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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Imagicka" data-source="post: 3189130" data-attributes="member: 4621">Greetings...Losses are the best!  Whenever I have a new group of players, I try to lay some sort of defeat or loss on them, without having to outright kill a party member.  (I usually try to only kill a party member if they are being extremely stoopid!) If the players manage to lose on their own, so be it.  It's a learning experience.  But if I lay a beating on them, and they are outwitted, outmatched, and outclassed... usually because they didn't bother to research and learn enough about their enemies.  This is the sort of thing I like to do at least once to my players.  I don't like to do it often, because it may seem like I'm stacking the deck against my players.  I don't want that.  I want them to know that their are more powerful and cunning creatures in this world, and they are a part of the world.  They can fail like anyone else.  That as a GM, I'm not going to hand things to them on a silver platter, they have to fight for them.  The reward is that much sweeter.  Usually I pull a switch-a-roo on the players.  They are in the situation to solve the problems they've become the champions for; (either their own problems or someone else's).  Finding out who the BBEG is, they go off to smash his evil plans, and solve their problems.  Along the way, they may solve the smaller problems, or other problems that crop up.  But, in the process they are limited in their success.  Ultimately, the BBEG is able to accomplish *something* or at the very least, able to get away. Ultimately, if I've played my cards right, I will have made a character that the players truly lothe and yet are weary enough to not attempt to take on their villain head on.  Well, if I was ever given that situation to deal with... heck, who am I kidding?  I would have never allowed things to go that far.  I would have started fudging the first sign of trouble.  Especially when it comes to the epic end battle.  I think is more important to concentrate on the story when the players get to the climax.  I don't even look at HPs of my villains.  I just run the battle.  Occationally, I'll track the BBEG's HP if the party is really kicking butt.  But if it looks like the combat is going to end too soon, I'll prolong it.  If it looks like the party is going to loose, I'll fudge some.</blockquote>

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