D&D General TPK or Imprison

[iserith]

Well it could be something as simple as the the Barbarian's hunch being confirmed by faint tracks coming from the direction of the circle.

BUT the more I'm reading the more I tend to agree with @iserith. You're looking for an endpoint, this provides one - one way or the other. And frankly, if the party gets caught with their pants down, well that's mostly on them. Long rest anywhere near enemy territory is dangerous and needs to be thought of as such!

For me, it's even more about the real world issues. DM wants to wrap it up. Scheduling issues. Incompatible player preferences. I wouldn't have gone past session 1 given the latter two conditions (provided they were discernible), leave alone done a whole campaign. And it's not likely the DM is going to get a bad Yelp review for wrapping it up when it needs to even if the characters fail to achieve their goals. Capturing them and playing out some kind of escape only keeps this game going longer and allows the real world issues to persist.

 

[Mort]

For me, it's even more about the real world issues. DM wants to wrap it up. Scheduling issues. Incompatible player preferences. I wouldn't have gone past session 1 given the latter two conditions (provided they were discernible), leave alone done a whole campaign. And it's not likely the DM is going to get a bad Yelp review for wrapping it up when it needs to even if the characters fail to achieve their goals. Capturing them and playing out some kind of escape only keeps this game going longer and allows the real world issues to persist.

Yeah, that too. Personally, I'm all for just going "guys, this isn't working for me and it's clearly not working for you either - maybe just wrap this up?" But a lot of people are really hesitant to do that.

 

[jgsugden]

Other options:

1.) PCs are killed, then raised by an ally... or an enemy that is a rival to the enemy that killed them.
2.) PCs are killed and you run an adventure in the afterlife, allowing them a chance to return.
3.) PCs die, and new PCs pick up the call.
4.) You let the deaths stand, and you move the world ahead 5 years so that the world feels the impact of their failure. This lets the legacy of their PCs live on in the new campaign.
5.) Asmodeus, or another figure, offers them a deal.

 

[Reynard]

So how about this: A group of duergar mooks pops in and discovers that the PCs are still there! One of them yells that he'll bring reinforcements and darts back through the portal.

I guess there is no reason why the BBEG couldn't send a scout force through and if they proved too weak just shut down the teleportation circle from their end. But it seems odd because the bad guys KNOW the PCs are hurting and down their cleric. Why wouldn't they come in and wipe the PCs out?

 

[Reynard]

Also I should note the PCs can disable the teleportation circle any time they want but then it is broken. They haven't done so because they want to use it to infiltrate the BBEG lair.

 

[LordEntrails]

I should note that this thing with the BBEG is the finale of the campaign even though it is at relatively low level due to scheduling stuff and some incompatibility between players and preferences.

Finale? Then it can be just as dramatic and memorable, maybe even more so as a TPK as a victory.

 

[Mort]

Also I should note the PCs can disable the teleportation circle any time they want but then it is broken. They haven't done so because they want to use it to infiltrate the BBEG lair.

But they don't think that the BBEG can come to them/send forces to them? Umm, that seems oddly short sighted! Again show them the bad guys can scry and fry too.

The PCs seem to have lots and lots of options here (disable the circle and rest, just leave and rest, not rest, etc) to the point of just go with whatever and see what happens. Finish the campaign and move on.

 

[Umbran]

Why wouldn't they come in and wipe the PCs out?

Okay, so, here's a solution for you. Check the casting time of Teleportation Circle: 1 Minute.

If you want to show them their plan had a serious flaw without just killing them outright, you have signs the circle is being activated show up partway through the casting. They can stand and deliver if they want, or they have a few rounds to RUN before the BBEG's forces come through.

 

[pming]

Hiya!

Neither is a great option but given some choices my players have made recently, it looks like it has to be one or the other.

So -- should I have the PCs captured and have an opportunity to escape and also finish their mission (they would be imprisoned in the BBEG fortress) even though there is no real reason for the bad guys to spare them? Or you the dice fall where they may and if it turns into a TPK, so be it? TPKs are a bummer, though,a nd the campaign almost always ends on a down note. Of course, it could also be both, as they TPK while trying to escape.

Serious question: Why are you deciding this?

Honestly, that's not your job. That's up to the Players. You simply present the world, play the inhabitants as you think they would "naturally behave", and let the Players do their own thing.

Live? Imprisoned? Dead? That's not up to you. You're just the DM.

(and it should be obvious how I would handle it; let the chips fall where they may...)

^_^

Paul L. Ming

 

[Umbran]

Serious question: Why are you deciding this?

Honestly, that's not your job.

Some people claim to be able to compartmentalize to such a degree that they can make choices without influence by the metagame information the GM has at this point. But the GM knows, at this point, if they are signing the PC's death warrants. The players will know the GM knows, as well.

So, while you can hold up, "I was just a neutral arbiter" as a shield, if the GM goes for the TPK here, everyone at the table will know the GM knowingly chose that path.

"But that's what my character would do!" is not an excuse for a player being a jerk at the table. Nor is it an excuse for the GM.