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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Sunseeker" data-source="post: 5841251">I know, but in my experience it's easier to wind up with disgruntled players when the other players CHOOSE to let them die.  I'd rather my whole party die and everyone start over, pat each other on the back for a good try and cook up a whole new party than make one player feel like a doof for dying and be angry at the party for leaving them.I don't think of this as defeatist at all.  Even if I've got a TPK on my hands, the party gave it a good try, perhaps the dice were against them, perhaps they screwed up.  This is natural and especially against a SOD monster, expected, succeeding against a SOD monster is IMO, supposed to be incredibly tough and basically an "all or nothing" fight.Sure, I could DM handwave it so that the party successfully carries the newly statuesque Joe out of the dungeon safely, but that feels disingenuous.  I've been known to knock over a monster when the party gets them to 1HP instead of zero, but I feel that playing "The DM says so" card robs my players of the risk and associated reward.As I've said before, I want SOD to be rare and powerful.  While classically a medusa is capable of turning an entire army to stone, it's my opinion that any type of great power has it's limits.  Perhaps THE Medusa herself could turn an army to stone, but the ones an adventurer encounters might only have such a power available for 1 or 2 shots and have a variety of lesser stone-gaze powers at more regular disposal.  Taking this kind of approach eliminates the SOD TPK right off the bat, if it's simply not possible for all but the very powerful of gorgons to turn many people to stone at once then the party isn't going to risk a TPK one-shot.It also places resource management on the side of the monsters as well.  A lot of creatures have incredibly powerful abilities that they can use so often they might as well have no limit.  If the monster, like the player, has to creativly manage their powers, I think it makes the game much more engaging.  Is the medusa going to SOD someone this turn?  Maybe she's readied the action, maybe she's used it all up?  Who knows?  I think that getting creative with SOD will go a lot farther in creating tension than simply telling everyone that they're the newest lawn ornaments in the gorgon's garden.</blockquote>

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