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Message: <blockquote data-quote="shilsen" data-source="post: 3631472" data-attributes="member: 198">Perhaps, but note that it's a lot easier to bluff people about your gaming style on a messageboard, since they can't actually see you run the game. Personally, I thought you were making an OTT post to get a response, which is why I hadn't posted yet. Here's something that I seem to be posting a lot about recently - don't assume that the threat of death is needed to either challenge players or stave off boredom. Check the recent thread about whether D&D needs another death mechanic for a good discussion on the subject. Or just read my story hour for an example of a campaign where PC death has very intentionally almost been eliminated (one actual PC death in nearly 60 sessions, though we average a PC going below -10 hp every alternate session), but which is highly challenging and has never had a problem with boredom on the part of the players. What a game needs to be challenging, IMNSHO, is a significant possibility of failure and the existence of repercussions for it. Death is only one such repercussion and, again IMNSHO, one of the more boring of repercussions, from both a gamist and a narrativist viewpoint. Or, as I semi-joke with my players, a dead PC is a PC who has escaped the challenges, paranoia and torture that I constantly visit upon the living ones. In my book, if I have to kill PCs to challenge the players, then I'm not being particularly creative as a DM. YMMV, and apparently does.</blockquote>

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