadeath (a portmanteau of permanent death) is a game mechanic in both tabletop games and video games in which player characters who lose all of their health are considered dead and cannot be used anymore. Depending on the situation, this could require the player to create a new character to continue, or completely restart the game potentially losing nearly all progress made. Other terms include persona death and player death. Some video games offer a hardcore mode that features this mechanic, rather than making it part of the core game.
Permadeath contrasts with games that allow the player to continue in some manner, such as their character respawning at a checkpoint on "death", resurrection of their character by a magic item or spell, or being able to load and restore a saved game state to avoid the death situation. The mechanic is frequently associated with both tabletop and computer-based role-playing games, and is considered an essential element of the roguelike genre of video games. The implementation of permadeath can vary depending on the type of game.