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<blockquote data-quote="CapnZapp" data-source="post: 8747499" data-attributes="member: 12731">Don't forget plausible denial.A game where the only way the heroes ever feel truly threatened is when it is obvious the DM went out of his or her way to put them in harm's way is not a good game.Many players like, nay absolutely require, the feeling of verisimilitude where you're punished for making stupid enough mistakes by THE GAME, not by the DM.Meaning it shouldn't require a conscious decision from the DM to exceed all recommendations for danger level just to make combat meaningful.Where I define &quot;meaningful&quot; as &quot;not a foregone conclusion&quot;.Combats where you're all but assured victory does have its place but should not be the default. You only have so much playing time; let's not waste that on fights you win easily, let's instead focus on combats that present a modicum of interesting challenge.A game sucks if the DM can't hide behind the rules for purposes of making the PCs retreat or feel the fear of death. At least I don't want the adversarial playing style where I must obviously break the guidelines in order to truly challenge my players (characters).</blockquote>

[QUOTE="CapnZapp, post: 8747499, member: 12731"] Don't forget plausible denial. A game where the only way the heroes ever feel truly threatened is when it is obvious the DM went out of his or her way to put them in harm's way is not a good game. Many players like, nay absolutely require, the feeling of verisimilitude where you're punished for making stupid enough mistakes by THE GAME, not by the DM. Meaning it shouldn't require a conscious decision from the DM to exceed all recommendations for danger level just to make combat meaningful. Where I define "meaningful" as "not a foregone conclusion". Combats where you're all but assured victory does have its place but should not be the default. You only have so much playing time; let's not waste that on fights you win easily, let's instead focus on combats that present a modicum of interesting challenge. A game sucks if the DM can't hide behind the rules for purposes of making the PCs retreat or feel the fear of death. At least I don't want the adversarial playing style where I must obviously break the guidelines in order to truly challenge my players (characters). [/QUOTE]

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