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<blockquote data-quote="epithet" data-source="post: 6735193" data-attributes="member: 6796566">Y'know, I am typically of the opinion that you can play the game how you want, and there is no &quot;wrong&quot; way to D&amp;D.This scenario is an exception to that.If you are running a campaign with a druid that wild-shapes into a beast that only has a few hit points (knowing that he'll revert to his humanoid form if those hit points are lost) and you hit him with a disintegrate spell, and despite the fact that it doesn't do enough damage to kill the druid's humanoid form you destroy the character anyway, permanently... You're playing wrong, and I wouldn't want to be in your campaign.There are a few people who seem to say &quot;rules as written&quot; when what they really mean is &quot;screw the player character.&quot; I've been in campaigns where, instead of the players and DM working together to create a narrative of triumph and tragedy, the DM felt like it was his prerogative to be adversarial--as if it were some kind of contest between the DM and the players, and the DM was out to win. Those were bad campaigns, the kind where you quit the group mad at yourself for staying past the first session, thinking about it in terms of hours of your life you can never get back.Sometimes, characters die. Rarely (past low levels,) that death is permanent. Never, ever should a permanent character death be the result of an ambiguous rule. I've had characters perma-die, sometimes because I screwed up and other times because of something epic. It leads to a great story, remembered for years afterward: &quot;Remember when my rogue got eaten by that dragon?&quot; It makes you want to make a new character and get back into the game world.However, &quot;Remember that time the DM wiped out my character with some 'rules as written' crap?&quot; does not make you want to roll some more dice. It makes you think about hours of your life you can never get back.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="epithet, post: 6735193, member: 6796566"] Y'know, I am typically of the opinion that you can play the game how you want, and there is no "wrong" way to D&D. This scenario is an exception to that. If you are running a campaign with a druid that wild-shapes into a beast that only has a few hit points (knowing that he'll revert to his humanoid form if those hit points are lost) and you hit him with a disintegrate spell, and despite the fact that it doesn't do enough damage to kill the druid's humanoid form you destroy the character anyway, permanently... You're playing wrong, and I wouldn't want to be in your campaign. There are a few people who seem to say "rules as written" when what they really mean is "screw the player character." I've been in campaigns where, instead of the players and DM working together to create a narrative of triumph and tragedy, the DM felt like it was his prerogative to be adversarial--as if it were some kind of contest between the DM and the players, and the DM was out to win. Those were bad campaigns, the kind where you quit the group mad at yourself for staying past the first session, thinking about it in terms of hours of your life you can never get back. Sometimes, characters die. Rarely (past low levels,) that death is permanent. Never, ever should a permanent character death be the result of an ambiguous rule. I've had characters perma-die, sometimes because I screwed up and other times because of something epic. It leads to a great story, remembered for years afterward: "Remember when my rogue got eaten by that dragon?" It makes you want to make a new character and get back into the game world. However, "Remember that time the DM wiped out my character with some 'rules as written' crap?" does not make you want to roll some more dice. It makes you think about hours of your life you can never get back. [/QUOTE]

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