Stepping over "The Line" in a campaign

[Phlebas]

Yes, I use save points, kind of, I do the "Dallas scenario" in other words they wake up from a dream. I know it's cheesy, but I would rather use that trick then ruin an ongoing campaign. If the players agree we just go back anywhere from an hour to a session and then hit replay. I think I've done this twice in the last ten years for different groups. I explain that they experienced a certain truth, but, things can be different if they take the same steps again (i.e. dice rolls and other creatures also have free will.)

But I do this for convenience (mostly mine) and not so the players take a chance that they wouldn't otherwise do.

I've only had to do this once, but it ruined the whole feel of the campaign, the players didn't like it and we abandoned it soon after that. With hindsight I should have either lived with it and carried on, or just abandoned the campaign and started something different

it was early on in a campaign where the players wanted to go off in a completely different direction (and ended up being captured) - it might work differently in a mature campaign, but in general i think you have to live with what you do, even if it makes a lot more work on the ref, and occasionally the famous, "And roll new characters please"

Re: THE LINE - the best games are a whole series of lines, of various widths that take you from point to point. kind of like a train set with orcs

 

[thedungeondelver]

"Yes, this is horrible, this idea."

A "save game" feature would basically put the characters in a consequence free environment. It would make the players stop playing and make them start trying things at random, instead of thinking. I find the idea abhorrent. Inasmuch as I have tried to steer clear of the whole "3e = videogame", this would clearly represent a sea change from "pen and paper RPG" to "slow-moving videogame".

The idea that raise dead, resurrection and other spells are somehow "save points" unto themselves is patently ridiculous: other than the death, the the thing that was done that caused the death cannot be undone. The artifact has been corrupted, or the monsters know about the characters' presence, etc. Furthermore the effort involved in using raise dead and like magic alone is enough to make it not convenient to do. Or I don't know. Maybe in the current version of D&D it's a "*Zap* - Okay, you're up, let's get going." I was never a Dungeon Master or a player in a game by the current rules long enough to see it.

I rather hope it isn't.

 

[FireLance]

Truly, I am amused at the levels of fear and revulsion generated by the idea of save points.

Although save points have not traditionally been an element of table-top role-playing games, I see no reason why they might not enhance the enjoyment of the game in some groups (although, obviously, not all).

A scenario in which the PCs keep returning to their starting state until they succeed at a specific task might make for an interesting adventure. This could be a "Groundhog Day" scenario in which the PCs find themselves in a time loop and must do something to break out of it, or the PCs need to break someone out of a coma, and the only way to do so is to enter a recurring dream.

Perhaps the biggest problem with implementing save points in a game (apart from special, once-off circumstances like those mentioned above) would be coming up with a reasonable in-game explanation for why a party of (possibly low-level) adventurers find that time reverses for them every time one of them dies, and that nobody else in the world (except themselves) remembers the future that might have been. Is there a special destiny they need to fulfill? Does the God of Time like them? Could there be something more sinister behind it? Actually, come to think of it, this sounds like a rather interesting campaign idea.

 

[SuStel]

What do you think of the Save button concept for D&D?

The Rune RPG, based on the Rune video game, allows you to "save" your character by making a backup copy of the character sheet. It's called death insurance.

 

[JRRNeiklot]

PC: Woohoo! We rule. Loot the bodies!

DM: Sorry guys, the Frost Giants saved the game. They are reloading to the point right before the fight. Roll initiative.