Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="DSRilk" data-source="post: 3978449" data-attributes="member: 35212">I, too, have been playing for over 20 years (actually, over 30 <shudder>).  I think all of us go through the "realism" phase at one point or another.  However, I wanted to address this specific comment above as I do not believe that risk of character death is the only (or even best) way to add tension.  I have been DM'ing for all of those 30 years and occasionally been a player, and I can tell you that I have killed one character in the last 20 years and my players will all back me in saying that my games are some of the most tense they've experienced.  Not because they feared that their character would die, but because of what would happen in the story if they screw up.  Their childhood friend gets hanged because they were unable to successfully get the evidence to prove who really killed the mayor's son.  They end up being responsible for the king getting deposed and a tyrant sitting on the throne because they weren't able to find and take care of the assassin.  When players are actually role-playing, the scenario itself can generate a fear of failure far greater than any fear of death.  I've had many players willing to sacrifice their characters (that they played for a couple years) in order to save the kingdom or what-have-you.My players all pretty much know from the start that unless they do something totally foolhardy (like defeat a rogue who flees, then follow the rogue in order to kill him for his armor), or they want to fling their lives to the wind for a chance to beat the final bad guy of the campaign, their characters aren't going to die.  They know they'll be able to participate in the story.  They do, however, know that their actions have consequences in the story, and I think this is a much more powerful motivator (assuming you're playing with people that like stories more than looting bodies).It can be difficult to get this to work until you're used to it, but it's a matter of game design.  First, I ensure there's a reason for the combat other than "I want your stuff."  When the players are hunting an assassin who's out to kill the king and the assassin beats them, he isn't specifically out to kill or loot them, he's got something else to do.  When the PCs all end up bleeding and unconscious, he takes off and leaves them there.  He doesn't care if they survive, he just needs to kill the king and now his way is clear.  The guards might then find the PCs in the hall and stop them from bleeding to death just in time for the PCs to then run down the hall and find the king dead at his dinner table.This brings me to another technique: deadlines.  We've seen it in the movies; the hero never finds the bomb until there are only 20 seconds left to disarm it, and THAT's when the baddies get to him, so he has to defeat them in 20 seconds or the town blows sky high.  The same technique can be used in gaming to add tension without risk of death.  The high priest is gating in a horde of demons and the PCs get to the entrance 1 minute shy of the completion.  They now have 10 rounds to defeat the guards in the hall (or find a way around them) and disrupt the ceremony.  The guards in the hall can be weak -- just strong enough to delay the PCs.  Again, no fear of death, just fear of what will happen to their town if they don't make it in time.  And the priest doesn't care about killing the PCs.  Heck, he's probably sadistic enough to make sure they live so that they can witness their failure unfold.I also ensure there are backup plans in case things go too easy or too hard.  The guards are on their way and get there "early" to help the PCs out.  One of the escaped rogues calls for reinforcements.  Or I'll lower or raise hp as necessary as I gain a better sense of how much damage the PCs can churn out.  All the players know, however, is that combat is challenging and that there is a penalty for failure.The added bonus to this methodology is that players always feel their characters are cool, because they rip through people, slay the dragons, etc.This style of gaming requires mature players that are story driven; it's not for everyone.  But then again, players who only care about getting loot view death or losing treasure as the mark of failure in which case death is not an issue.</blockquote>

Verification