StalkingBlue
First Post
Good luck dreaded beast - and let us know how it goes! 
We like DM's war stories.
We like DM's war stories.
Help me! I'm afraid to kill my players!
- Thread starter dreaded_beast
- Start date
DM_Matt
First Post
1. You should fear kiling players. Thats what well-ordered legal systems do, deter serious crime 
2. Try doing all rolling in the open but make it so people dies at -Con instead of -10. That massively increases character durability, but in a reletively subtle way, without having to make the games any easier and without significantly decreasing their feeling of getting their butts kicked when that is in fact happening.
2. Try doing all rolling in the open but make it so people dies at -Con instead of -10. That massively increases character durability, but in a reletively subtle way, without having to make the games any easier and without significantly decreasing their feeling of getting their butts kicked when that is in fact happening.
mr_outsidevoice
First Post
I'm not fond of killing PCs on a regular basis. However if one dies he dies.
The very first session In the campaign I run, A PC died. He is still dead. The cleric in the group is now just about to hit 9th level, so raise dead will be available, but I don't know what the player's view on it will be.
Just create challenging situations. Some days player's tactics will mesh and devestate what you throw at them, other days, they will have their butts handed to them, just do your best and don't worry, death is not a career ending injury in D&D.
The very first session In the campaign I run, A PC died. He is still dead. The cleric in the group is now just about to hit 9th level, so raise dead will be available, but I don't know what the player's view on it will be.
Just create challenging situations. Some days player's tactics will mesh and devestate what you throw at them, other days, they will have their butts handed to them, just do your best and don't worry, death is not a career ending injury in D&D.
I will voice the thought that you do not need to establish the treat of death occurring. A great many campaign run long and interesting without the threat of death. Many people like that, many people don't. It isn't a matter of what is right, it is a matter of what you and your players want.
You might want to simply ask them what they'd prefer. Even moreso on the whole plot and story thing - they may not express such a desire if you don't ask explicitly. If they are interested in interesting tactical situations, killing things and taking loot, you may quickly bore them with your intended storyline.
You might want to simply ask them what they'd prefer. Even moreso on the whole plot and story thing - they may not express such a desire if you don't ask explicitly. If they are interested in interesting tactical situations, killing things and taking loot, you may quickly bore them with your intended storyline.
Dark Mistress
First Post
Well personally I will fudge to keep players alive if they are about to die to just a series of really bad rolls or really good rolls from me. But if they are going to die from doing something stupid, lack of planing(pushing on when they are all badly hurt ect) then I let things fall where they may.
CanadienneBacon
Explorer
dreaded beast, player sounding off here (and I didn't read the whole thread, but saw enough to understand the basic dilemna you've found yourself in). I would prefer it if you kept your rolls private. If you are concerned that we are on to your fudging (and you're right, we are on to you), then what you might wish to do is keep track of our HP yourself behind your screen. When we take damage, you make note of it in a running column...this way, you don't have to ask us how many HP we have because you already know. You do this already with your monsters, I see no reason why you can't do it with players. The good thing here is that you'll know when we're close to being killed and if you then wish to mete out reduced damage, you are free to do so with no one the wiser.
On the subject of death and dying, eh...if we die, we die. It's not your job to keep us alive, not unless you feel there is a compelling reason why we must not die (like the whole plot will go to pieces, which IME is RARELY the case).
And speaking of a "no one the wiser" approach, that's how I prefer my DM to run the show. Keep your stuff private and hidden and try your best not to let on that you have made a mistake, fudged, whatever. It's so much more fun for players when the DM doesn't let on that he is fudging, either for our benefit or not. I would never want to deprive you of the DM's right to fudge!
On the subject of death and dying, eh...if we die, we die. It's not your job to keep us alive, not unless you feel there is a compelling reason why we must not die (like the whole plot will go to pieces, which IME is RARELY the case).
And speaking of a "no one the wiser" approach, that's how I prefer my DM to run the show. Keep your stuff private and hidden and try your best not to let on that you have made a mistake, fudged, whatever. It's so much more fun for players when the DM doesn't let on that he is fudging, either for our benefit or not. I would never want to deprive you of the DM's right to fudge!
CCamfield
First Post
Well since one of your players have weighed in now maybe there's no point in posting, but what the heck...
First, yes, as someone said - try to make sure that some small curing potions (cure light wounds) or alchemical salves of some sort are dropped as treasure so that if the cleric is knocked out someone can heal him. (When the ranger gets to 4th level he can use a wand of cure light wounds. Very handy.) If after this - or even after their past adventures - the players aren't organized to deal with the situation when the cleric falls unconscious ... it's really their fault, not yours.
How much damage did the falling branches & debris do to the cleric? It seems to me that there was a situation where you judged it dangerous where maybe it didn't need to be?
Finally, a note on surviving in the wilderness... how common are your random encounters, if you have any? If they aren't very common, then it could be a perfectly legitimate healing tactic to hole up somewhere and for the ranger to use his Healing skill on someone (like the cleric) which will give back some healing over the course of a day or overnight.
First, yes, as someone said - try to make sure that some small curing potions (cure light wounds) or alchemical salves of some sort are dropped as treasure so that if the cleric is knocked out someone can heal him. (When the ranger gets to 4th level he can use a wand of cure light wounds. Very handy.) If after this - or even after their past adventures - the players aren't organized to deal with the situation when the cleric falls unconscious ... it's really their fault, not yours.
How much damage did the falling branches & debris do to the cleric? It seems to me that there was a situation where you judged it dangerous where maybe it didn't need to be?
Finally, a note on surviving in the wilderness... how common are your random encounters, if you have any? If they aren't very common, then it could be a perfectly legitimate healing tactic to hole up somewhere and for the ranger to use his Healing skill on someone (like the cleric) which will give back some healing over the course of a day or overnight.
Epametheus
First Post
I rather nervous about killing PCs, too. But then I finally did it (the player got cocky and got his PC into a situation where she was simply doomed), it was like a great barrier had been lifted. The rest of the group knows that I'm going to try to put them through a meat grinder when I guest-DM, and they've adopted the attitude of "bring it on!"
Low-level characters are expendable as long as they aren't central to the plot, but even a 4th level party can scrap together the funds for a Raise Dead.
I've found the ease of ressurrection to be rather nice. Especially once True Res enters the pictures; it'd practically an invitation to take off the kid gloves and test the limits of what the party can actually handle.
I don't fudge the dice anymore, though I'll hold back if it looks like I have actually exceeded the party's capabilities.
Though the closest I've come to the TPK was an encounter where I actually forgot that the party was Dimensionally Anchored by an Unhallow field, and so a TPK was averted because I completely forgot a rather important detail.
Just give your players some clue as to what they're walking into. Only fools expect to come back out of a dragon's den in one piece.
Low-level characters are expendable as long as they aren't central to the plot, but even a 4th level party can scrap together the funds for a Raise Dead.
I've found the ease of ressurrection to be rather nice. Especially once True Res enters the pictures; it'd practically an invitation to take off the kid gloves and test the limits of what the party can actually handle.
I don't fudge the dice anymore, though I'll hold back if it looks like I have actually exceeded the party's capabilities.
Though the closest I've come to the TPK was an encounter where I actually forgot that the party was Dimensionally Anchored by an Unhallow field, and so a TPK was averted because I completely forgot a rather important detail.
Just give your players some clue as to what they're walking into. Only fools expect to come back out of a dragon's den in one piece.
Similar Threads
