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Message: <blockquote data-quote="FormerlyHemlock" data-source="post: 7016250" data-attributes="member: 6787650">In some campaigns I offer a "karmic" rewrite option. That is, the players get to rewrite history ("Gonzo didn't fail that death save") or rewind time ("you wake up sweating after a dream of Gonzo getting killed") to a point before the PCs got in trouble, and then I as DM will ostentatiously gloat over winning a "karma point" that can be used by the bad guys in exactly the same way at a time I think is dramatically appropriate ("you didn't manage to grapple Strahd and drag him out into the sunlight--he resisted your grapple").I originally invented this for the bad guys' sake in case I ever want to plot a scenario in a narrative fashion, so that even if the bad guy does escape somehow due to DM/plot fiat and the PCs are frustrated, the players will know they won something (won a karma point). I haven't ever used it that way though, yet. In practice it's been my safety valve that lets me test PCs to destruction without the risk of wrecking the campaign, because I know that if players find a story unacceptable they can always just chalk up a loss and undo it. Interestingly, some players are more prone to spend karma than others. Some people like to just roll with whatever punches the game throws, even a surprise PC death.BTW, my perspective "karmic undo" is motivated by my knowledge of UX design. When users of an interface have no undo button/hotkey, they are much more hesitant to try new things with that interface. Undo buttons/Ctrl-Z encourage exploration.Final note: unlike "save scumming" in a video game, there is a cost to rewinding time. If players got too cavalier about scouting out an enemy stronghold and then karmic rewinding to do it over perfectly, well then I'd have karma available to me to e.g. declare that "luckily, reinforcements arrived yesterday" and everything is a lot tougher. Or I could use my own karma to cancel out their karma (I spend two karma points to negate their karma; they can negate my negating but it costs them three karma, etc.). So it winds up feeling quite different from video games saves, at least from my perspective as the DM running the adventure.</blockquote>

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