The fights you stumble into probably won't kill you; the fights you go looking for just might.I'm that DM that will unabashedly say, "Screw that." and not let some bad luck on a die roll kill a character in some low-stakes, non-climactic situation, but will also cheerfully let characters die when they've decided to do something stupid.
The fights you stumble into probably won't kill you; the fights you go looking for just might.
Yeah, people in my games don't accidentally fall off the sides of mountains and die on the way to the dungeon, unless I've designed it so that getting to the dungeon is a major part of the adventure and falling off the mountain is the major dramatic consequence of that part of the adventure. (although they may well fall off the mountain and have to climb back up.)
On the other hand, If I've just told them straight-out that they can clearly see that the rickety bridge across the crevasse is far too messed up to cross and they'll have to find another way, and they decide to try it anyway...
Same here.I'm that DM who isn't shy about saying how the sausage was made, though I usually wait until hours after it's been eaten.
Had I any players who voiced criticism of this I would at least try to curb it, but I'm not sure I could completely stop. It's an example of my pathological over-sharing. "Yeah, that session we just ran, I had NOTHING prepared so I was winging it the whole time" or "that fight went south way too fast, so I got creative with the 'steal health' move in order to clear away some of the rabble after you focused the big bad--which was a smart move on your part."Same here.
That said, in the past I've had players (who aren't DMs) complain when I do this - to follow your analogy they don't want to know how the sausage was made, as long as it was tasty. They don't want to "see behind the curtain", as it were; and I suspect if I was never a DM I'd be the same way.
Yep, I hear ya.Had I any players who voiced criticism of this I would at least try to curb it, but I'm not sure I could completely stop.
Indeed.It's an example of my pathological over-sharing. "Yeah, that session we just ran, I had NOTHING prepared so I was winging it the whole time" or "that fight went south way too fast, so I got creative with the 'steal health' move in order to clear away some of the rabble after you focused the big bad--which was a smart move on your part."
Mostly I see it as keeping myself honest, I think. Not trying to pass off my sausage as anything other than what it is, you know?