My First TPK

[Mitchbones]

Wow. Just simply wow...I can't believe I just killed the entire party. I am really bummed about the campaign ending at level 2 with me telling them how it won't end till 20 (WotBS adventure path). I feel really horrible that happened, though I did tell them I didn't suggest they camp there, or that they should stay and fight the level 2 or 3 raging/enlarged barbarian.

Does a TPK make me a bad GM? They all wanted in on my next campaign, but I feel as if i have let them down by not going easier on them.

</vent>

 

[Wik]

Nah. There are always ways to pick it up.

You could have the PC's raised, for example. Or you could just have 'em roll up new characters, have 'em come in on the plot, and suffer some sort of penalty - as if they missed something (which they did).

And, from here on in, they're gonna be much more careful.

 

[blargney the second]

Have them make a new party of more competent characters. This group's first encounter is in the same spot 10 seconds after their last group bites it. Make sure someone has the ability to speak with recently dead people at least once.

 

[Mitchbones]

Problem is, I am tired of running Adventure Paths, or published adventures. I was excited to make my own homebrew world and adventures, so that wouldn't be possible.

 

[pogre]

Hey!!! Ya' popped yer' cherry!

A TPK does make a DM feel bad for a while, but honestly it will make your game more fun in the long run. Your players know more than ever before there is always a danger they will not survive an encounter. That's part of the thrill of the game for my group.

If you are excited about running your homebrew it sounds like you have a clean slate to start with. Take a couple weeks off, set-up the parameters, and get it off and running.

At least your TPK was at 2nd level - my last two were at 5th level!

 

[The Thayan Menace]

TPKillah!

Does a TPK make me a bad GM?

Not even. Welcome to the RBDM Brotherhood.



-Samir Asad / Thayan Menace

 

[KingCrab]

I like blargney's idea. They'll have fun getting their revenge, and they can use the scroll to catch up and get back in on the adventure.

Personally I think the fact that they know they can die makes the game more exciting. Just don't punish them over the death. Get excited with them over making the new party and have 'em go in and bash some heads.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

I don't think that a TPK makes you a bad DM (or a good one for that matter). However, it will ensure that your players are more careful in the future. They now know that you aren't afraid to kill their PC's. This is a good thing. I think there is nothing worse than a game where the DM refuses to kill a PC*. This often results in a game where the players know that the DM won't kill their PC's so they start taking bigger risks and doing stupid things to see how far they can take the situation.

Olaf the Stout

* I'm not saying that DM's should go out of their way to kill PC's. They just shouldn't find some magical way of miraculously saving them if a PC does something really stupid that would normally result in death (like jumping through the door to the obviously evil plane of nastiness for example). In my games, if you do something incredibly dumb, you run the risk of getting killed.

 

[wedgeski]

Wherever the dice fall, TPK's may follow. There's no need to re-engineer the campaign though, just start again with a new group. I love the suggested idea of a second group of adventurers stumbling in on the grizzly demise of the previous group.

 

[jdrakeh]

There's no need to re-engineer the campaign though, just start again with a new group. I love the suggested idea of a second group of adventurers stumbling in on the grizzly demise of the previous group.

In my experience, those artifical re-boots do a lot to kill any interest that players have in the campaign. Doing X again, possibly multiple times, until the group 'gets it right' can be a real fun-killing drag. I think that he's probably better off running a different campaign.