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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Fanaelialae" data-source="post: 8259094" data-attributes="member: 53980">If I am understanding the scenario correctly, I would consider it probably unfair, based on the information you've presented me with.I don't think that the GM should set up unavoidable scenarios where the only "choice" is who dies, IMO. Any more than the GM should set up unavoidable scenarios that guarantee a TPK (or whatever). That's simply railroading IMO.If the sacrifice is necessitated by the players choices, however, that's fine (and not an instance of railroading). If the players reset the trap to avoid being followed, that's more on them. The choice that determines whether it is fair or not doesn't necessarily need to be made during the scene where the consequences are felt. It can be a result of something the players chose prior, which informs those events.Of course, it should have been possible for them to foresee this eventuality. If the players asked whether this would happen, and the GM said there was no way it could, and now it's happening, then that is unfair. The players work with incomplete information filtered through the GM, and the GM shouldn't intentionally mislead them. If they summoned a devil and asked the question of it, however, then that's on them (devils lie). There's a difference between the GM giving the players information that they are trying to determine through their characters' senses, and information that is communicated via an NPC. The former ought to be significantly more reliable than information communicated through NPCs (albeit the information received through their senses can still vary based on factors like Perception checks).Additionally, it doesn't consider other possible solutions. If the players come up with a logical solution that should work given the trap, the GM shouldn't block it by fiat simply because it isn't the "right" solution. What about tunneling around the trap? Or sacrificing a summoned creature/henchman/animal companion/familiar to disarm the trap? Not every solution necessarily needs to be a great solution (if the PCs take the time to tunnel around the trap, the BBEG might use that time to advance his plans) but they shouldn't be blocked by fiat.While I said that this scenario is most likely unfair, my real answer is that I simply don't have sufficient information to make an informed determination. I would need to know more about the circumstances and details of the scenario in order to deem whether or not it is fair. Ultimately though, I believe it comes down to the players having real choices.</blockquote>

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