I'm a bad DM part 2

[billd91]

True enough. I consider myself lucky to belong to a group where the PCs play an integral role in the development of the campaign; I don't think I could play in a group that would re-roll an entire party just to see what was at the end of a dungeon.

But it's not always just to find out what's at the end of a dungeon. Considering the initial post was about an ongoing Age of Worms campaign, the "end" of the campaign could be about a whole lot more than just the end of the dungeon.
Happens in Cthulhu games all the time where the stakes are similarly high.

 

[billd91]

Umm, because some people *aren't* playing DnD?

Read the Player's Handbook. If you take away the chance that PCs can die, you aren't playing DnD anymore. Which is fine. Just be honest about what you're doing.

Let's not try to enforce some kind of D&D orthodoxy here. The DMG is quite explicit in saying that there lots of different play styles and ways to vary and change the game. It's all still D&D.

 

[Elf Witch]

Umm, because some people *aren't* playing DnD?

Read the Player's Handbook. If you take away the chance that PCs can die, you aren't playing DnD anymore. Which is fine. Just be honest about what you're doing.

Please point out where in the players handbook it says that players have to have a chance to die to be playing DnD? I refer you to the old rule of 0 you know the one that the rules are guidelines and the palyers and DM can change them to fit their game style.


I could just as easily use the argument that if you don't allow elves in your game you are not really playing DnD because they are in the players handbook.

Their are other consquences than dying for example I played a game where if -11 you ended up in front of your diety and were sent back. You lost a level but you automatically came back. It made sense for the game we were in. Pawns of the gods at war.

Long before Eberron and it's action points I had a DM introduce Karma points like in Shadowrun. You started with one and you earned them for different things. You could use these to cheat death.


I have read several threads on DMs who have taken out any chance of raise dead in their game dead is dead. I would not play in that kind of game but I wouldn't tell them that they need to be honest and admit that they are not playing DnD.

 

[Ridley's Cohort]

With a lot of failures in a group with relatively good Will saves and such awful rolls on the 3d4, any party could get TPKed.

I would note that I think that the MM MF is a crappy design in terms of game fun. Piratecat had noted this when his Defenders went up against a bunch of MFs. Regardless of whether it is balanced/fair or not, it sure sucked the fun out of the session for those players whose PCs happened to fail their save in round 1. 3d4 can be a long time in 3e.

If it were up to me, the duration would be changed to 1d4 and other tweaks made to balance things out.

 

[Waylander the Slayer]

After reading the posts the reason why it was a "TPK" (even though it was'nt) was due to a few factors:

1. The party is not balanced and AoW requires a balanced party. Even then the adventures are tough. A party without a tough figher, cleric etc. is asking for trouble. I believe it was stated in the first adventure/ setting info that this should be considered before DMing; that a unbalanced party would get wiped out. As such it was the DM's responsibility to address this with the players before hand or change the challanges to suit the NPC's.

2. The party used bad tactics. They knew the final bad guy was a mind flayer.

3. It is impossible to guage whether or not 1) the gapple checks would have suceeded 2) how long it would have taken the MF to extract the brain as such it is impossible to say what would have happened.

 

[RFisher]

A DM should be fair. To me this means that a PC death should be the result of the player's choices. They should have sufficient chance to escape deadly situations. Unfortunately this isn't black & white; it's a fine line. I have been known to pull punches, mainly when I feel the chance of death is getting high but the player's choices haven't (yet) justified it.

So, having said that, I always strive to go all out whether it's a peon or a BBEG. I'm there to provide a challenge for the players to overcome. It's a hollow victory if I don't give it my all.

Heck, they outnumber me. On the bad side of three brains to one odds, I'm lucky to provide a challenge at all. (^_^)

I guess the other caveat is that I'm biased towards (or at least I try to be) letting player creativity win.