True Death

Heroes do not die like ordinary people. Instead, they will only die under certain circumstances. When this happens, they undergo something called True Death. If a Hero would undergo True Death due to the consequences of either their own actions or the actions of a Villain or Monster, they may spend 3 🜉 to beseech their eidolon to save their life, in which case they will be revived at 1 HP either during the next round of combat or once they have made contact with their eidolon. If they are unable to do this, they are gone forever, and cannot be resurrected by any means. If they still have 🜉 remaining, it is distributed to the other Heroes by the dead Hero’s player. Any excess 🜉 that would bring any Hero above a total of 10 instead merely dissipates. If there are no alive party members except for them, the 🜉 enters the 🜉 Pool.

There is no mechanical way to help another Hero avoid True Death, but players who would prefer their characters die instead of another’s are free to ask the GM to let this happen. If the GM agrees, then their character suffers True Death instead of the intended target. If a Hero undergoes True Death on behalf of another, they cannot revive themselves using 🜉.

Memorial Scenes

Character death in Last Odyssey is designed to be a rare and emotionally impactful event, and the group may need to take some time to process it, even if it was preplanned. If appropriate, instead of immediately distributing the dead Hero’s 🜉 to the remaining party members, the group may instead do so during a special Scene called a Memorial. Unlike other Scenes, Memorials have no central question. Instead, each player states how their Hero responds to the loss of their party member, and then shares their favorite memory of the dead Hero. The GM also shares their favorite memory, and then the dead Hero’s 🜉 is distributed among the living members of their party by the dead Hero’s player.

A Warrior’s Death

Antagonists do not suffer True Death when they are downed, but the party may choose to kill them after the battle is over if they wish. In contrast, warriors, whether on the side of the party or not, are much more fragile. When a warrior is downed by lethal damage, the GM should roll the outcome die against a number of their choice to determine if they die. The target number for this is up to the GM, but in general fragile warriors will need a 3 or below, average warriors will need a 5 or below, and very tough warriors will need an 8 or even a 9 or below in order to survive.