Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
"Hot Take": Fear is a bad motivator
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Xetheral" data-source="post: 8247239" data-attributes="member: 6802765"><p>For my part, there are always enough simultaneous plots going on that failing at any one (or more than one) of them isn't a campaign-ending hard loss. The outcome of failure might indeed be tragic and irreversible, but the game doesn't stop because there's still so much to do! (Including dealing with the consequences of the failure.) The game might <em>change--</em>a failure to successfully defend the party's stronghold might change a game with a home base to something itinerant--but the game doesn't stop just because the PCs failed.</p><p></p><p>The exception is if the PCs knowingly opt for a heroic last stand. If they do that, then it's indeed game over if they lose, but since it was their choice I wouldn't call it a "hard loss" so much as an "epic conclusion".</p><p></p><p>For reference, characters can and do die in my campaigns, they just don't do so very often. They're only going to die if the players make bad choices or get in over their heads. But because I prioritize player agency and telegraphing danger, players routinely have the information they need to be able to make good choices and avoid getting in over their heads. As a result, most character deaths at my table are conscious sacrifices or deliberate gambles. (That's not to say I run easy encounters--my game worlds are full of ultra-deadly, level-inappropriate potential encounters, but since I run Combat-as-War style the expectation is that players only engage those opponents if they've first successfully weighted the odds in their favor. Choosing to engage in a "fair fight" is indeed the sort of deliberate gamble where characters sometimes die.)</p><p></p><p>I'm honestly not sure where my games fall on the spectrum discussed in this thread. Since character deaths are rare and the result of informed choices, maybe I'm closer to the no-random-death side. On the other hand, the threat of death is still always present (even if it's avoidable) so maybe I'm more on the pro-fear-of-death side.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Xetheral, post: 8247239, member: 6802765"] For my part, there are always enough simultaneous plots going on that failing at any one (or more than one) of them isn't a campaign-ending hard loss. The outcome of failure might indeed be tragic and irreversible, but the game doesn't stop because there's still so much to do! (Including dealing with the consequences of the failure.) The game might [I]change--[/I]a failure to successfully defend the party's stronghold might change a game with a home base to something itinerant--but the game doesn't stop just because the PCs failed. The exception is if the PCs knowingly opt for a heroic last stand. If they do that, then it's indeed game over if they lose, but since it was their choice I wouldn't call it a "hard loss" so much as an "epic conclusion". For reference, characters can and do die in my campaigns, they just don't do so very often. They're only going to die if the players make bad choices or get in over their heads. But because I prioritize player agency and telegraphing danger, players routinely have the information they need to be able to make good choices and avoid getting in over their heads. As a result, most character deaths at my table are conscious sacrifices or deliberate gambles. (That's not to say I run easy encounters--my game worlds are full of ultra-deadly, level-inappropriate potential encounters, but since I run Combat-as-War style the expectation is that players only engage those opponents if they've first successfully weighted the odds in their favor. Choosing to engage in a "fair fight" is indeed the sort of deliberate gamble where characters sometimes die.) I'm honestly not sure where my games fall on the spectrum discussed in this thread. Since character deaths are rare and the result of informed choices, maybe I'm closer to the no-random-death side. On the other hand, the threat of death is still always present (even if it's avoidable) so maybe I'm more on the pro-fear-of-death side. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
"Hot Take": Fear is a bad motivator
Top