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<blockquote data-quote="Sunseeker" data-source="post: 7198588">I would make the argument that most of the time this should be the case.Brick walls aren't fun.&nbsp; Hitting your head against them is even less fun, especially if you found that part of the campaign really engaging.&nbsp; Worse so if you were very close to the end.&nbsp; If I can't give a rational reason for why a failed check should result in essentially a &quot;game over&quot;, then I reevaluate if that check is really necessary or how failure could instead advance the game.&nbsp; Sure, sometimes you're in the final boss fight, and he hits you with a death ray and you die.&nbsp; Thems the breaks.&nbsp; But sometimes you're trying to pick the lock to get in the door to fight the final boss, and you fail.&nbsp; There's no other entrances.&nbsp; The badguy completes his spell.&nbsp; The world is destroyed.&nbsp; Because you couldn't pick a lock?&nbsp; REALLY?&nbsp; There's no reason for that.&nbsp; There's plenty of good options for failure to still allow you to move forward.&nbsp; Maybe each failure means the boss gets more minions to fend you off.&nbsp; Maybe it means you lose a round off the final countdown for each failure.&nbsp; Maybe it means the boss gets larger bonuses to fight you.But if the lead-up was to fight the boss...why deny that?&nbsp; Have consequences sure, but outright denials is no fun for anyone.Lets apply this to a SoD effect: a gorgon's gaze.&nbsp; Make it affect a different body part each round.&nbsp; (Frankly I find this more terrifying).&nbsp; You fail the initial DM rolls 1d4, 1: left arm, 2: right arm, 3: left leg, 4: right leg,(torso is always 2nd to last, then head and then death.&nbsp; Break it down over more body parts if you want a longer duration.&nbsp; Each new round the player makes a save to break the effect.&nbsp; Add various effects to each paralyzed body part, reduced attacks, increased spellcasting time&nbsp; The effect is still permanent (until appropriately undone via the right spells) on all body parts it affects.&nbsp; When the full body is paralyzed, instead of death, make it like a soul trap: the victim's soul is trapped in the statue, they can &quot;see&quot; and &quot;hear&quot; but can't speak (telepathic and magical communication still works).Now you've got a gorgon who plays hit and run from the shadows.&nbsp; Catching players by surprise one at a time then darting off while they slowly petrify.&nbsp; You've also turned &quot;you die&quot; into &quot;you're trapped in stone forever as a lawn decoration, helpless to warn newcomers&quot;.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Sunseeker, post: 7198588"] I would make the argument that [I]most of the time[/I] this should be the case. Brick walls aren't fun. Hitting your head against them is even less fun, especially if you found that part of the campaign really engaging. Worse so if you were very close to the end. If I can't give a rational reason for why a failed check should result in essentially a "game over", then I reevaluate if that check is really necessary or how failure could instead advance the game. Sure, sometimes you're in the final boss fight, and he hits you with a death ray and you die. Thems the breaks. But sometimes you're trying to pick the lock to get in the door to fight the final boss, and you fail. There's no other entrances. The badguy completes his spell. The world is destroyed. Because you couldn't pick a lock? REALLY? There's no reason for that. There's plenty of good options for failure to still allow you to move forward. Maybe each failure means the boss gets more minions to fend you off. Maybe it means you lose a round off the final countdown for each failure. Maybe it means the boss gets larger bonuses to fight you. But if the lead-up was to fight the boss...why deny that? Have consequences sure, but outright denials is no fun for anyone. Lets apply this to a SoD effect: a gorgon's gaze. Make it affect a different body part each round. (Frankly I find this more terrifying). You fail the initial DM rolls 1d4, 1: left arm, 2: right arm, 3: left leg, 4: right leg,(torso is always 2nd to last, then head and then death. Break it down over more body parts if you want a longer duration. Each new round the player makes a save to break the effect. Add various effects to each paralyzed body part, reduced attacks, increased spellcasting time The effect is still permanent (until appropriately undone via the right spells) on all body parts it affects. When the full body is paralyzed, instead of death, make it like a soul trap: the victim's soul is trapped in the statue, they can "see" and "hear" but can't speak (telepathic and magical communication still works). Now you've got a gorgon who plays hit and run from the shadows. Catching players by surprise one at a time then darting off while they slowly petrify. You've also turned "you die" into "you're trapped in stone forever as a lawn decoration, helpless to warn newcomers". [/QUOTE]

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