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<blockquote data-quote="JohnSnow" data-source="post: 8955006" data-attributes="member: 32164">I think this is actually one of the most divided topics when it comes to RPGs.I think it's absolutely essential that, to enjoy the game, I don't have total control over the outcome. Sure, as a GM, I have the ability to fudge things, but people generally play games in order to be surprised. Movies and TV shows are similar - since we're not the ones who wrote the story, we can be surprised by where it goes. Even if we know that (by convention) one or more characters has &quot;plot armor&quot; and likely won't get wiped out before the end, we don't know the final result. This is why we put randomizers in games.Personally, I think that it's okay to give more (but not total) narrative control to players to directly influence those outcomes. Even if we limit the degree of negative results that can result from minor random events, or do not allow for character death in &quot;just any&quot; circumstance, or offer any other mechanism that lets the character &quot;cheat death&quot; for a period of time, the potential for surprise is preserved as long as that condition eventually goes away. A good case in point would be Savage Worlds with its Bennies and the wound cap firmly in place.A character can use bennies to soak damage to avoid death for a large part of the game. But there's always the chance for a Critical Failure on the Vigor roll if the character becomes Incapacitated, at which point, they die. They have lots of plot armor, but things can turn against you. To be honest, with the ~1/36 (or less) chance of this happening, this is about a 3% (or less) scenario. If the character isn't already injured going into it, taking 4 wounds, burning all your remaining bennies on failed soak rolls, and failing the Vigor roll at the end is a wayyy lower percentage still, but it can happen.(And groups who find even that too harsh could adopt the &quot;Heroes Never Die&quot; Setting Rule, where final death is a narrative choice).</blockquote>

[QUOTE="JohnSnow, post: 8955006, member: 32164"] I think this is actually one of the most divided topics when it comes to RPGs. I think it's absolutely essential that, to enjoy the game, I don't have total control over the outcome. Sure, as a GM, I have the ability to fudge things, but people generally play games in order to be surprised. Movies and TV shows are similar - since we're not the ones who [I]wrote[/I] the story, we can be surprised by where it goes. Even if we know that (by convention) one or more characters has "plot armor" and likely won't get wiped out before the end, we don't [I]know[/I] the final result. This is why we put randomizers in games. Personally, I think that it's okay to give more (but not total) narrative control to players to directly influence those outcomes. Even if we limit the degree of negative results that can result from minor random events, or do not allow for character death in "just any" circumstance, or offer any other mechanism that lets the character "cheat death" [I]for a period of time[/I], the potential for surprise is preserved as long as that condition eventually [I]goes away[/I]. A good case in point would be [I]Savage Worlds[/I] with its Bennies and the wound cap firmly in place. A character can use bennies to soak damage to avoid death for a large part of the game. But there's always the chance for a Critical Failure on the Vigor roll if the character becomes Incapacitated, at which point, they [I]die[/I]. They have lots of plot armor, but things can turn against you. To be honest, with the ~1/36 (or less) chance of this happening, this is about a 3% (or less) scenario. If the character isn't already injured going into it, taking 4 wounds, burning all your remaining bennies on failed soak rolls, and failing the Vigor roll at the end is a wayyy lower percentage still, but it [I]can[/I] happen. (And groups who find even that too harsh could adopt the "Heroes Never Die" Setting Rule, where final death is a narrative choice). [/QUOTE]

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