[Milawe]

I definitely don't knock permadeath, and I don't have a gripe with persistant characters through death either. Honestly, I feel that both is a risk/reward type of thing, and I don't think one is much better than the other when talking outside the scope of a specific game. Permadeath doesn't make anyone play more "realistically" than a non-peramdeath game with harsh penalties or even undesireable death penalties. The game designs that create unrealistic play are games like WoW where you will die in order to get somewhere faster or other games where you can use death as a quick teleport. That, however, is game design choice.

On our game, death is harsh. If a character chooses to die, everyone in the game knows that they're making a huge sacrifice, and sometimes, you just don't come back from it. You VERY rarely see anyone doing something that they know will result in death without a great deal of RP to back it up because it results in months and sometimes years of work.

I've been parts of permadeath games where the character is designed to die from the beginning. That's RP, but it's not exactly always realistic. It tells a story, and sometimes, it tells a GREAT story. It doesn't necessarily mean that it ALWAYS tells a good story or that it's always good RP.

In ANY game I play, permadeath or not, I always try to survive, and if I can survive, then I always try to excel. Depending on the game design, I will usually be cautious and diplomatic until I am able to begin manipulating things my way. This is consistant for me in permadeath or non-permadeath games. I'm thankful to a good friend who convinced me to try permadeath games, but my love will always be persistant character play with a serious death penalty. Above all, I look for RP enforced games. I find that to be the biggest sticking point for me in looking for a MUD regardless of there being permadeath or not.