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<blockquote data-quote="StalkingBlue" data-source="post: 1357778" data-attributes="member: 645"><p>I think the first thing I'd do as a GM if I wanted to cut back on bad-luck PC kills is make combat rolls behind a screen. I don't, the groups I've GMed for appear to prefer it that way - and there go some characters. </p><p></p><p>Some other techniques I've witnessed being used, with varying success, include: </p><p>- fudging enemy stats in combat (ie monsters mysteriously drained of part of their remaining hp at some point); </p><p>- enemies suddenly fleeing, with or without good reason to do so (which doesn't mean that every withdrawal from combat is fudging of course, not evryone likes to fight to their deaths as a routine action); </p><p>- NPCs riding to the rescue out of nowhere, horns blowing (shudder); </p><p>- crit rules suddenly forgotten or remaining mysteriously un-applied when they'd have gone against a PC instead of in their favour. </p><p></p><p>As a player, I'm generally frustrated when I notice things like that going on. I don't rely on a high PC death rate to enjoy a game (whether I play in it or run it), but if I feel that my PC is in some sort of "god mode" I feel cheated out of half the fun. And I say that after recently having lost three PCs in three consecutive sessions, at least one of which I'd invested a great deal of background and RP effort in. </p><p></p><p></p><p>One of the safer ways to minimise PC deaths is, of course, to tone down challenges. Again, if you have players out for some tactical challenge, you may find you're providing a rather luke-warm game. </p><p></p><p></p><p>BTW, I'm not sure what avoiding the use of a battle grid has to do with minimising PC deaths. In my experience with DnD, it's the other way round: visual representation of a combat situation helps minimise misunderstandings - if you take care how you position yourself, you're less likely to get killed through not understanding what is where.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="StalkingBlue, post: 1357778, member: 645"] I think the first thing I'd do as a GM if I wanted to cut back on bad-luck PC kills is make combat rolls behind a screen. I don't, the groups I've GMed for appear to prefer it that way - and there go some characters. Some other techniques I've witnessed being used, with varying success, include: - fudging enemy stats in combat (ie monsters mysteriously drained of part of their remaining hp at some point); - enemies suddenly fleeing, with or without good reason to do so (which doesn't mean that every withdrawal from combat is fudging of course, not evryone likes to fight to their deaths as a routine action); - NPCs riding to the rescue out of nowhere, horns blowing (shudder); - crit rules suddenly forgotten or remaining mysteriously un-applied when they'd have gone against a PC instead of in their favour. As a player, I'm generally frustrated when I notice things like that going on. I don't rely on a high PC death rate to enjoy a game (whether I play in it or run it), but if I feel that my PC is in some sort of "god mode" I feel cheated out of half the fun. And I say that after recently having lost three PCs in three consecutive sessions, at least one of which I'd invested a great deal of background and RP effort in. One of the safer ways to minimise PC deaths is, of course, to tone down challenges. Again, if you have players out for some tactical challenge, you may find you're providing a rather luke-warm game. BTW, I'm not sure what avoiding the use of a battle grid has to do with minimising PC deaths. In my experience with DnD, it's the other way round: visual representation of a combat situation helps minimise misunderstandings - if you take care how you position yourself, you're less likely to get killed through not understanding what is where. [/QUOTE]
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