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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Sir Whiskers" data-source="post: 703663" data-attributes="member: 6941">1. The fundamental problem with save or die spells is that, over time, randomness will always favor the bad guys. Assume an average of one character per encounter having to make a save or die. On average, you have at least one dead party member every twenty encounters. For those who feel the players are somehow at fault for placing their characters in a vulnerable position, consider that there is no way to avoid all possible save or die situations. Therefore, with enough encounters, any character is guaranteed to die at some point - through no fault of the player. While the same average holds true for the bad guys, there are always more opponents to throw at a party. Unless its a major villain, how many GM's really worry too much when the party takes out an opponent on a bad roll? And for the major villains, hero points, luck points, etc. are a simple remedy - if I, as DM, blow the roll twice for the villain, well...it was meant to be.2. Consider also, when using save or die spells to their fullest, anyone rolling a lousy initiative may die before having a chance to act, so initiative becomes all-important in combat. The player does nothing wrong, but the character is still dead.3. Much of the enjoyment I have as a player is from having options. Do I sneak into the enemy camp, or try to ambush them, or negotiate, or charm a guard, or...you get the idea. The current save or die system seems to undercut the idea that players should control the fate of their characters. Just as it's wrong for a GM to kill a character "just because", it's a flaw in the system if any character is guaranteed to die at some point, just because of the dice.</blockquote>

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