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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Brian Gibbons" data-source="post: 3028534" data-attributes="member: 7369">Not only would I call it fair, I think it's a good idea to hit the players with it while their characters are so low level, before they learn bad habits and at a point when it's clear that they have no chance.There are many ways of running a campaign world.  If you're going to have an organic campaign where the players have to decide whether or not they're up to a particular challenge, that's the sort of thing they should know.  It's the sort of thing the GM should mention when discussing his play style, and an encounter like this will make it clear what you mean.It's entirely possible that some of the PCs won't hide.  That's not entirely their fault; they may very well be so used to a play style where every challenge they face is level-appropriate that they don't consider any other option.  The next PCs the players roll up will have learned the lesson.To be fair, though, this should be an IQ test, not an insta-death encounter.  Unfortunately, running away (particularly from creatures with a faster speed) is rather difficult in D&D, so you should design the encounter so that the players realize they have a way out.  You need to give no indication that they have any chance of actually taking on the giant.Remember the flip side of this campaign style, however.  Once you teach the players that there are challenges they should walk away from, you're stuck with that lesson.  That means that if your campaign style hinges on players diving into danger and assuming they can handle anything, you're sabotaging yourself.Some GMs like to run what they call 'heroic' campaigns, where PCs leap on plot hooks and dive into danger (because at the end of the day, if they do what's right, they'll come out on top).  Other GMs prefer to run what they call more 'gritty' campaigns, where death lurks around corners and PCs need to know their limits (because sometimes discretion is the better part of valor, and there's no kindly deity/GM fudging for them if they get in over their heads).Neither play style is better or worse.  The important thing is to make sure everyone is on the same page, and that if the GM has encounters that teach a lesson, that the group is learning the lesson that reinforces the behavior he wants.</blockquote>

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