DM's: How many PC's do you kill per campaign?

[was]

lousy computer..double post

 

[Kunimatyu]

Generally, I kill very few PCs in my homebrewed games, unless it's a finale and/or they're stupid.

However, in the course of three Savage Tide sessions, I've killed -six- PCs, cackling all the while.

 

[Umbran]

I have the happy situation of not killing many (or any at all), but still having the players fear that the characters are going to get smeared if they aren't bright. The players are correct - if they have a stupid or unlucky night, someone will get killed. But they have little actual evidence...

Which just goes to show that percieved threat of PC demise is not necessarily linked to the actual body count.

 

[Agamon]

The last few? I can't answer your poll, it doesn't go high enough.

Current game: AoW - 8 PC deaths (only just finishing the 4th of 12 adventures).
Last game: Homebrew - 9 PC deaths (TPK ended it early)
Previous game: RttToEE - 38 PC deaths (yeah, that's not a typo)
Previous game: Old Skool (KotB and Slavers series): 11 PC deaths (TPK killed that game too; I was tying them together with WotSQ)

Average: 16.5 (or 20.5 weighted for my current game). My players get to try new things a lot.

 

[DragonShadow]

The way I run my campaigns, I aim for what's most realistic. (Of course, this is realism where we have orcs and magic, but realism nonetheless.)

That being said, more often than not my PC's are faced with something they feel they can't handle. This is also their astounding ability to enter situations unprepared (traveling into the underdark with 100 feet of rope between 5 people, and not a single rank in Climb in sight seems silly, agree?), but I do accept full responsibilty for it.

In my defense, I balance the CR's as best I can with their average level. To their credit, they've often surprised me.


:\ Unfortunately, I seem to kill one of my players more than any of the others, but I think this is because she has horrible luck. She always gets herself into the wrong place, at exactly the wrong time.

My current campaign, a homebrew, the death toll is up to 7. More, if you count the party NPC's lost. (Though, it's not like THEY do, the bastards.)

 

[shilsen]

I don't kill any. I drop them below -10 approximately once per two sessions, but that doesn't kill them, since I have a house rule allowing action pts to turn a killing blow/effect into one that drops them to -9 hp (and stable).

If you kill a PC permanently, that means you can't torture it any more, and what's the fun in that?

 

[DragonShadow]

If you kill a PC permanently, that means you can't torture it any more, and what's the fun in that?

Roughly half of the torture my PC's experience is from situations they create themselves.

 

[Philotomy Jurament]

Only as many as it takes.

 

[Hussar]

Permanent deaths in my World's Largest Dungeon Campaign - 13

Total deaths - 23

Whacked me a 14th level paladin and rogue two weeks ago. High level combat is LETHAL.

 

[Agamon]

Roughly half of the torture my PC's experience is from situations they create themselves.

Only half? You have great players (or I have horrible ones)....