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Save or suck Medusa petrification
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<blockquote data-quote="Kinak" data-source="post: 5921824" data-attributes="member: 6694112"><p>I don't think they're separable in this case. The monster (and encounter) are designed assuming that you know how to avoid the save or die effect, so any comparable encounter would require the players finding out about the effect beforehand.</p><p></p><p>The petrification on surprise thing can be bad if the DM is out to kill the party but, frankly, we don't need any help in that regard. That said, if my group went into a known medusa's lair without taking precautions, I'd probably petrify a couple in the surprise round and not feel the least bit bad.</p><p></p><p>But if the choice is whether to have save or die effects that you can avoid by modifying your tactics, I'd say absolutely yes. Old school save or die on hit poisons don't do a lot for me, but they're also not in the rules, so I'd say I'm on the same page with them there.</p><p></p><p>As I mentioned above, the GM doesn't need any help killing characters. The ease of <em>every </em>encounter is at the GM's whimsy, regardless of what edition you're running.</p><p></p><p>You can have them make an Int check, give them a clue, wait for them to request information about the monster, or just have them start making saves. You could also fill a room with save-or-die poison gas without any hints or rolls to notice it. And if that's the kind of game you enjoy, go for it. </p><p></p><p>I personally enjoy games where the players are strategic and cautious. That's not for everyone, by any means, but a monster that says "think ahead or start making death saves" is a good start. I'm also a fan of overlevel encounters that need to be avoided or planned for.</p><p></p><p>Now I have to put in clues, but I consider that my job. Some DMs will just kill the party, others will spell out the situation, and yet more won't use monsters like that at all. I think that's awesome.</p><p></p><p>Cheers!</p><p>Kinak</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Kinak, post: 5921824, member: 6694112"] I don't think they're separable in this case. The monster (and encounter) are designed assuming that you know how to avoid the save or die effect, so any comparable encounter would require the players finding out about the effect beforehand. The petrification on surprise thing can be bad if the DM is out to kill the party but, frankly, we don't need any help in that regard. That said, if my group went into a known medusa's lair without taking precautions, I'd probably petrify a couple in the surprise round and not feel the least bit bad. But if the choice is whether to have save or die effects that you can avoid by modifying your tactics, I'd say absolutely yes. Old school save or die on hit poisons don't do a lot for me, but they're also not in the rules, so I'd say I'm on the same page with them there. As I mentioned above, the GM doesn't need any help killing characters. The ease of [I]every [/I]encounter is at the GM's whimsy, regardless of what edition you're running. You can have them make an Int check, give them a clue, wait for them to request information about the monster, or just have them start making saves. You could also fill a room with save-or-die poison gas without any hints or rolls to notice it. And if that's the kind of game you enjoy, go for it. I personally enjoy games where the players are strategic and cautious. That's not for everyone, by any means, but a monster that says "think ahead or start making death saves" is a good start. I'm also a fan of overlevel encounters that need to be avoided or planned for. Now I have to put in clues, but I consider that my job. Some DMs will just kill the party, others will spell out the situation, and yet more won't use monsters like that at all. I think that's awesome. Cheers! Kinak [/QUOTE]
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