IS Your GM Out To Get You (Serious)

[loverdrive]

If I'm running a game with tactical combat, it's fair to say I have an advantage over the rest of my group (with one exception, possibly). So I run npcs to their typical intelligence. Roll random for mindless up to cheating by having super-intelligent npcs knowing things they normally wouldn't. And I roll in the open.

But, the two times there were tpks in my games the past dozen years, no one felt worse than me. I do literally cheer for the players and celebrate with them when they get a hard fought win. I'm not trying to win, that's weird, it's very easy to win when you control everything but the PCs. It's much more fun and challenging to make it look like I'm trying to win.

Sure, but there are ways to take a lot of control out of GMs hands when it comes to fights.

Random encounters is a bit one. I rolled 2d6 goblins and I'm going to use them to the fullest extent.

Another important thing is making it possible to lose but not die. Objectives beyond "kill everyone" are great for that, but most robust way is to give PCs protection in the rules, like how concession works in Fate, or how you choose whether you want your character to die or not in AW.

 

[Agamon]

Sure, but there are ways to take a lot of control out of GMs hands when it comes to fights.

Random encounters is a bit one. I rolled 2d6 goblins and I'm going to use them to the fullest extent.

Another important thing is making it possible to lose but not die. Objectives beyond "kill everyone" are great for that, but most robust way is to give PCs protection in the rules, like how concession works in Fate, or how you choose whether you want your character to die or not in AW.

Yep, after the last tpk, I decided I'm going to steal 13th Age's failure with a loss rule for when the party is wiped out as an option for the players if they want to continue the campaign (if the game doesn't have something like this already, like Daggerheart).

 

[Ulorian - Agent of Chaos]

So interestingly in last nights session - the last in a 10 session delve into Undermountain using WFRP 4e - the part jokingly asked I would be TPKing them this week?

The party has just finished the Drow enclave on level 3. They had several critical wounds - the wizard a broken hip, the front line fighter some cracked ribs. Everyone was fatigued. The dwarf had almost died. They had no resolve left and no fortune left.

They were facing off against a Drider. The first attack from the Drider took half the warriors wounds away, poisoned him and entangled him. At that point we were convinced it was all over. Then by some freak chance the halfling scored two crits in a row - one blinded and stunned the creature and the next stunned it further, destroyed the other eye and left it helpless. They survived. But there was a strong feeling that they had narrowly escaped death. They took a boat to skullport and the first portal they could find back to the surface.

It’s one of the things I love about WFRP the fact that it could all go terrible wrong but sometimes will go terribly right. I don’t go easy on folks. But I do try and play it straight and give people meaningful decisions to make.

WFRP 4E is an interesting system.