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Only if a TPK is the only fail state, which it isn't. You can end up running away from the fight as a fail state. In a game where coming back from the dead is rare, 1 PC death is a failure. The enemy could rob the party and leave it unconscious. The party could be taken prisoner. And more...

It does support it by telling players that an 8 intelligence is a low ability to reason, remember, etc. There's no mechanical force behind it, but if you are roleplaying what the game describes an 8 intelligence as, you aren't going to be coming up with a lot of good ideas if you are...

It's not a matter of allowed. It's a matter of whether you roleplay your character or not. If you're playing an unintelligent person, coming up with lots of good ideas isn't good roleplaying. At that point you are playing something your character is not. Nope. I'd never say that to a...

That's one of the reasons I have my players roll stats and give them the ability to swap one pair. You will almost never see a party that is completely dumb, uncharismatic, or whatever.

That's very different from my not giving them information for the express purpose of causing them to feel pressure. If they find it, they find it. If they don't, they don't. It's not about what I want or any goal of mine. Any pressure they feel is pressure they put on themselves. Outside of...

Use charisma. ;) :p

They can, but probably won't since they are below average in intelligence. It's unlikely that they will think of it on their own.

You're imagining a whole lot that doesn't exist. There is no "controlling what the players are allowed to know," and there is "so they will believe they're under pressure when they aren't," and there is no "lead them to believe it's pressure." I don't run my game like that. You're barking...

What is the difference between CR and level?

No. I present the situation. Sometimes that comes with some sort of time pressure. Usually it doesn't. The players cannot know that there isn't something happening off screen, though, so they often pressure themselves. There is no effective difference. Perceived pressure vs. real pressure...

Why?

Hit them with an encounter 6-10 CR higher than their level and hope that they don't TPK. There's a pretty narrow line between, "This encounter can survive a PC nova and dish back" and, "This encounter can survive a nova and dish back more than you guys can take."

"This suit of armor is reinforced with adamantine, one of the hardest substances in existence. A razor made from it can even shave a dwarf."

No. You don't get to tell me what I suggested. You asked for examples of a mechanical consequence, and the only thing I "suggested" was that here is an example of one possible mechanical consequence. By the way, why are you fighting so hard to avoid responding to the second possible...

The thing is, it's not even suboptimal. If the goal is to rescue the princess, stopping to rest and let her die is about the least optimal choice you could make. Optimization is not just about combat.

A lot of people play for the social situation and to be challenged. For many it is very enjoyable to meet and overcome challenge and adversity. It is incorrect to remove challenge from the purpose of play, because there are many purposes for playing D&D. It's perfectly fine for you and your...

So I've imagined all the times my players pressured themselves into moving on, because it was possible there would be some sort of consequence that they came up with on their own? All of those times never happened?

That's some politician level of word twisting there. I never said anything about "should" with Oathbreaker, and I never mentioned the death domain cleric. You asked for an example of a mechanical consequence, so I provided two. You've blatantly twisted the first beyond belief at this point...

The Death Domain cleric, yes. The Oathbreaker is DM applied to a PC paladin. It's in the 5e PHB. Breaking an oath =/= villain. It can be a villain, but it can also be someone who made a large and tragic mistake and seeks to atone.

It's in the DMG for a reason, and that reason is that the DM applies it to the PC, not the player. It's not a subclass meant for players to pick. It's a consequence for narrative action or narrative and mechanical action. Since you wouldn't respond to it in the other post. Here's another...