Part III: Your Saving Mechanics: Remember to SAVE OFTEN
Checkpoint - Checkpoints are physical places Adventurers use to record their journeys. They are usually in an Inn or Tavern, but any place considered Neutral or a Safe Zone can have a Checkpoint.
Save - The Data itself that Adventurers record. There can be multiples Saves at a Checkpoint and they can be overwritten. The Data links the Adventurer to a particular Checkpoint, allowing them to return after a Defeat.
Quick Save - Can be initiated anywhere and so are handy before going into dangerous areas. Upon Defeat, an Adventurer can Load a Quick Save to return to the beginning of a dangerous area to try again. Quick Save Data is erased upon reloading, so unless another Quick Save is made again, upon Defeat the Adventurer returns to their last Save/Checkpoint. If there is no Save Data to return to, the Adventurer will be Eliminated.
Saving is not Time Travel
It ensures an Adventurer has some place in time and space to return to upon being Defeated. It also dictates how fast Monsters and Adventurers recover (usually instant which is why a Monster may have 100% HP (Heart Power) upon returning). Time is still moving forward when a Reload is happening.
Part V: Death
To Be Defeated - To lose a Fight and be returned to the last Checkpoint/Save. Only Adventurers can be Defeated. NPCs (Non-Permanent Construct/Consciousness) become Casualties if they perish in a battle or war. NPCs who die of old age, disease or a freak accident become Memories. Monsters have various End Fight Mechanics upon Destruction.
Destroyed - When a Monster is Destroyed, one of several things may happen, depending on their Level. The lowest level Monsters become EXP (EXemptiave Permadeath) to be absorbed by Adventurers and Heroes. Many drop EXP and leave a body to be harvested for parts. Most Monsters often run off before they're truly Destroyed, only leaving EXP and loot. Boss Monsters can do all three of these actions, but which action they do seems entirely random most of the time. The Destruction of a Boss Monster often has effects on the environment, both positive and negative. For experienced Adventurers, Destroying a Boss is just the first half of the Fight.
Eliminated - Permanently Defeated- An Adventurer is Eliminated when they have no Save to return to. Heroes can only be Eliminated by a Legendary Boss, usually as a Self-Sacrifice to save NPCs. Such a death allows a Hero to become a Legendary Hero.
A Note on Being Defeated: Defeat is traumatic--- during a Fight, Adventurers are burned, frozen, cut, scratched, and whatever other Abilities can be used. When HP drops to zero, the Adventurer is essentially erased for a few seconds before the Save Options appear. During this erasure, there is no sound but a "loud silence" (an endless buzzing). There is only nothingness to see (not blackness, nothingness). The Adventurer feels nothing, is disconnected from memories, feelings and sensations, the very self, until a Reload.
It's believed being Eliminated is this experience, but all the time.
Remember to Save Often.