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<blockquote data-quote="Griogre" data-source="post: 4487654" data-attributes="member: 21138">1) Personally I always run missing PCs as this avoids you having to adjust encounters when someone misses which really might have been the straw that should have prevented what should have been a those four dying.&nbsp; However, if I did drop PCs in and out of each session if the player couldn't make it I would have adjusted the encounter.&nbsp; Fair's fair - if you are going to weaken the party by pulling a PC then the encounters should be adjusted to match the party size.&nbsp; I agree you should not have changed the encounter *level* but that was not the same level encounter when you were missing a PC - it went up a level.2) I would have never brought in someone to save them.&nbsp; For victory to be meaningful there has to be the risk of failure.&nbsp; There are really two aspects of RPG games.&nbsp; There is the storyline with the characters and there are the player group dynamics.&nbsp; Bringing in someone to save their characters tells the players the DM will always save them and their choices do not matter.&nbsp; There is no incentive to get better at running your character if the DM is going to save you.As some have mentioned, you should never really expect your players to do certain things.&nbsp; Players are unpredictable - that really is one of the joys of an RPG from the player viewpoint - they can do whatever they want - and they do.If you want your players to run their characters better you need to give them an incentive to do so.&nbsp; While I am much gentler with new players – I’ll suggest things like bull rush or Turn undead – I probably would have killed those characters assuming they just fought it out.I do want to point out some things in your player’s defense.&nbsp; Opening a door to an unknown area and possibly triggering another encounter when the current encounter is kicking your ass is only something your do when you are desperate and there could have been undead in those houses.&nbsp; Also, the players may well have believed they couldn’t out run the monsters.&nbsp; If the party believes they have no chance of getting away – they will *never* run.&nbsp; Doesn’t matter what the odds are.&nbsp; Also, some good characters simply will not run and abandon their slower friends.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Griogre, post: 4487654, member: 21138"] 1) Personally I always run missing PCs as this avoids you having to adjust encounters when someone misses which really might have been the straw that should have prevented what should have been a those four dying. However, if I did drop PCs in and out of each session if the player couldn't make it I would have adjusted the encounter. Fair's fair - if you are going to weaken the party by pulling a PC then the encounters should be adjusted to match the party size. I agree you should not have changed the encounter *level* but that was not the same level encounter when you were missing a PC - it went up a level. 2) I would have never brought in someone to save them. For victory to be meaningful there has to be the risk of failure. There are really two aspects of RPG games. There is the storyline with the characters and there are the player group dynamics. Bringing in someone to save their characters tells the players the DM will always save them and their choices do not matter. There is no incentive to get better at running your character if the DM is going to save you. As some have mentioned, you should never really expect your players to do certain things. Players are unpredictable - that really is one of the joys of an RPG from the player viewpoint - they can do whatever they want - and they do. If you want your players to run their characters better you need to give them an incentive to do so. While I am much gentler with new players – I’ll suggest things like bull rush or Turn undead – I probably would have killed those characters assuming they just fought it out. I do want to point out some things in your player’s defense. Opening a door to an unknown area and possibly triggering another encounter when the current encounter is kicking your ass is only something your do when you are desperate and there could have been undead in those houses. Also, the players may well have believed they couldn’t out run the monsters. If the party believes they have no chance of getting away – they will *never* run. Doesn’t matter what the odds are. Also, some good characters simply will not run and abandon their slower friends. [/QUOTE]

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