A momentary lapse of good DM judgement killed all my players.

[Will]

Hmm. This is interesting... I was just setting up an encounter that could run similarly.

Basically, if certain events unfold, a whole mess of demons will appear. Not all at once... first some low level stuff, then higher level, and so forth... ramping up slowly as demons appear.

I am _hoping_ the players realize they should run or hide about halfway through this, or they will all die messily. The demons aren't particularly intent on killing the party unless attacked, so...


Here's hoping.

 

[SpuneDagr]

My players are pretty mature. They didn't blame me, they were just upset at the way things ended. In fact, the player who attacked the 'loth didn't want to. His character figured he could take 'em and acted. He's a Cypher, if anybody knows what that is. "Action without thought is the purest form of thought."

 

[Pielorinho]

I wouldn't, because to do so would be to teach them that regardless of how tough a challenge sounds, they can handle it, because the GM will pull the punches he needs to pull in order for them to handle it.

I'm not out to teach them -- I'm out to have a good time with my friends. Way I see it, I'm not a teacher, a parent, a coach, or a referee -- I'm a host.

If I think it'll add to the fun of th eevening, I'll do it. Some of my players have fun with by-the-book rules; others don't. I'm willing, to a certain degree, to accommodate both groups.

Daniel

 

[Sanackranib]

Alright, I made a mistake.

My players were speaking with an ultroloth and the one guy made a Wisdom check to see if he could take him. He got a 10. I told him, "Sure, you could take him."
Everyone died.

After sitting there, thinking for a bit, I reconsidered and decided that a 10 should have been a success. It was pretty obvious that he was really powerful, what with his aloof maner and palpable aura of pure evil.

Neither I nor my players wanted things to end this way, so I told them that their deaths had been a horrid vision seen in the hypnotic eyes of the creature to scare them.

Live and learn, I guess.

There may be a future as a rat-bastard for you yet . . .

 

[SpuneDagr]

I try my best.

 

[Tsyr]

I'm not out to teach them -- I'm out to have a good time with my friends. Way I see it, I'm not a teacher, a parent, a coach, or a referee -- I'm a host.

If I think it'll add to the fun of th eevening, I'll do it. Some of my players have fun with by-the-book rules; others don't. I'm willing, to a certain degree, to accommodate both groups.

Daniel

I couldn't agree with these thoughts more.

 

[Kastil]

Oh sure, that's great... if that is what you WANT to do. But do you pull your punches when they cross that line and do something they shouldn't? I wouldn't, because to do so would be to teach them that regardless of how tough a challenge sounds, they can handle it, because the GM will pull the punches he needs to pull in order for them to handle it.

I absolutely agree with you. I call it the consequences for their actions. Forget to use the gray matter betwix thy ears and face the music of your wake. My game is more heavy on the RP because the gamers are in more combat oriented games elsewhere and I'm there 'break' between kill sessions. I've killed many a PC because they didn't fight effectively.

The only one I pull punches with is my son when we play video games (like DOA3) but if he taunts me when he wins, I kick his butt a few times to humble him.

 

[Psion]

I'm not out to teach them -- I'm out to have a good time with my friends. Way I see it, I'm not a teacher, a parent, a coach, or a referee -- I'm a host.

I think you are sort of missing the point here. Why would someone decide (and announce) that they aren't going to tune the encounters to the party level?

The only reason I can think of is that you are tired of the all to common paradigm of "every encounter is there for the PCs to beat", which can become stale after a while. By creating an environment in which the players cannot be certain, it can re-inject a feeling of mystery and danger into the game and the stimulating challenge of having to navigate the dangers or the world instead of lazily stomping all over them.

That seems to me as nothing less than an honest attempt to return the fun to a game that may have turned stale. And I can think of no better service to the friends that I game with than that.

If you do make such promises and don't follow through with them, you are all talk and no action, and the first player that calls your bluff will affirm that the game really hasn't changed, and the feeling of tension and danger you have strived to create is gone.

 

[Sanackranib]

seriously, I think everyone who has DM'ed for a while has had a similar occurrance. I had a campaign where the party encountered sevel "dragonlike" reptile over the space of 3 months and kept attacking them (the most powerfull was a behiir)
My solution was to buy a couple of "Dragon fig's" and then the party was more inclined to run!

 

[ForceUser]

Good save. I've been known to gaff a few encounters myself, such as when I pitted my 4th-level party of six against four 3rd edition pennagglions (oriental vampires). Yeah, don't say it.

I'm blessed with players chock full of common sense and an ability to gauge their own mortality. They won't bite off more than they can chew if they can help it. That said, I find the various 3.5 knowledge skills as well as bardic knowledge and divination spells to be ample opportunity for them to get a sense of their foes. If they don't ask questions or do research I won't hand it to them, which could result in finding themselves in very bad situations.