Those groups where no one ever dies

[haiiro]

Lay down the rules and the laws right at the outset. Do a little write up saying basically that characters will, most likely, die in this game. Is it personal? No. Is it you being mean? No. Is it the PCs being dumb? Not always. Let them know that this is a game that has to be played smartly and that death is a real possibility because you want it to be.

That, plus what Thanee said (roll combat dice in the open), is what I did with my current campaign. I hate playing a long term game where character death isn't a possibility. So far, one PC has died, and I think the group appreciates the sense of danger (some have said so, so it isn't just me ).

 

[Snotlord]

I find that games where the DM does not pull any punches very rewarding as long as everybody understands the social contract between players and DM.

I run two games on-and-off. The first one is a goodguy FR game where the characters are heroes, and the players can expect to be able to handle challanges presented to them. The fights are seldom easy, with with liberal use of raise dead and fast level progression is everybody happy most of the time.

The other game (currently on the shelf) is evil characters in a setting inspired by the George RR Martin books, where part of the challange is to get sufficient information to choose which challanges to fight. If the characters storm a good baron's castle, but are ill prepared or have failed to learn that the baron has secret allies, permanent character deaths are likely.

Both games work fairly ok because the players understand the differences between the games and adjust their actions accordingly.

Good luck!

 

[Blue]

If you want to ease the party into it, work into the story an NPC that's near character level travelling with them and helping. Kill them off first. This gets the drama, the "what do we do", the exploration of options ... and sets the stage that it could happen to anyone.

Now, in the game I've been runnign we've only had one "real" death (we also had a story-death for a player who was leaving.) But the players know that there are times they need to run.

In one of the campaigns I'm in it's the exact opposite - 17th+ level characters, adn we had one player (*cough*me*cough*) take the new title for most deaths in a single combat - three. But a death every session or two is norm - as is the magic to make good on it immediately (including some spells from other WotC products to do things like bring back someone dead for only 1 round w/o level loss).

I don't like the frequent deaths, but I live with it because I'm a huge fan that you need risk to have reward.

Cheers,
=Blue

 

[rumblehed]

I'm the type of player that welcomes a characters death when it means something, and even sometimes when it seems random.

That's an important point for me. I'd like the death of my PC to further the aims of the party. As a DM, I expect the same sort of thing out of the encounters I plan, especially if I've taken the time to draw up a complicated NPC.

One thing I absolutely hate is player-on-player death. I had a player running a wizard a few years ago, who lightning bolted two of the other player's characters and killed them. As a DM, I should have never allowed the situation to get that out of hand.

 

[Ogrork the Mighty]

... but now that I'm DMing, I wanna kill PC's.

This is the part that I find troublesome. There's a difference between characters dying during a campaign and a DM that is out to kill them. The latter is no fun and you could quickly find yourself out a group of players and with a bad reputation to boot!

I agree with the other posters that you should be upfront with them and let them know it will be a more lethal campaign. That being said, you also should be aware that this can result in players developing less attachment to the their characters and doing less character development as a result (many people won't create an extensive character background when they know their character could be dead at any minute).

My advice would be to let the players know it will be a more lethal campaign, but balance that by allowing them to raise their dead if they really, really want to; meaning a long trip to a cleric, or a special quest, or divine intervention, etc. Simply saying, "No, you can't be raised" will probably raise some hackles since you're taking away an intrinsic part of the game. That shouldn't be a unilateral decision.

 

[Dagger75]

Coup de Grace one of your players, Have an improved invis assassin do an assasination attemp on one of the players. Nothing says you mean business than trying to assassinate a player. Even if they survive the attack they know you mean business.

 

[Ogrork the Mighty]

I don't think it's a matter of "how", it's a matter of "should he". Any DM can kill a person's character. But to do so in such an abrupt fashion with players that are unaccustomed to such frivilous deaths is going to result in a lot of unhappy players who will probably be looking for a new DM faster than you can say "roll up your new character". Such is bordering on the megalomaniac DM syndrome.

 

[Aaron L]

Coup de Grace one of your players, Have an improved invis assassin do an assasination attemp on one of the players. Nothing says you mean business than trying to assassinate a player. Even if they survive the attack they know you mean business.

I'd recommend doing that to the PC's instead of the players though, killing off players tends to get messy.

 

[Whimsical]

"The holodeck safeties have been turned off. You are totally responsible for the survival of your character. This game is not intended to chronicle the life of your character from beginner to epic level. This game is a test of your skill as players of the D&D game system. I recommend that you create four 1st level characters before the game starts so that you can instantly switch to a new one if your character dies. Good luck, and savor the successes that you earn."

 

[Varianor Abroad]

What Ogrork said. "Why?"

That said, if you plan to pull no punches and just run a tough campaign, it's fair. As everyone said, just tell the players in advance. I'd suggest doing two things with this. One, have everyone create a backup PC so that they can get back into the game quickly. (Even at higher levels, not every group raises PCs, especially if the character was annoying.) Second, roll dice on the table in a combat. You don't have to show the players the monster or opponents sheets, but when players see the dice roll it avoids those lingering thoughts of "The DM is out to get me."