D&D General Does the killer DM exist?

[Bedrockgames]

There is definitely always ‘that guy’ for anything. And I have met GMs who shouldn’t have gM’d. But that said I think more often ‘the killer Gm’ is really a misalignment of expectations surrounding lethality and character death.

 

[Lyxen]

Much like kink, as long as everyone agrees to it going in, a punishing playstyle can be what players are looking for. Just check first as a DM and players should be honest. I do appreciate that some players will take part in a game with DMs who "goes too far" and will just try to stick with it for the simple reason that otherwise, they don't get to play. I would assume the reverse can also be true. However, I think it is disingenuous for a DM to claim that they run a punishing game out of a sense of duty to tone fidelity and verisimilitude and not recognize that they may just enjoy a bit of sadism.

I agree, I think this is where the line can be drawn between good and bad DMing. Any playstyle is fine, including extremely harsh environment and extreme challenges if it's what people are the table are looking for. But as soon as someone becomes disingenuous, whether it's the DM claiming that he is going to be harsh but fair and actually not wanting anyone to survive (never met one of those, not sure if it's just an urban legend or just a question of degree), or players coming to the table for the wrong reason or hiding their real motivations, you risk having problems.

 

[Ogre Mage]

Killer DMs certainly existed when I was in middle school. I was possessed by a demon (no saving throw) and my soul was forever destroyed. The dragon swooped down out of nowhere and incinerated me (no saving throw). I sprung a trap in the dungeon which killed me (no saving throw). There were variations on "rocks fall, everyone dies."

This is what happens with 12-13 year old boys as your DM, lol.

 

[Thomas Shey]

Killer DMs certainly existed when I was in middle school. I was possessed by a demon (no saving throw) and my soul was forever destroyed. The dragon swooped down out of nowhere and incinerated me (no saving throw). I sprung a trap in the dungeon which killed me (no saving throw). There were variations on "rocks fall, everyone dies."

This is what happens with 12-13 year old boys as your DM, lol.

While maybe not quite that bad, I saw stuff not that far from it from GMs in their 20's and 30's.