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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Celebrim" data-source="post: 3394315" data-attributes="member: 4937">Let me explain to you part of my theory of dungeon design.  If the party is expected to face something like a Basilisk, that can and will arbitrarily 'kill' players, and can result in a TPK if the dice fall the wrong way, then it is incumbent on me to ensure that players have the resources to deal with it so that an alert and careful party can overcome the challenge with a fairly small ammount of risk.  This DOES NOT mean that I have to give them Cloaks of Resistance and access to magical wal-marts, and quite frankly, neither of those things really addresses the real problem.  So, for example, I might present the party with various oppurtunities to gain clues and resources:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">There is a goblin in the dungeon that knows of the 'big lizard with killer eyes', if captured and interogated about the rest of the level the PC's can learn about the creature and with good diplomacy/intimidate rolls and RP, perhaps also a secret back entrance to the 'big lizard lair'.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">There is a scroll case somewhere in the dungeon with 'stone to flesh' or some similarly effacious spell that acts as a 'get out of jail' free card should someone get unlucky with the dice or the party misses other clues.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">A friendly ally is on hand back in the haven that will sell a 'stone to flesh' scroll.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">In the most likely approach to the big lizard lair, there are a large number of 'remarkably lifelike statues', which will clue any experienced party into looking around corners with a mirror - the sort of mundane but useful equipment that any experienced party will keep in thier pack.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">There is a room in the dungeon that contains a number of mirrors.  These can be used to improvise defenses (especially if the party was foolish enough to enter a dungeon without a mirror), or the party can attempt to lure the 'big lizard' into this room to trap it.</li> </ul>After doing that, if I TPKed a party with a Basilisk, I wouldn't blame myself.  I'd chalk it up to a learning experience, and have the party try the dungeon again hopefully having learned something about dungeoneering from the experience.  Likewise, the more resources that a party accumulated, the fewer clues I'd expect myself to provide to them.That's pretty typical of a level 17 game no matter how it was run.  The first question is 'Why wasn't everyone immune to death effects if you were a 17th level party?'.  Death ward is not that hard to come by.  The second question is, "Since when do death wards effect horrid wilting, since it doesn't have the [Death] descriptor?"   Again, this can be unfortunately fairly typical of level 17 no matter how it is run.</blockquote>

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