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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Riastlin" data-source="post: 5305449" data-attributes="member: 94022">This is, admittedly, quite open to debate and varies from group to group.  Many groups much prefer that the monsters play realistically rather than engaging in the "James Bond-esque" masquerade of capturing the PCs just so that they can then let them escape.  More to the point, there needs to be a sense of danger, a sense that you really can die.  If the monsters always keep one hand behind their back and never actually kill anything it no only is non-sensical, it makes the game less fun for many.  The thrill in the game comes from knowing you were on the brink of death, yet pulled it out anyway.  If you are never on the brink of death though you might as well just collectively tell a story and throw away the dice. As an example, when my Scales of War group saw 3 of the 5 PCs die in one encounter a) the other two were smart enough to run away (though not exactly an option in the OP's case) and b) the 3 who died were perfectly fine with it and said afterward they were "glad" they died as capture would have made no sense in that particular instance. Now we do still all agree that the encounter in question was troublesome, but any DM who claims not to have made a bad encounter is either a) lying, b) oblivious or c) so inexperienced as to not have had many chances.  Mistakes happen.  When they do, its up to everyone at the table to try to rectify them.  Sometimes that means the PCs need to run away (there's no rule that says they must win every fight after all).  Sometimes the DM needs to step in.  In this case, I think Aegeri is right, the PC would have been better off failing the save (or simply not taking it).  Staying on the ledge at that point was suicidal given the design of the encounter.  Now, its quite likely that the thought of purposefully not saving never crossed the minds of anyone at the table, but here the OP (and hopefully his player) have learned something and now have something else to consider the next time something like this comes up. As I said previously though, given the problems that are evident, I would allow the PC to come back, without the sickness and chalk it up as a learning experience for everyone.  To smooth matters out even more, the DM could/should even own up to the mistake and tell the players that he made a mistake in that encounter.  All that being said though, PC death does, and frankly should, happen from time to time.</blockquote>

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