Poll: PC Death

[Anthelios]

Reading all the posts on house rules for hit-points across the board, I get the impression that DMs are wanting to stay away from killing their PCs. This made me think of my own games.

Back in the day we used to kill off PCs all the time. If they made a stupid mistake, they paid for it. With my new group I've been much more lenient. PC death is much rarer (Maybe one or two per year).

As a DM or a player, does your game contain a lot of PC death or little to none? Which do you prefer?

 

[Treebore]

I prefer it if they don't die, but thats the way the game goes. Not so great decisions to even perfect decisions can result in PC death if the dice roll bad. Just like I have had encounters where I was sure the PC's were going to die, then the dice said different. Stunningly so. ITs what makes the game great, in my opinion.

 

[Anthelios]

My current games are running option three, but my next one is going to be a strong "PCs die when they make stupid mistakes, and the DM never pulls punches.". I want to challenge my players. They've grown to bold over the last year. I've been running storylines where the PCs are major elements to the world, and their deaths would suck.

 

[trancejeremy]

I'm really more of a

PCs die when they make stupid mistakes, and the DM sometimes pulls punches when they do something smart but the dice don't roll their way

 

[Reynard]

IMO, the possibility -- in some cases. the very real possibility -- of PC death is integral to an enjoyable gaming experience. While I agree that there ae other ways to make PCs feel threatened, D&D is ultimately a game about action and advneture -- both of which carry the threat of physical danger.

There is no "story" as such -- story happens when the last die is rolled and the scenario/adventure/campaign is over. Things happen in play that develop that story, of course, but the story shouldn't drive play. Some characters' stories end with them saving the princess, killing the dragon and taking home the hoard. Some characters' stories end with them at the bottom of a 10' deep pit impaled on kobold dung covered spikes, just inside the dungeon.

 

[Nifft]

None of the above.

Players earn Fate Points for their PCs by writing journal entries, doing art, etc. -- out-of-game activities that help the game. Each Fate Point can be cashed in to preserve a PC from death once (or to boost a roll like an Action Point).

I don't pull my punches. I let the players decide how much (or how little) they want their PCs to die. There have been fights where multiple Fate Points were spent to preserve the life of at least one risk-hungry PC.

Cheers, -- N

 

[Dyir]

I used to "pull punches" all the time to prevent PC death. But then I started using the Hero Point system from Mutants and Masterminds, and then i stopped. I figure if the players are concerned with their characters dying, they'll save the Hero Points to save 'em...and if they don't, that's not my fault.

 

[Korgoth]

Let the dice fall where they may. Part of the game involves the PCs managing risks, setting appropriate goals and realizing that the yawning, bone-festooned cavern with the brimstone smell coming out of it must be treated cautiously, especially at lower levels (alternatively, they could just do something truly vulpine like asking a local peasant in Drachenflammburg, say down at the Dragon's Wrath Tavern, whether the town's name is an eponym of an actual wyrm's breath, and if said creature lairs in said suspicious cavern).

You could do everything right and still get killed. Like Poker, the best hand doesn't always win. It usually wins. If the PCs do everything right they are likely to succeed; if they do everything wrong they will survive only by sheer luck.

 

[Blue]

PCs die when they make stupid mistakes, and the DM sometimes pulls punches when they do something smart but the dice don't roll their way

I think this describes me. If the PCs are smart and be willing to avoid / retreat, they should have a very good chance of survival in my campaign. I've had PCs run away a lot, including sacrificing horses to monsters that would be distracted by them.

Where I may fudge is doing things like picking targets. To make up an example, random animal with high damage potential pops up and attacks without having seen the party fight. While it may be smart enough to know that armor is hard, it's not going to be able to make the call between the sorcerer and the monk, and if I have it attack the monk I have a cool fight with a wandering monster, but if I attack the equidistant sorcerer, I could have a character death at a level where there is no chance of resurrection. I'll weight in favor of the monk and roll a die. Sorcerer gets attacked enough to have the fear of death and get adrenaline running, but random encounters without enough "reward" (advancing plot, etc) get the "risk" toned down a touch too.

Another thing I may fudge on is HPs. Someone lands a fantastic crit but leaves it with 2 hp left? Let them kill it for bragging rights. Primary foe takes a could of lucky hits that would put it in negatives before doing anything? Toss it a few extra HP so there is a feel of risk as it takes a retributive strike while on it's last breath.

Cheers,
=Blue(23)

 

[Lanefan]

I wouldn't go so far as to say "It's DM-vs.-Player, baby!" but they die in my games on a regular basis...sometimes due to stupidity, sometimes bad luck, most often by a combination of the two. Sometimes a death occurs due to nothing but heroism...one character dies so others may live.

Lanefan