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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Bawylie" data-source="post: 6873714" data-attributes="member: 6776133">Good question. And a dilemma that many DMs wrestle with. If I were in your position, and the PCs were in a confrontation with the villain, I'd probably kill them off. Of course, I've already dropped the hints that the BBEG is nigh immortal/invincible and I've dropped a lead on the heart seeker quest right at their feet. If they've ignored that, and still proceed to the confrontation - I'm obligated to play the scenario out honestly. I'm obligated to honor the players' actions with the consequences. They cannot win; they probably die. Now that's me. I strongly believe that you shouldn't point your DM gun at anything you're unwilling to kill. And I strongly believe that honoring the players' decisions requires that the consequences follow the actions (unmitigated by me). As one of my players you earn your victories and your defeats. So that brings me to the players missing their heart seeker lead. You dropped a big clue and they didn't pick it up. That's on them. The 3 Clue Rule (a suggestion that you triple your work w/o any better chance that any of those clues are found) is generally bad advice. I find that what works best is that you give the clues (or evidence or leads) and leave it to the players to follow up and determine what those clues or evidence mean and where those leads go. In an investigation or a mystery game, the point is to solve the mystery. Just as the point of a quest is to complete it. So I don't withhold the clues & hope they'll be found - I give them! Just like your questgivers don't play coy with what they want the adventurers to do ("Save my town!" they beg, not "Figure out what we want you to do based on these 9 weird happenings").But after that, it's on your players to investigate those clues, determine what the evidence proves, or actually go on that quest. If they don't go, or if they fail, I don't feel it's right to take the consequences of those actions/inactions away from them. You didn't find the horcrux, you didn't destroy the horcrux, you can't beat voldemort. Hope you have a Plan B. -Brad</blockquote>

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