a dying message

[Zakilevo]

I was thinking how about we add a feature for the hero class?

Maybe give them a chance to write a word or two before they die?

[Indirik]

This has been requested often. I can see the attraction of it. But every time I think of someone writing one, I always have an involuntary little cringe. I can only imagine the horribly bad messages people are going to write about their heroic deaths...

If you're dead, you're dead. That's it. Make your plans ahead of time. Once your head leaves your neck, it's Game Over.

[songqu88@gmail.com]

Or you could write it before turn change when the battle takes place. Sure, the "I shall die gloriously in battle!" speech might get old if you keep doing it before every battle, and you keep surviving, but hey, eventually it's bound to work, right?

[Gloria]

What about having something written *before* the hero dies and then have it displayed to everyone the moment of his/her death?

[songqu88@gmail.com]

Sounds rather hard to have that sort of text inserted within the actual battle. If it's outside, then meh, sure, go write a will of last words. Usually though...in those battles where a hero actually dies, the hero's unit is outnumbered. Taking into account how the battlefield looks in the melee, as I believe heroes dying by hail of arrows is relatively rare due to the generally fewer hits that are received per round through range, it would require quite the durable body and loud voice for the words to be heard clearly.

If you would, imagine a couple hundred men all screaming and steel clashing against steel. That noise gets really loud (Go to a sports stadium whose home team is good, and that should give a good idea). Furthermore, not only would the hero have to be struck anywhere but the head, neck, vital chest area, and lungs, he'd also have to be capable of being heard above the din. This isn't some quiet deserted square where two combatants engage in one-on-one death duels, and the loser gets to croak out some profound final words, thus forestalling his inevitable dramatic death sequence. In battle, the environment is such that if the guy next to you has fallen, you better not lose concentration or you might be next to fall.

[Geronus]

What about having something written *before* the hero dies and then have it displayed to everyone the moment of his/her death?

Sure that sounds cool until some guy dies fighting 10 monsters in the middle of nowhere, yet his death RP has him gloriously leading a charge into the ranks of the realm's greatest enemy...

[songqu88@gmail.com]

Ah, but monsters are quite the enemy, no?  ;D

Well, in such a case, I guess the knight would be called Don Quixote, yes?  ::)

[vanKaya]

If you're a hero and you're worried about dying, write a last will and leave it with someone you trust in the realm. Tell them to publish it upon your death in your name. All of this IC of course. That way it won't be a outrageous RP but rather a final farewell or last testament sort of thing.

[wraith]

+1 on this request.

I'm thinking more RP of the death than last words but, still..

Heros should get one last message after they die. Options restricted to 'Roleplay' and 'Everyone in this region'. 1000 characters max if worried about verbosity or to focus the mind of the author. One-turn time limit. Normal RP rules apply with extra guidance on the compose page if deemed necessary.

Yes, many may be crap but that's true of any message and we live with it .. but ..  there is far more incentive than any other message to make a hero's last words good, inspiring, memorable, tragic, moving or otherwise remarkable. I suspect the good:bad ratio will be higher than any other type of message.

If nothing else if someone has been working on a years-long story they should have a chance to bring it to a conclusion in-game rather than hoping someone reads their wiki page.

As for last words, unrealistic in-game, maybe (let's face it; choosing whether or not to be able to die in battle is unrealistic) but might be worth it.. some examples of what we could hope for..

"To The Stongest!" - Alexander The Great
"I'll come, I'll come. It's normal for you to call me. But wait a bit more." - Pope Alexander VI (alleged)
"I found Rome brick, I leave it marble." - Emperor Augustus
"I should never have switched from scotch to martinis." - Humphrey Bogart.
"I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country." - Nathan Hale.
"I Love You." - Oliver Hardy.
"Die, my dear? Why, that's the last thing I'll do!" - Groucho Marx
"Thank God I have done my duty...Drink drink, fan fan, rub rub" - Admiral Nelson
"Get these !@#$ing nuns away from me" - Norman Douglas
"Tomorrow, I shall no longer be here." - Nostradamus.
"Strike, man, strike!"  - Sir Walter Raleigh (to his executioner).
"They couldn't hit an elephant at this dis-" - General John Sedgwick
"But the peasants, how do the peasants die?" - Leo Tolstoy
"Are you guys ready?.. let's roll." - Tom Beamer United Flight 93, September 11, 2001.
"Go away, I'm all right." - HG Wells