What is 'normal' for you?

Middle of the road.

Group: 3 Players + 1 DM
Three are married, one is gay but otherwise attached. All age 30-35 "normal professionals". Three of us have known each other for almost 15 years. The new guy's wife works with my wife, and he recently joined a few years ago. We try to meet once a week, but usually ends up being 3 times a month due to schedule conflicts.

Wealth: Fairly normal, a touch below average though. I usually DM, and assign treasure by hand and rarely consult the random treasure charts. While there may be less stuff, it's usually more useful to the group. PCs can usually buy most potions, minor scrolls. Weapons and armor up to +1. Better stuff is usually custom commissioned from NPC's or as quest rewards. None of the PCs have ever Crafted a thing.

Sourcebooks: Generally just the 3 core books, and the 4 Complete books. This is mostly because that's all we all own. If someone had another book they'd want to use, I'd look it over and most likely allow it. No Psionics!

Characters: Fairly high Point Buy. I don't remember the exact number but it allows you to have Ability Scores of 18,16,14,12,10,8. No level adjusted races. While I'd allow monstrous LA0 races such as kobolds or something, no one has an interest in that sort of thing, really. No one ever goes after Prestige Classes. Not too much multi-classing. I've even houseruled out Favored Classes, and eliminated multiclass XP penalties, but still no one cares. Max Hit Points every level. No one ever plays a melee type. Never any cohorts.

Gameplay: More hack and slash than roleplay. As much as I despise them, my group actually likes a good dungeon crawl with no plot to get in the way. PC death is virtually non-existant, though it has happened. PC's usually have to try very hard to get themselves killed, though. I don't fudge any die rolls, and roll fairly open in front of everyone, so they know I play things pretty straightforward. To allieviate the bad luck that's bound to happen, I have a psuedo-Action point system that gets the PCs out of trouble fairly often. Many a death has been overcome with the use of these cards. 99% of my adventures are homebrew, usually with ideas taken from various sources such as movies, books or even other adventures. Though we are currently running RHoD, because it's my favorite module ever. This campaign is the first time we've passed level 9. Characters are level 11 at the moment, and may end at level 12 depending on how they fare in the last part of this adventure. When this adventure ends, we're starting anew again. Someone else is going to be DMing so that I get to play again!

That pretty much covers it...
Later!
Gruns

MoogleEmpMog said:

How do you avoid it? Fudged dice, narrative mechanics, easier encounters, or exceptionally tactically gifted players? Or some combination of the above.

Click to expand...

I can't speak for others' groups, but ours does it, in all seriousness, through sheer luck on our parts. Our DM has only fudged one PC death so far (ruling in a weasely situation that non-lethal damage was dealt instead of lethal), and the rest of still had to wade in and save her backside, so it wasn't a free pass. But, usually we either know to bail out before we get past the point of no TPK, or the dice suddenly go our way (or both).

Peace & Luv, Liz

5 PCs, generally with cohorts and assorted allied NPCs.

Wealth is generally higher than normal (see below).

Few dungeons, and basically no multileveled mega dungeons.

Usually, there's plenty room in combat as rooms are a significant fraction of the battlemat space.

Mostly classed opponents (one of the reasons wealth is generally high).

We generally have fewer fights per rest period than 4, but fights usually have lots of tough guys.

Point buy is high, at least 32. Of course, classed foes and customized monsters have similarly generous stats.

Complete books and SC are generally allowed, with other books being applied more selectively. Bo9S is going through a shakedown period, approval is mixed.

Several people DM their own campaigns (in different settings and usually continuities) and we rotate campaigns.

Magic items are generally available for purchase. Currently we're experimenting with non-item magic items that are selected each level to keep wealth down and avoid the tendency to convert any kind of financial reward into magical power.

PC death varies by campaign. In some campaigns, particularly with high level PCs, it was unusual when a PC didn't die each session. Of course, at that point, bringing them back isn't so bad - especially with the far cheaper Revenance/Revivify combo to avoid level loss.

We game with friends and are all mid/early twenties.

I find this thread fascinating as it illustrates what I've been trying to advocate so strongly and so often - Differences are cool. Our imaginations are vast and unique to each of us and in a pastime such as this, assuming anything about how a campaign should be run is akin to madness.

The frequency of PC death is a particularly interesting aspect. Even I'm surprised at the level of diversity and how often the grim reaper seems to visit some campaigns. Definitely food for thought.

So now its my turn...

- I DM 99% of all our campaigns.
- My campaign group has 6-8 players not including the DM, age 27-42, 3 players are female.
- Group members come from 3 different States to play (NY, NJ and PA)
- Players are all close, long time friends.
- The average length of a session is 8 hours.
- For the most part we are only able to play once a month.
- Campaign universe is homebrew and has been developed on and off for over 25 years.
- All Adventures are homebrew. Most are non-linear, multi-session affairs spanning a mix of locations (urban, dungeon, forest, desert, etc).
- Numerous house rules exist for magic, race, combat, etc.
- Low-level magic is very common. As it becomes more powerful is becomes more rare.
- Adventures are World and Character driven. Character origins and culture effect the World Design and vice versa.
- Character personality, Story and cinematic action superscede rules and realism.
- Classes are largely RAW with minor house rule additions. Multi-class common.
- Races are very diverse and include many homebrew species.
- Race/Class combos are highly varied.
- PC death is extremely rare. PC near-death/serious injury is fairly common.
- Currently campaigns do not last long (past 12th Level) due to scheduling conflicts.

So much more I could say but its late and even I sleep eventually. Or so they say. :\

AD

Using the OP's order, for us:

- 5 players usual, often each playing more than 1 PC at a time giving a party size of 8-12
- wealth by level table??? we don't use that DMG!
- available magic other than the real basics is by random roll unless you're in a *huge* place e.g. Waterdeep
- books and materials available are by DM decree
- house rules have largely replaced RAW, at least for our 1e games
- settings vary; some homebrew, some not
- campaigns are at least several years long and slow-advancing, and collapse at the 10th-11th level range
- PC death is inevitable; sooner or later, you *will* die. The question is whether your party will bother to bring you back...
- we almost always cover the "classic" roles, sometimes several times each, in our parties
- character and story-driven play mostly, with occasional bursts of player-driven mayhem
- about 2/3 male players, but this varies over time
- dungeon crawls are relatively common
- we only let in people that either the DM knows from out of game, or at least one other player knows from out of game and can vouch for
- sessions are weekly with occasional gaps, about 4-5 hours each including gossip etc.
- play at the DM's residence whenever possible, as that's where all the gear is.

Lanefan

- last couple sessions (and probably the next few) have had 3 players w/ 2 characters apiece + DM, but prior to that we averaged 5-6 players/session, and if all the players showed up at once we'd have 9 (+DM), in which case obviously we'd only have 1 character apiece
- we play 1E AD&D which doesn't have codified wealth by level guidelines, but my perception is that our characters are generally poorer and worse equipped than would be expected from following the rules exactly
- the only magic items that have ever been available for purchase were a few potions of healing; we've also been unable to find anyone willing to buy a magic item for anywhere near book-value
- strictly the 1E AD&D PH and DMG; no Unearthed Arcana or later books or non-official stuff from magazines, third-party publications, etc. (though monsters from all the monster books, including OSRIC's Monsters of Myth, have been used)
- lots of the 1E AD&D RAW are ignored or streamlined to make the game move faster; the other DMs have all used individual initiative (a la 2E AD&D) but when it's my turn in the DM chair I plan to reverese that heresy (I also plan to introduce UA, if the other players don't riot)
- adventures so far have been homebrewed in a pseudo-Middle Earth setting; I also plan to reverse that trend by running modules (which the other players have been warned of and are okay with)
- the campaign has been going for about 2 1/2 years (including a restart after a TPK) and the highest level characters are at 4th
- PC death is fairly uncommon, at least recently (maybe a dozen total PC deaths over the length of the campaign); no characters have been brought back from the dead
- we have a cleric, a thief, and lots of fighters, but no single-classed MU; current party's racial mix is 1 gnome, 1 dwarf, 1 half-elf, and 3 humans; absent characters are a half-orc, another gnome, and 3 more humans
- character development beyond the broadest stereotypes is nonexistent; the DM usually has some story he's trying to interest us in but from a player perspective that's just an excuse to kill things and take their stuff
- the current adventure is all dungeon-crawl, before that was mostly wilderness-based with occasional 1 or 2 session dungeoncrawling interludes (which is where we tended to have the most fun)
- none of the current players are female, but there is a female in the extended player-group
- the principal/original players all met online (at dragonsfoot.org) but have since recruited various friends, co-workers, and family members
-Sessions are 4-5 hours
-sessions are bi-weekly, but wind up averaging about 3 every 2 months due to schedules
-play was at one house for the first 2 years, but has recently moved to a new house as our former host had to drop out of the group temporarily
-player ages range from 11 to late 40s, with most of us in our 30s
-4 of the 10 players in the group (and 1 of the 4 current players) had never played D&D significantly before this campaign

I've only been in my current group for about a year, but that's mainly due to us all being military. People come and go, just a fact of life.

- 7 Players + DM (We count on 5-6 players a week)
- Story driven campaign (story is more important than character development)
- Campaign is 100% homebrew and is the "baby" of the DM.
- PC deaths aren't unfrequent, and they are permanent. Only one character has been saved from death because he was important to the story.
- Wealth level drastically behind the DM average. Most players have less than 1/4 of the suggested wealth.
- Purchasing magic items is virtually impossible.
- Magic armor does not resize to fit people in the same size catagory.
- Any heavy armor has to be custom made to fit the individual and takes months to craft.
- If armor is found, someone must be relatively close to the height and build of the previous owner in order to be able to wear it.
- A magic weapon or armor that provides more than a +1 bonus is considered a minor artifact.
- Regardless of your actual ranks, don't expect to ever know anything through knowledge skills or spellcraft. "I don't care if you got a 92, you've never seen anything like that before."
- Books are pretty much open to WotC and AEG material and a few others, but we keep finding out about different books that the DM uses and we are allowed to use after the fact.
- Classes are restricted to cirtain ones. The DM uses cirtain classes to fill specific roles in his game. If you aren't in those roles, you can't be that class.
- Arcane casters do not get thier spells automatically each level. Every wiz/sor/bard must find thier spells during game play. (and since the entire campaign is already written...well, let me just say don't play a theme caster)
- The classic four are sort of covered.
- Story driven play where you have to roleplay out buying your groceries half the time.
- At 9th level a party of 7 PC's is extatic to find a few hundred gold.
- Rules are altered on the fly to "enhance" the story or when they don't simulate a good "realistic" situation.
- Torn Assunder is used (A book I'm personally beginning to loathe)
- A good mix of "dungeons", city and wilderness encounters. The "dungeons" are never too large as they are a specific place such as a fortress, keep, mine etc.
- Oppenents always start combat fully buffed up since they ALWAYS get the drop on us.


I think I'm starting rant so I'll just stop there...

-group size has been fluctuating for some time, with players leaving and new players suddenly appearing. About a month ago, we dropped to three players + GM (a slow decline from a high of nine last May); tonight we added a new member, although my wife sat out the game.
-group was previously two groups with some shared members, one that met Sundays at a player's apartment (and had been for about a dozen years) and a midweek game hosted at my place starting about two years ago (we've met just about every night of the week at some point, with Thursday now the permanent night). Back in January, an incident led to a month long hiatus for the midweek group, and the Sunday group converted to boardgames. After that, the host of the Sunday group joined the midweek group which resumed meeting, while the Sunday group converted to a biweekly boardgames group meeting Fridays.
-I've been the primary DM of both groups for a while now, and my house rules have generally been accepted and used by anyone else who DMs. Sunday DMship was transfered around, while I have always DMed the midweek group (for the first time tonight, I relinquished the screen to one of my players)
-Lately, we've stuck to Dungeon adventures and adventure paths, though homebrews of varying length have been common in the past, some lasting a single session before being abandoned, others (typically mine, thought I've had many of the former) lasting into the low-teens.
-Years ago, during 2E, it was common for each player to use two characters. As membership increased, we dropped to one each, but with the decline some players are now using two again.
-Characters and monsters gain additional stats and feats; current typical progression is stat points every 3 levels, and a feat every level without a stat point. Almost all WotC material is available for use in feats and alternate class features.
-Wealth by level is a rough guideline; I might audit a character or two to see if I've been too generous or stingy but I don't follow them to the exact number.
-Typically, magic items can be purchased; whether commissioned or a trader bought it off an adventurer or what, it's kept off stage and not worried about.
-Death has become rarer since I've added action points/hero points, and charcters remain alive until negative their con score. If raised, a character loses no experience but gains a negative level until he gains a new level.
-Sessions start about 5:30pm, after I get home from work and change. They've gone until 2am or later in the past, but with myself and another player working in the mornings, we've been finishing by 11 or midnight. Host typically provides dinner, although players have provided meals in the past.
-Divine and Arcane are almost always covered, as is some form of fighter. Thief-type is typically skipped.
-Girls start showing up in the group about seven years ago, usually sister or SO of a player (and how much they've been a player vs. a player's SO has varied). Our membership was three men (including me) and my wife; our new player of the night is a female coworker of one of the players.
-Role-play is typically third person (my fighter says...) with occasional lines spoken in character.
-Cohesive storylines are attempted, but I have no qualms about retconing something to make it flow better; I'd rather say the new character is an old friend than spend half a session getting people to trust her. Not having fun as a dwarf sorcerer? Well, hey, looks like you've been a dwarf fighter since we started. No, must have been someone else throwing fireballs last week, you were cutting up goblins with that axe.
-Faux-confrontational style. I'll talk about wanting to kill characters, and curse when I fail to confirm the crit, but I'm much happier when the players win and can keep exploring the story.

My players are all mentally disorganized young people with ADHD, and I'm a manic-depressive lunatic, so my games tend to be rather random. There are only a handful of "rules" that just about every one of the games I've ever run has followed, most of them concerning players' characters...

- Players range between five and seven in number; my current offline game has seven, with my online campaign at six, though a seventh will likely be joining soon. They are all good friends of mine, and all the players friends with each other--we never play with strangers.
- Nobody *ever* plays a general arcane spellcaster, like a Wizard, Sorcerer, or even Wu Jen. The closest my friends have ever gotten to such a character is a Warlock in the offline game and a Beguiler in the online one.
- Only one guy in each group ever plays a healer, and because he's the only one willing to do it and it's such an important role, he always does it, even if he hates it. Back in the days when I got to play, this chump was me, though I generally enjoyed the role.
- If warforged are an available race, there will be 1d3 warforged characters in every game. If they are not, 1d3+1 players will complain about it. I'm not sure where the extra one comes from...
- My players insist all dice be rolled in the open. My players also insist on doing pretty stupid things sometimes, so character deaths generally occur at a rate of at least one per month. Reincarnation usually follows, though one player in my offline group—the fellow doing most of those stupid things—simply introduces a new character using a class or a race he's never tried before every time he dies. (I am pretty sure at this point that his goal in playing is just to experience every single race-class combination possible, each for a few weeks, and then kill the character off.)
- Players are free to play just about anything they want to—class, race, alignment (for the most part), and so on, as long as they agree to get along with each other. However...
- ...Every single female (roughly one-third of the group's total players) wants to play a depraved, violently psychotic madman.

Everything else, from scheduling to role-playing styles, follows little pattern. Sessions vary in length from two hours to nearly ten, and can occur the standard once a week, once a month, or every other day for a fortnight (generally only in the online game, though). Treasure allotment is a tricky business, especially when your players sometimes don't keep track of what they've got and you can't remember what that strange black wand they found was actually supposed to be since you accidentally stuck your notes in the jeans you just washed, or gave to the Goodwill, or set on fire, or something to that effect. Wealth tends to stay within DMG guidelines but we are all so completely scatterbrained that it has fluctuated greatly at times. Magic item availability also varies wildly from campaign to campaign...and indeed month to month, or even week to week, in the same campaign, as my players and I both forget what we had previously established. A player with strong role-playing tendencies one week will, the next session, bemoan the lack of big hairy monsters to hack away at. And so on, and so on...

How do we avoid PC deaths?

-Mechanical things like making sure the PCs have better than average hit points, exactly how varies from one campaign and DM to the next+rules to help insure PCs stabalize or can get help if unconcious. Action points help in some games as well. That along with never playing at high levels usually is sufficient to ensure that PCs don't die before help arrives.

- fudging rolls - but I think that happens more with the other DM than it does me

- narrative combat effects - which is my prefered method. If a PC drops below 0 hp they might have a near-death-experiance which may help develop the character or the plot but leaves them with some roleplaying or mechanical quirk, a here to for unknown property of a magic item might save the PC but effectivly destroy the magic item in the process, or something else which allwos the character to survive bust still has in game consequences.

- essentially if there is a conflict between the rules and the overall story the story wins. However, given the mechanical advantages given PCs and occasional fudging narrative intervention is rare.