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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Blue" data-source="post: 7122242" data-attributes="member: 20564">As a DMI specifically want my combats to be tough, deadly*.  Without risk there is no reward, and my players go by that to varying degrees as well.  I write encounters so that if this one doesn't kill you off, the next one will.BUT, at the table I'm their biggest cheerleader.  I want to see them succeed, I want to see how they are going to pull out a victory against all that is arrayed against them.  I say yes when they come up with gonzo plans and run with them.  This doesn't mean I coddle them - I play the foes as smart as they would be.  But not smarter.In my current campaign (2.5 years) I haven't killed a single character in combat (we did have one campaign death), though I will often drop one or more.  We had numerous close calls and several times most PCs down.Though there are times my players avoid fights altogether because they know it's just a bad idea.  There are fights they flee after engaging.  And there are curb stomp battles where they realize how awesome they have become.All of that said, there as aspects of Combat as Sport.  I often put in things to showcase various characters - hazards & traps that the rogue is good at handling, etc.  As well as occasional times when I purposefully negate their go-to moves to push them out of their comfort zone and make them adapt.  (I do this to shake things up occasionally, I'm very against doing it regularly to punish a player who is too effective in their niche.)As a playerI can spend an entire session roleplaying among the other characters and have fun.  But when we get in an encounter, I want it to be an ENCOUNTER.  Something we're going to win that is just grinding out attrition is boring.  I love encounters when I've got single digit HPs left and I got off easier than some of my teammates.  I tell DMs that I haven't gamed with that I am willing to have my character die, though I'll do my best to make sure it doesn't happen.  So throw whatever makes sense at us and keep the tension level high.That said, my favorite combats are where there's more at stake then HPs.  Rescues, what-have you.  Things that make you adapt and think instead of "just" trying to run the foes out of HPs before you do yourself.</blockquote>

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