As a DM of 18 years, it is my personal opinion that nothing is more satisfiying than creating/running a world and having the players and the random dice energize it and bring it to life. The interplay of chance and input from the players gives a setting a life that it otherwise would not have. Even the dreaded TPK is nothing more than a detail in a story that continues on. I as a player do not mind being killed in the least. The whole concept of D&D, to me, is a group of heroes in a dangerous (Read: Deadly) world where you try to surmount all odds and stay alive.
I suppose I would like to know what your opinion is. Do you like a very tiny chance of death? Do you want the odds stacked incredibly in your favor? Or do you prefer a more organic result from your games, where you really do help write the history of a setting even if it is with your death?
For me, being stacked to win takes away the entire reason for playing the game. If I want to win every time I will go play a computer game where you just talk to the spirit healer. Knowing that I played in a storyline and that my actions, whether the results are good or bad, helped develope a history/feel that my next character can see and experience is the best reward. I do not like fudging dice or DMs that hold back. I want the world thrown at my character in full force, no holds barred. That way, when I DO survive, I know that I have accomplished something.
I do not necessarily mean for death to be the outcome every time, but that failure, whether ultimate or not, is not unheard of.
Later!
I suppose I would like to know what your opinion is. Do you like a very tiny chance of death? Do you want the odds stacked incredibly in your favor? Or do you prefer a more organic result from your games, where you really do help write the history of a setting even if it is with your death?
For me, being stacked to win takes away the entire reason for playing the game. If I want to win every time I will go play a computer game where you just talk to the spirit healer. Knowing that I played in a storyline and that my actions, whether the results are good or bad, helped develope a history/feel that my next character can see and experience is the best reward. I do not like fudging dice or DMs that hold back. I want the world thrown at my character in full force, no holds barred. That way, when I DO survive, I know that I have accomplished something.
I do not necessarily mean for death to be the outcome every time, but that failure, whether ultimate or not, is not unheard of.
Later!
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