Do you kill off an important character?

[CrimsonGenius]

Or just have randos killed.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

Discounting Isekai, depends on the need of the story. I have an MC doomed to die once his arc is complete in one story, and two key allies have already perished.

 

[Hoshino]

Yes-nya.

 

[Eldoria]

It depends on their narrative role. A character's death can be tragic, open social wounds, usher in a new era, or simply serve as a shock value. Personally, I wouldn't randomly kill off characters, even if they're just supporting characters. They must fulfill their narrative role before their stories end... and leave meaning for the readers.

 

[Representing_Tromba]

Depends, are they useful because they push the plot forward or are they useful because they are powerful? If the latter, consider making them a more emotionally stable character for the Mc before offing them.

 

[Wenlock]

I don't really think of it as character killing? It's like if I drop these personalities with these backgrounds in this reality, who has the destiny to survive. So it can be either of them dying. All depends on their luck and skill which I know are fictional. But I make sure to write with impartiality. Basically no plot armor. Do stupid stuff and you die.

 

[Amrasil207]

I did. Nyx lost someone, and she's getting kinda unstable.

 

[OCQueen96]

It depends on how it serves the plot. If it drives the plot forward, then sometimes I do. Or if I'm trying to reflect on how a character's poor decisions get them killed, then I will. Even so, I rarely kill off my characters.

 

[Macha]

I try not to add a character to my story if they are not important. Every characters serve a purpose. Their death will be very educational for the MC.

 

[expentio]

It likely depends. I got one kill for a more important side character. Yet in general, I fear killing off the cast is doing more harm in the long run.
For some reason, some say that killing main characters is a brave choice, but to me, this seems in many cases like a stupid decision in the long run, if you end the one character some are following the story for.

My personal extreme example would be The Walking Dead. More prominently, Fear the Walking Dead.
Spoiler:

Spoiler: mild spoiler

In the second season, they kill off the dad of the family we follow. Problem, after that we were stuck with the idiots. None of them having ever made a good impression.

That's the big thing for the franchise. Even in the original series, they continued killing the cast until we were stuck with a completely different group. Yet most feel like a cheap replacement.

Whenever an important character is killed, you should be very sure that it served a purpose, but more importantly, you need to be aware that forever something is going to be lost afterwards. You need to be aware of the role, and the interest that character garnered throughout the story. And if you kill them, whatever intrigue the story won through this act will hopefully offset this loss.

 

[eternalparticle]

In many cases, death makes the character important. I mean certain characters exist to be sacrificed at a crucial point simply to generate a sense of certain emotion. Obviously if the story has plots of life and death, I always think whether a character will live or die when making them. That is to say it is only possible when you already have a pre-decided ending for the story which enables you to know of which characters need to live. So would I kill an important character? No... but if I did then that character was important because they were supposed to die.

 

[MajorKerina]

I'm killing multiples. Well, killing is kind of a broad term. Depends on whether you consider a human form converted into energy killing. But it's important to the story as a foundational event kind of like in Berserk where the entire army crew suffers a really bad fate.

 

[Worthy39]

Yes, but not the SUPER relevant ones, though I have a feeling my final arc could end in a massacre.

 

[C.Details]

If it's a character the mc idolizes as a hero or the population admires then maybe, maybe if you're planning to have some of the plot be driven because of the character's death.

Radical or angry groups form and take action that changes how the mc sees people or the world.
Or at the very least explore character motivations.

 

[Cookiez_N_Potionz]

I'm seeing that people are getting tired of shock value. They want a purpose behind it...I guess. A side character we don't really know much about dies because the author don't wanna kill off a main character. This happened in Stranger Things, instead of killing Max they put her in a coma

 

[CharlesEBrown]

Then again, I have a scene that will probably play out very differently by the time I get to it (50-60 chapters I think), where a dead MC meets an ancestor.

"Wow, we do look alike."
(Ancestor) chuckled lightly. "Just be grateful you were born male. These features work on us guys but look awful on women. This your first funeral?"
"Yeah. Guess you've seen quite a few?"
"Four. Though only one really counted - they brought me back to life after the first one, the second was staged to trap an enemy, and the third was held by an old friend who hadn't realized I'd left the world because if I hadn't one of us would have to kill the other, and I just couldn't bear either outcome. But we've been chatting too long - some of your old friends and acquaintances are waiting for you; come," the older figure said, extending a hand.

 

[empalgepuk]

Not yet, but I will.