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Message: <blockquote data-quote="KarinsDad" data-source="post: 3104897" data-attributes="member: 2011">Irrelevant.Then the PC dies. Oh well. The risk of adventuring should always be a factor.If the DM removes the risk, the game changes from a challenge that the players and DM create together into a story being mostly told by the DM.Delay?It's not a delay. It's a different sequence of events.The game should never ever be forced down a path by the DM. He is not the only one at the table playing the game to have fun. Typically, there are 3+ more other people there. If the PCs die, oh well. If the reoccurring NPC villain dies, oh well.It's a game!Games are meant to be fun for everyone, not just the DM.Again with the storytelling.This is not a story. The DM does not tell a story. That is not his job. His job is to create the environment and let events occur as they will.He does heavily influence the type of adventures that will occur, but it is not his job to script those adventures to the point that the PCs must play out his entire adventure.Sure, some DMs do attempt to do this with player alignment / background elements. And that's fine. But, the DM should never use "mystical intervention" to prevent a PC death or to change the rules or other heavy handed tactics, just to keep his "storyline running smoothly". That's a crutch.Bending and breaking the rules is the sign of an incompetent DM (note: there is a difference between breaking rules and creating house rules that will be consistently used throughout the campaign).There is never a need to break rules.On the other hand, if the players feel like they are being railroaded (and it tends to become pretty obvious pretty quick), the game just might "come to a screeching halt" anyway.I know as a player, I absolutely hate being purposely led around by the DM and since I do know the rules fairly well, breaking and bending the rules (and even just fudging dice rolls) can sometimes be fairly obvious.I'll give an example. Say you are DMing a murder mystery in a town. As the players go from location to location following clues, a good DM has multiple clues (and even misleading clues) at each location. The players then get to decide which clues to follow up on in which order (the players also get to decide whether to follow the clues at all, or to stop part way through the adventure if that is what they want to do). A bad DM typically has one clue at each location and the players are forced to go from point A to point B to point C in that order.At any point in the adventure, something bad might happen and a PC dies. Oh well. It's perfectly ok for the rest of the PCs to bury their friend and move on. They should never be forced to continue the adventure. If they decide to do so, fine. Nor should the "gods of fate" (i.e. DM) intervene to keep the PC alive. It's annoying when the "DM cheats" (and yes I know what the DMG states) or when the NPC calvary comes to the rescue.</blockquote>

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