Poll: PC Death

[TheCrazyMuffinMan]

My favorite option is one that's off the list: Players die if whatever situation that would cause them to die manages to take. I refuse to pull punches unless the campaign's long-term success requires it, with no other option being available. I also refuse to use death as some sort of punitive, derisive, or karmic device unless I have to kick a player out. At that point, anything lost by shadowgating his character would be irrelevant, as the player is already gone.

 

[Grazzt]

If the players do something stupid or the dice go against them, thats how it is in my games. Character death is part of the game - part of the risks if you will.

Same in my games too. Always has been (even back to the 1e games we played in the early 80s)

 

[Drowbane]

1) PCs in my games die very often. Its DM vs. Player, baby!
2) PCs die when they make stupid mistakes, and the DM never pulls punches.

1.5) Crit Happens, let the dice fall where they may, the more powerful the PC builds, the more twinked out the monsters, and the DM never pulls punches.

 

[SavageRobby]

I voted for PCs die when they make stupid mistakes, and the DM never pulls punches, but its really more PCs die when they die, and the DM never pulls punches.

I don't punish players for making mistakes or "bad" decisions (sometimes that provides the most fun roleplaying moments), but I also don't reward them for making the "right" decisions, either. Sometimes they might do everything wrong, and come out successful, sometimes they might do everything right, and someone bites it. So it goes.


Edit: As for fudging, hard to fudge when the players are rolling most of the dice. I have players roll for their opponent's attacks and damage against them (and saves, and just about everything else). The only thing I roll in secret are rolls that should be secret, like Searches or off-camera activity. And man, nothing like watching a player rack up huge amounts of damage .... against their own PC!

 

[Jolly Giant]

PCs die when they make stupid mistakes, and the DM never pulls punches.

That's the way I've always DMed. However, all the players now this and they don't rush into things without thinking. They don't assume that everything they meet; wherever they go, is gonna be around their EL either. They think things through (usually ) and don't take stupid risks (all that often ), so they don't die all that often either.

 

[boerngrim]

When I first started DMing for my friends 15 years ago (man that makes me feel old) I used to pull punches and feel very bad if a PC died. As I have logged more DM hours though I've accepted that sometimes PC's die. Usually its not anyone's fault, they have a rough patch of rolls or monsters/npc's have good rolls. I think the game is more fun for everyone if the players believe that the monsters and NPC's can kill the PC's and actively seek to do so. It's like Mal said on Firefly, "If sombody tries to kill you, you try to kill them right back!"
Thanks.

 

[Treebore]

...or player 'stupidity' (which invariably means a miscommunication between player and DM).

No, it doesn't. I can't tell you how many times (too darn numerous) I have even resorted to telling them what they are about to do is stupid, and they still went ahead and did it. Most of the time they died, or were captured. But there was no miscommunication between us.

Now there have been times where there was misunderstandings, but for every one misunderstanding I have had at least 4 stupid moves done.

Even so, the biggest threat to characters is usually ugly dice rolls. Either low ones by the PC's, or high rolls made by me (rolled several crits last session), usually a combination of my rolling hot and the players rolling cold in the same encounter.

 

[Griffith Dragonlake]

Even so, the biggest threat to characters is usually ugly dice rolls. Either low ones by the PC's, or high rolls made by me (rolled several crits last session), usually a combination of my rolling hot and the players rolling cold in the same encounter.

I've killed far more characters with critical hits than anything else. Many times I have asked my players if we should drop critical hits but each time they voted to keep them.

 

[Doug McCrae]

I can't tell you how many times (too darn numerous) I have even resorted to telling them what they are about to do is stupid, and they still went ahead and did it. Most of the time they died, or were captured. But there was no miscommunication between us.

Why did they do those things?

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

I voted two, but it is not really accurate description of what I do.
Because seldomly my players act stupid, but I sometimes do pull the punches.
Sometimes they make mistakes, like walking around a corner and suddenly facing three Bodaks or something like that. Very stupid of them, failing one of the 3 saves they needed to make to survive... Very stupid indeed.

Okay, maybe I voted entirely false. In a difficult encounter, I enjoy it some of the PCs are lying on the ground and bleeding out. But I don't want to see them actually die, because there is no fun for anyone in there (unless maybe to figure out if the next Reincarnate will get you an interesting race or you will end up sucking more than ever. Reincarnate has become our cheap Raise Dead replacement at lower levels. )