Penalties besides PC death

[Warren Okuma]

My favorite is kill them.

 

[Ringan]

Thanks for all the replies so far. I'm getting a lot of good ideas!

 

[shilsen]

My favorite is kill them.

Meh! Then they just stop suffering. Any good torturer knows that the one thing you never, ever do is kill your victim.

 

[Kahuna Burger]

So long as you play out the consequences of their poor choices, simply failing can be a heavy punishment. If they are trying to rescue an ally from a mutual enemy, then they've lost an ally when they fail. That can gall players but also inspire them to make up for their actions.

I agree with this. If they are heavily into the game world, then making sure that their actions can effect their world is all it takes to make successes and failures meaningful. In "death punished" games I often feel that my character's life or death is the only thing that I effect. It usually lessens my investment in the game.

 

[Plane Sailing]

My favorite is kill them.

In what way do you think this one-line interjection contributes to the thread?

I'm sure you are not just trying to inflate your postcount, but we would like you to make some effort to contribute in a way appropriate to the topic in hand.

Thanks

 

[LostSoul]

If the players are into the story-end of things, threaten the story-stuff they care about.

What's going on in the story? What are the PCs trying to accomplish? What drives them? What do they care about?

Threaten that. When they fail (and they will), it should have serious consequences on the things (and people) they care about.

Where is your story at now? What do the PCs care about? Post some of that and I'm sure you'll be swamped with ideas.

 

[howandwhy99]

Honestly? Just about anything that can be defined as losing. If the point of the game is to win, by how ever you define it, losing is the reverse. Ya didn't win. Let 'em lose in whatever way they sadly do.

 

[smootrk]

Although I understand the position that you do not like to kill the characters, nothing seems more unrealistic than losing the fear of death in a game where combat with enemies is one of the pivotal parts of the game.

What do you do when the characters decide that at level 5, they embark on a Dragon-slaying mission, despite your (as DM) efforts to slow, dissuade, or otherwise plot against them to thwart that nutty idea? Do you continue to come up with implausible situations where the dragon is never where it is expected to be found?, or there is always a level appropriate foe that gets in the way?

I just don't pamper players that way. I love the role play, and I am always rooting for the players to overcome the obstacles placed before them, but should they throw caution to the wind and do something really inappropriate, then they will surely face the consequence of such actions.

 

[Glyfair]

Although I understand the position that you do not like to kill the characters, nothing seems more unrealistic than losing the fear of death in a game where combat with enemies is one of the pivotal parts of the game.

To you perhaps, but this thread isn't about debating using other things besides death to "penalize" PCs (or players). If you want to debate whether it is a good idea for not, I recommend this thread.

I'd respond to some of your points, but I don't want to hijack Ringan's thread with what would likely be a lengthy diversion.

 

[Piratecat]

Once your cleric can raise dead, death loses a lot of its sting. I thus try to emphasize social consequences instead of mechanical ones. Some adventures have far-reaching consequences if the heroes fail... everyone depending on the heroes react according to their success or failure.

Capture is also a brutal punishment. Many heroes would rather die than be captured. I try to find solutiuons that lead to more adventures, even if they're gritty and full of the PCs being on the outs for a time.