I'm such a wimpy DM.

[Centaur]

Then I start to... to feel bad. I think, man, he's sure been working on this character a long time. How awful to lose two levels like that. So then the party's off to the local magic-ruler-guy's house and they're like, "Hey can you help us? Please?"

SO HE DOES. He gives the guy a restoration and he's back to his original level.

This is OK, Just remember, that one day, this magic-ruler-guy is going to want something in return for his actions. And it's gonna be big. And as long as he gets what he wants, he's not gonna care what shape the PCs are in at the end of it.

It's OK to appear weak, as long as you make it fit in the plot line.

Repeat after me: "The PC's are Not My Friends" Say this over and over, with conviction.

Just remember, the PCs may not be your friends, but the players are so moderate your cruelty, but don't make it impotent...

 

[ForceUser]

I'm worse than barsoomcore. I vacillate. I make a ruling, my players challenge it, I change my ruling.

Almost - every - freaking - time.

Sigh.

 

[barsoomcore]

Thanks, folks. I started a Spineless Puppy support thread -- let's share generalized Spineless Puppy stories and thoughts there!

Yo, Centaur, Langley? Hm, you're in Langley, me and Teflon Billy in Vancouver... do I feel a Northwest Game Day coming on?

Or is that lunch?

 

[PowerWordDumb]

Just keep repeating my sig over and over and you will be on the road to recovery. When you wake up in the morning say to yourself, "want that TPK", over and over.

I might be able to if I didn't keep snickering every time I saw how you misspelled "their".

(This pedantic spelling moment brought to you by the Rat-Bastardly DM Association of ENWorld, keeping an eye on all you spineless puppies wherever you hide)

 

[Sanackranib]

Brilliant! That's brilliant, I say, genius, I tell you!

The SPBM Association -- Providing assistance, counselling and support for Spineless Puppy DMs everywhere

Yes. The time is right.

Now you just need a Rat Bastard to oversee the whole deal to be sure that you don't create a self fulfilling spiral of whipped!
**insert evil laugh here**

 

[Arnwyn]

2. Restoration: Dispels negative levels and restores *one* level to a PC that has had a level drained. The PC has the minimum amount of XP for the level that has been restored (thus this spell does not actually restore ALL XP loss). Cures all ability score damage and restores all points permanently drained from *one* ability score (caster's choice if there is more than one). Eliminates fatigue and exhaustion.

Ah yes - this is the one I was thinking of (consider my post above to say "restoration", not "lesser restoration"). It's only Clr4 - in any case, I've never had anyone in 3e permanently lose a level (as the clerics always cast it before the PCs need to make the Fort save 24 hours later).

 

[Knowledge Sinkhole]

Regardless, though, the result would have turned out the same, I think. In 3e, I have *yet* to see a player actually lose a level. In fact, I have *yet* to see anyone actually roll the Fort save 24 hours later - gaining back negative levels is so pathetically easy in this edition if you have a cleric in your group (lesser restoration) that I don't bother with most level-draining undead anymore. They're useless. (Though if there is no cleric in the group, then they're reasonably scary - but I've never seen a group without a cleric in more than a decade of D&D.)

I dunno; when my group went hunting vampires, I got stuck with 4 negative levels. Our cleric had failed his save against the breath of a Gorgon we had encountered, so I was on my own. Still, I had decent saves; I needed to roll a four in order to make it. Out of the four saves I made the next day, I rolled two natural ones, and a three. As my character was no longer able to survive the kind of threats the party would encounter, we parted ways. So, level drain kinda sucks.

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

I might be able to if I didn't keep snickering every time I saw how you misspelled "their".

(This pedantic spelling moment brought to you by the Rat-Bastardly DM Association of ENWorld, keeping an eye on all you spineless puppies wherever you hide)

If you check my mental stats you will see why I make mistakes.