How deadly do you like your game (as a player or DM)?

[BookTenTiger]

In my current campaign, the valley is divided into areas meant for different levels... But the characters are free to wander! So they could wind up in a swamp made for characters two or three levels higher. In general, though, their "quests" are leading them to zones appropriate for their level.

This is basically why I asked them to vote on a deadliness number. When they either decide to go into a risky place, or stumble into one, I give them an obvious out. When they choose to stay, they deal with the consequences!

 

[Zsong]

I think death should actually be common for newbies until they get the swing of things. And still tough. There should always be encounters that if they try to brute force their way that will almost unequivocally kill them. They could get lucky. But I like systems where any fight can cause death no matter how well prepped, even if it’s minor. Combat should never be a sure thing. That’s more when I play rq and coc than d&d. But that’s make by later editions of d&d design.

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

Also wanted to add that I really hate the kind of old school stuff I see in certain modules where, even though the party is like, level 4, there is a very real chance they could just happen upon a CR 12 encounter, or whatever. I guess that can make sense from a realism perspective, but I just hate it as a player, so I don't do it as GM.

I will do stuff like, "As you are following the track of Guy Badd you do see a set of tracks that are probably only a few days old, and they look like they are giant sized." You know, add some verisimilitude to the fantasy world...only to have the party of 2nd level PC begin to talk themselves into attacking a group of Hill Giants in their lair.

 

[Shawn Stroud]

... So where are you on the scale, as a DM or a player? Or would you use a different scale altogether?

As a player, I'm a 2 or 3. As a GM, I run 1 to 2. Works for me.

 

[pming]

Hiya!

4. So deadly you might start off dead!

Ok, maybe not QUITE that deadly...but I am not above saying "OK, so. Everyone's ready? Great! Roll initiative. You have been roused from sleep...none of you have weapons or armour on you as you are still groggy. GO!"

Of course, that sort of start only works once every couple of years. Generally speaking, as...

Player: #3. I want to be able to die at virtually any moment...especially if it's my own dang fault.

DM: #3. The world doesn't care about your characters feelings, life, goals, etc. It's not there to make you "become an epic hero"; just like the real world, death is but a fluke of random chance away. Of course, if you are cautious, think of consequences of your actions, and take steps to use all that to not end up dead...you can mitigate all that and die a rich, well-aged ex-adventurer/hero who has loving followers, family, stories, and songs. ... ... ... If not, well, all those skulls with candles on top that illuminate the dungeons evil necromantic master have to come from SOMEWHERE, right? Thank you, adventurer, for your contribution to the "dungeon dressing" part of the rule book! Hey, you never know, maybe you'll get lucky and end up as part of a 1st level wizards Spell Components! Yay! Your pathetic life can finally contribute something meaningful!

(OK, so that last sentence was a bit callous...but hey, remember what I said at the beginning...the world doesn't care, and I, as DM, need to at least PRESENT that front! ).

So yeah. Deadly. I like deadly. It makes surviving and succeeding sooooo much more sweet when the PC's live because of their own play skill and cooperation.

^_^

Paul L. Ming

 

[BookTenTiger]

The game I play in is definitely #1, though I would prefer it to be a 2. Two characters have died and been brought back one session later by divine intervention.

One of the reasons is that the DM has invested heavily in our characters' story arcs. But the consequence of that is that ironically the game feels a little railroady: no matter how much trouble we get into, the DM will create a way out.

 

[Lanefan]

4. So deadly you might start off dead!

I've had this happen both as player and DM: a character dies either just before or in process of meeting the party.

The as-player one was truly bizarre: the party were in a locked-away demiplane where there was no real way to get a new character in, and my previous PC was dead like doornail. However, the DM's chaos-loving wife had a birthday, so during that week's session as a surprise someone* blipped into the middle of the party brandishing a Deck of Many Things...and when this someone pulled the Deck out of a Bag of Holding she also pulled out my new character, clinging to the Deck with all her might! (yes, very Monty Python; that was how this session rolled)

Fast-forward a few minutes and my new character - Anne, who still hasn't really had a chance to introduce herself due to all the shenanigans from others drawing cards - is allowed to draw cards if she wants. "Gimme gimme gimme!" she says - and the very first card is Death. She dies.

* - the 'someone' was in fact another old character of mine from a different DM's game, who I'd have dearly loved to play, but she was just there for show and hasn't been seen since.

This is the only time I've ever done the "Bob II" trick, where I came right back with the same character as the last one: as I never got a chance to play Anne I just pushed the ideas I had for her into her replacement.

 

[Shiroiken]

"If he dies, he dies."

I generally enjoy a game that has a good amount of death as an option. When we first started playing Legends of the Five Rings (1E), it really wasn't common for a character to survive longer than 8 sessions. Not only is the combat system incredibly lethal, but the social scenes are no less deadly (a grievous dishonor would result in seppuku - ritual suicide). I played a bit of Call of Cuthulu back in the day, and while I honestly don't remember much of it, character's regularly suffered a gruesome end. Even D&D needs a good threat of death to keep things interesting IMO.

All that said, it also really depends on the type of game. I've made the mistake before of trying to do an epic LotR style campaign, but once the original cast is dead, it feels like there's no point in continuing. I suggest in those types of campaigns that some other, temporary punishment be used instead of death, in order to keep the campaign alive.

 

[darjr]

I love a deadly game! I love running a deadly game if the players are into it. Not at all if they are not bought in.

What I don't like is a frustrating game.

 

[Lanefan]

All that said, it also really depends on the type of game. I've made the mistake before of trying to do an epic LotR style campaign, but once the original cast is dead, it feels like there's no point in continuing. I suggest in those types of campaigns that some other, temporary punishment be used instead of death, in order to keep the campaign alive.

It doesn't matter if the original cast are all dead* as long as the party (or campaign) has been and remains identifyable all the way through. It's the same principle as starting with a boat, then over the years replacing every part on that boat one at a time, yet in the end it's still the same boat. Or a sports team: the Vancouver Canucks are still the Vancouver Canucks even though nobody who played for them in the 1980s still plays for them now.

* - unless the whole party falls to a TPK, which usually ends that party as being an identifyable thing.