D&D General Biggest DM regret

[Mycroft]

Honestly, I don't think that matters. The rules just characterize it as an attack, not a melee attack.

"When an attacker reduces a creature to 0 hit points with a melee attack, the attacker can knock the creature out."

 

[Nebulous]

I can't remember a character ever dying in 5e from massive damage rule. Not even at 1st. I guess we usually level them up REAL fast to 2nd, but even then I don't recall it.

Anyway, things I regret...Well, letting someone into my game when my instinct told me that person should not be at my table, that's a big one.

 

[Aldarc]

Maybe, maybe not:

I doubt debating this further will yield much fruit.

 

[iserith]

I doubt debating this further will yield much fruit.

You're right, since nobody has enough information at this point to say with reasonable certainty why this player didn't return to play in subsequent games at the store.

 

[Nevvur]

Just commenting broadly on various replies, I appreciate the analyses. Unfortunately, ya, there's not much more information I can provide. I talked a couple more times with the guys who kept playing, but the girl never came up. The guy who stepped up to DM for his friends said I had inspired him, so that softened the sting of my regret quite a lot.

I had actually forgotten the incident until a new player joined my table recently. She's an adult, but has expressed in no uncertain terms she's not cool with her PC dying. She doesn't care whether the other PCs have plot armor, but she doesn't want to invest time and energy into a thing just to have it vanish. Point of relevance, there's no rez magic in my homebrew setting. I'm cool with it, my resident grognard was a little grumbly, but that's what grognards do.

Reminded me of that AL session years ago for some reason. As always, I'm not keenly vested in directing the conversation here, but my intent was to get some DM confessions/regrets, not discuss the propriety of the call I made.

 

[Charlaquin]

I can't remember a character ever dying in 5e from massive damage rule. Not even at 1st. I guess we usually level them up REAL fast to 2nd, but even then I don't recall it.

Anyway, things I regret...Well, letting someone into my game when my instinct told me that person should not be at my table, that's a big one.

I’ve had it happen three times now in my current campaign. Once the character was at 1st level, and both of the others were at 4th, though one had their max HP significantly reduced first by a succubus’ kiss attack, and the other failed their save against a young black dragon’s breath weapon, and I rolled very high on the damage.

 

[iserith]

I’ve had it happen three times now in my current campaign. Once the character was at 1st level, and both of the others were at 4th, though one had their max HP significantly reduced first by a succubus’ kiss attack, and the other failed their save against a young black dragon’s breath weapon, and I rolled very high on the damage.

Same, in fact, I think every PC death I've had in my D&D 5e campaigns save two has been death from massive damage.

 

[Tony Vargas]

Just commenting broadly on various replies, I appreciate the analyses. Unfortunately, ya, there's not much more information I can provide. I talked a couple more times with the guys who kept playing, but the girl never came up. The guy who stepped up to DM for his friends said I had inspired him, so that softened the sting of my regret quite a lot.

Seriously, from a 5e table of 7 new-to-gaming players, retaining 3 /and one of them taking up DMing/ is a huge win. Each new DM is a victory, as it means another 4-7 new players accommodated at the venue.

Whether because you kill off their first character, or because that character doesn't meet expectations, or because playing an RPG just makes about as much sense as keeping paint wet instead of watching it dry to a lot of people, you're likely going to lose most genuinely-new-to-the-hobby players, anyway.

I had actually forgotten the incident until a new player joined my table recently. She's an adult, but has expressed in no uncertain terms she's not cool with her PC dying. She doesn't care whether the other PCs have plot armor, but she doesn't want to invest time and energy into a thing just to have it vanish.

Y'all have plot armor: they're called hit points.

I've tried it before, but here it is again: starting at 3rd gives everyone a somewhat-realized PC (ie with their sub-class), and enough hp that they shouldn't just be randomly critted to death by a CR<1 monster. 3rd also lets anyone start with a traditional multi-class combo, either w/o MCing via things like the EK, or by expressly MCing a 1/1/1 combo.
"3rd is the new 1st" - it never caught on, but it's still a good idea.

 

[Draegn]

I once caused a player to cry. In a scifi setting he was spending more time with an attractive replicant than his npc wife cared for. The wife insisted that he retire the replicant and gave him a lethal injection to use. As he put the replicant to sleep there were tears in the rain.

 

[Harzel]

Biggest regret: Not playing 5e RAW for a while before introducing some (major) homebrew modifications. Oops.

With respect to the OP situation: it is legal in AL to use average damage for monsters? (I don't know much about AL.) The MM says it is an option, but the PH doesn't mention it. Anyway, doing that at least at 1st level would greatly reduce the chances of instadeath due to a crit.