Killer DMs and you

[The_Gneech]

I don't need a killer DM ... I'm that bad a dice roller.

The DM of my group is quite the softie, actually ... not very monty haulish, but definitely wants the PCs to win ... but I keep thwarting his efforts by rolling 1's constantly. It's very frustrating for him and me both.

-The Gneech

 

[Schmoe]

I am running a weekly Shadowrun campaign where the whole point is to enjoy whatever trouble the PCs end up in through their own stupidity, hang-ups, blind spots, bad luck etc. We are still breaking in a player that rejoined us and is somewhat stuck in the "smart player mode" we played in the last campaign. Such a mentality is, however, inappropriate for a game that tries to catch the flavor of a funny action movie, not the mood of saving private ryan.

That sounds like a lot of fun! And I can definitely understand how the constant threat of death would ruin the mood of the game. I think every game has its own theme and atmosphere, and the deadliness of a setting is just one of the things that helps to define the theme. Different people obviously prefer different themse. To use an analogy, we all like pork chops, but some like them with paprika and pepper, while others like them with butter and applesauce.

Personally, I'm a paprika and pepper kind of guy. I like games to be grim 'n gritty, where clever tactics are rewarded and foolishness can get you killed. I like the thrill of knowing that success or failure can hinge on a single roll of the die, it makes the times that I succeed that much more memorable.

However, there have been occassions where I've had my porkchops with butter and applesauce, and I have to say that I enjoyed them very much.

 

[Schmoe]

I guess I should also address the topic of the thread. I don't consider myself a Killer DM, but I think my players might disagree. They're starting to call me the DeathMonger (DM), and I've almost usurped the throne of deadliest DM from one of my other players.

Honestly, I don't know what they're complaining about. None of them have died more than three times.

Yet.

 

[The_Gneech]

Oh, I meant to mention: in the game where I'm the DM, there have only been three deaths -- but they all happened to the same character.

Player doesn't seem to get the fact that rogues are not stand-up fighters.

He's died heroically each time, attempting to rescue some other party member ... but each time it was by jumping into the middle of a combat where he was in way over his head.

The rest of the group have all come really close at one time or another; but what am I s'posed to do? I sent three dozen orcs and a couple of trolls after them ... figuring that the rapid-shooting ranger (favored enemy: orcs) and the fireball-tossing wizard would mop up the floor with 'em.

But the ranger ignored the orcs entirely and started hacking away at the trolls with a sword ... leaving the wizard to burn all her fireballs on the advancing horde of orcs. The rest of her spells were mostly utility things, although she did get good use out of her magic missiles. Point is, at the end of the fight, they were both a shave away from the underworld -- because they went after the wrong targets.

So am I a killer DM? I wouldn't like to think so, but...

-The Gneech

 

[Shard O'Glase]

I kill PCs it's what I do.