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ShortQuests -- individual adventure modules! An all-new collection of digest-sized D&D adventures designed to plug in to your game.

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="ZSutherland" data-source="post: 974783" data-attributes="member: 7638">Getting there...For the longest time, I was not a killer DM.  Prior to my current campaign and discounting planned deaths (i.e. player wants to change character), I've only had one character death to my memory (been playing D&D for around 10 years now and 3E since 2001 or so).  In that case, the party was in their hometown which was under siege by the BBEG 20th level lich (I think they were 5th level at the tiime) and his army of undead and half-dragon trolls & half-dragon ogres.  Lich-boy moves forward to parley and demand their surrender, and our dwarven cleric gets pissy with his tone and fires a Sunbeam (?) spell at him, which actually damages him.  This twists the lich pretty bad so, he grimaces and kills the cleric no problem.  I felt kind of bad about that, but you can't let the PCs get away with that kind of trash-talking.In this new campaign however, I started by saying "Okay, we've been playing this game for 2 years now.  You should all be familiar with the rules and how things work.  I'm taking the kid-gloves off now."  In the 5 or six weeks since we started, I've had 2 character deaths (both raised, it's FR so magic runs high) and several other close calls.  I don't kill vindictively, but I pay much more attention to the enemies intelligence and what it says about them in their combat section and play them that way.  When the PCs take time to prepare, they tend to steam-roll most of the challenges.  When they charged the dragon's lair on Saturday w/o a single buff or protective spell up, they rogue got toasted and 3 of the others got very close.I don't think I'm a killer DM, but I'm not holding their hands anymore and we all seem to be having more fun for it.Z</blockquote>

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