D&D 5E [+] Questions for zero character death players and DMs…

[Swarmkeeper]

Hmm,

1 in 20 chance per attack = 5%

3 attacks per round * 4 rounds = 12 attacks

12 * 5 = 60%

What am I missing?

Think about it this way... if the combat went 7 rounds, would there really be 105% chance of a crit? Ten rounds = 150% chance of a crit?

The actual probability of a crit in your example is: 1.00-(0.95^12) = what @DND_Reborn said

 

[Micah Sweet]

How do you figure?

If I play the A series of modules, the outcome is going to be pretty predictable, presuming we get to the end of the series. There might be a range of results, but, by and large, most of them are going to be pretty close. If I do the GDQ series, the story will end with the giants and drow defeated and Lolth dead.

It's not like this is new. This has been the standard in RPG campaigns for a very, very long time. Not ever game is an open world sandbox. There's a lot more to D&D than open world sandbox play.

My first group was similar to @overgeeked. People with lots of experience in 1st ed (which is all I played for years into 2nd Ed's run) and a very player skill and challenge-oriented style. I got heavily into the various setting materials for 2nd and love them, but they were reading material and fodder for inspiration far more than they were gamebooks for me. Play at the table was a different beast, and while I was aware of the Hickman Revolution, our group never engaged in it. The other games we played over the years (Cyberpunk, Palladium, Call of Cthulhu, Legend of the Five Rings, and Traveller to name a few) kept those sensibilities in our hands.

I played with that group (and similar folks) in that style from the mid-80s until just a few years ago, when a real-life tragedy ended our time together. The folks I've been playing with since then, like my wife and friends I've met through her, have a more modern viewpoint and it can be hard to adjust. I still prefer the old way, but I'll play with anyone who enjoys the game and isn't a jerk. Many playstyles are valid.

For myself and my table when I run D&D however, undirected character death will always be there.

Edit: I should note in reference to your remarks that we ALWAYS played homebrew. I can count the number of modules I've played through properly on one hand.

 

[Charlaquin]

Excellent point, but FWIW your math is off a bit I think (maybe there are assumptions I am unaware of?).

The probability of getting hit by 1 or more critical hit (assuming you survive any early critical hits so the combat goes the full 4 rounds) when being attacked 3 times each round for 4 rounds is 45.96%.

So, do you bring an umbrella when there is (roughly) a 45% chance of rain?

I lived in Washington state for about 4 years and never carried an umbrella

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Id imagine if the players had an old school "Do anything to keep my character alive as long as possible" mindset it would be challenging to kill off a large number of PCs. I never create a character with that as a design goal, so conversely I think I've lost 4 or 5 5e characters as a result.

5e in and of itself isn't easy mode DnD, but perhaps it's the edition where it's the hardest to kill optimized, minmaxed, or overly cautious characters???

Possibly, but I think it’s more down to encounter building guidelines than it is inherent to the game.

 

[DND_Reborn]

I lived in Washington state for about 4 years and never carried an umbrella

Hey, some people just like the rain.

Me, I lived in Arizona for 12 years and also never carried an umbrella.

 

[Maxperson]

I'm old (it was my 49th birthday today). Ive played those style of games, but do not find fun or value in them now. I now bounce off the idea of using my knowledge and real world physics as channeled through a surrogate. It's why I despise "puzzles" in adventures like a dirty diaper.

I find system mastery is better done through boardgames and storytelling through RPGs.

Happy belated Birthday!!

 

[DND_Reborn]

'm old (it was my 49th birthday today)

Happy B-day!

I'll be 49 in October. Nice to know we're the same age (basically), even if I "grilled" you like a newbie.

 

[Maxperson]

Happy B-day!

I'll be 49 in October. Nice to know we're the same age (basically), even if I "grilled" you like a newbie.

October is a good month. My wife is turning 48. My mother and daughter also have October birthdays, as do the wives of my two closest friends. Busy month!

 

[Chaosmancer]

We aren't playing other kinds of media. Movies, TV, books, Anime, plays, etc. are all very, very different than RPGs. They achieve their goals, because they are written with a beginning, middle and end in mind from the get go, unlike RPGs.

If you are thinking RPGs should involve always reaching their goal because of those other media types, you are engaging in a rather massive False Equivalence.

And House will always nearly kill someone 3 times before miraculously curing them. So what. Those sorts of media are apples to RPG oranges.

Max, you do realize that if the vast majority of every other type of storytelling in the entire world has this property, and that DnD is an RPG, and RPG's are about telling a story with friends, then by the transitive property, it would make sense to RPGs to have that property, because they are a type of storytelling.

You aren't doing something wholly unique and unconnected from storytelling just because you are rolling dice at a table.

 

[Maxperson]

Max, you do realize that if the vast majority of every other type of storytelling in the entire world has this property, and that DnD is an RPG, and RPG's are about telling a story with friends, then by the transitive property, it would make sense to RPGs to have that property, because they are a type of storytelling.

No. RPGs are not about telling a story where the end has already been written and everything scripted prior to shooting the first scene or writing the first chapter. RPGs are about the adventure and seeing where the story takes you, and trying to make it to the end and accomplishing your goals. There is and never has been a guarantee of making it to the end and achieving your goals in D&D as written. Not in any edition.

What you are suggesting between RPGs and other types of media is a False Equivalence. RPGs are not like those other media types, even if both involve a story. Essentially, you are equating a bicycle to a jumbo jet because both have wheels(involve story).