I have no intention of dying but it is an occupational hazard.
If I were to die for example in the Saturday battle I understand I can go to God and register my death and potentially create a new character… but what do people do then? Do I receive a new character pack for the new identity?
I travel light so would only have the same kit and weapons as my now dead character but would ideally want to play someone different, unless I packed some spare bits just incase like a big smock… Do folk just play out the weekend as Ham, brother of Cam, and start a new character ‘properly’ next event?
Or create a story about how they, a Brass coast corsair, are dressed as a Highguard priest? A funny thing happened to me on my way here today…
Plus having made friends with people in one nation don’t a lot of players get into a loop of joining that nation again to be with familiar faces?
Yes, if you create a new character you’ll get a new character pack for your new character.
It’s entirely fine to reuse most of your kit and generate a new character in the same group or nation you were already in. Making a few changes to help be clear is a good idea though - some thoughts which might be helpful:
Consider lineage! Easy way to be clearly a different person.
Think about your head and shoulders as the main place to change. People pay attention to that much more than your boots. Things like a new hat or headscarf, a collar or scarf around your neck, etc are all good to adjust.
Adjusting your silhouette or body language can also help.
Ask around your friends at the event. Odds are good that someone will have a spare bit of kit you can maybe swap something with.
Failing all else, there are plenty of traders on site - it’s entirely possible to buy some new bits of costume or accessories to help make the difference clear.
You do get a new character pack, though if you pick Artisan there may well be a delay while item ribbons get sorted out.
Yes, people do often play a ‘temporary’ sort of character to see out the weekend and start fresh next event, and often in the same group for practical OC reasons - pre-arranged communal food, childcare or other caring responsibilities, sleeping IC, OC anxiety at ‘going alone’ - all good reasons it might be much easier all round to see out the event with your old character’s group.
Ideally even a just-for-the-weekend character would be very different from your previous one. No one expects you to have a comprehensive back-up kit, but there’s usually a bit you can do to differentiate - lineage, or lack of it, is a good start, as is removing any ‘signature’ kit. Can you discreetly ask around your group and your neighbours to borrow a different coat, cloak, tunic, hat etc. for the rest of the event?
For seeing out an event, it can be quite fun to play ‘Anvil tourist’ - a generic sort of person from [Nation] who doesn’t have strong opinions about anything and is just there to see the sights. And if you stumble upon something that does look genuinely intriguing, but your previous character would have no interest in, or good reason to avoid - bonus!
An example from play - my real-life husband was playing a Dawnish earl, who tragically fell in battle on the Saturday, along with most of the rest of our group! As we were there with our son (and I was not up for parenting solo for the rest of the event while he started over in a new nation) he spent the rest of the weekend as a generic yeofolk. The IC explanation, such as it was, was that Rodric Sailmaker had been looking after the rest of the House’s camp in Greater Anvil (i.e. off-screen) and had been summoned to Anvil proper to help pack up and hold things together. He put away his fine swooshy tunics and crown, let his hair down, threw on a generic waistcoaty bit he’d packed for monstering, and generally laid low, talking mostly to other yeofolk and avoiding anything resembling Earlish business.
Good advice above. A spare shirt, headscarf, hat… can be all you need to establish a different looking character.
As you note, you CAN end up in the same group and nation, to stick with OOC friends… but bear in mind that you’ll have to introduce yourself all over again IC…
This has led to folks starting “quick” characters with OOC friends in other nations for the rest of the event, or the year. Try out somewhere new, fresh faces, different flavour of play… It can be fun.
Please note from previous experience it is very difficult to operate a computer and mouse in full armour, so if your death happened in full clank we recommend dropping that off first and then coming to GOD…
While there are exceptions after your grace period runs out you are ‘Terminal’.
I have seen people grey up their faces, cough up fake blood and have bigs wakes, or roleplay saying goodbye to friends and family etc. Which can be incredibly intense roleplay.
I actually had the problem of dying on the Saturday morning.
I was in the Brass Coast and didn’t want to start a new coast character as, I was VERY upset and, getting mistaken for my previous character would make me go “POP” (And that’d not fair to people just wanting to RP)
All I had was my Freeborn kit and my monster kit. After some head scratching I realised I could play a Navarr (In a pinch a Wintermark Steiner or Marcher Beater). I took on a name that was a Welsh play on John Doe to get me through the weekend, and I am still playing the same character 7-years later.
