To Kill or Not to Kill (PCs): That is the Question...

[S'mon]

I don't fudge dice at all - all rolls in the open, the result of the dice rolls always stands.

I generally prefer to create adventure environments where PC death should be fairly rare if the players are smart & skilful, given a modicum of luck. Often in my campaigns there is an early TPK or near-TPK, then the death rate goes down a lot after that. Conversely I had one recent campaign that went from sessions 1-17 with no PC deaths, then 4 deaths in the last 3 sessions, with an 'everybody dies' finale as the PCs made a doomed stand holding a bridge against the attacking thousand-ghoul horde.

 

[S'mon]

When the characters were crossing the rope bridge to get into the Forge of Fury and the druid lost his balance, I gave him an extra reflex save to catch the rope. It seemed a pointless way to lose a character.

AIR my group took one look at that bridge and decided to find a different way of getting across! They found one, too - that was in the adventure as written.

I suspect that if my players had thought I wouldn't kill off their PCs, they would have happily traipsed over the bridge.

OTOH I seem to recall that the adventure as written makes crossing the bridge far too deadly, the orcs or dwarves would never be able to cross it, so I did have less-deadly DCs noted. The PCs were more worried about orcs cutting the bridge as they crossed.

 

[Yora]

My policy is to take all safeties off when the players decide to do something that is out of the ordinary and obviously highly dangerous. Either if it is something the player is risking willingly and knowlingly, or if it is something so incredibly stupid that really everyone should have seen that its very likely to result in death.

But the player must have been aware of the danger to its whole extend and still have made the descision to do it anyway. Opening a random door behind which two goblins are talking is a conscious descision, but if 40 ogres are silently sitting next to them, the player did not knowlingly risk a fight with 40 ogres. So they would be able to escape or only get captured.

 

[steenan]

If you don't want the PCs to die because of dice rolls, play a game where dice rolls never kill characters - there is a lot of games that create meaningful conflicts and dramatic tension without lethality. Or openly houserule the game you like to keep PCs alive.

If you play a game where dice kill, it's because you want the dice to kill. Obviously, fudging to avoid it is counterproductive.

 

[haakon1]

AIR my group took one look at that bridge and decided to find a different way of getting across! They found one, too - that was in the adventure as written.

I suspect that if my players had thought I wouldn't kill off their PCs, they would have happily traipsed over the bridge.

OTOH I seem to recall that the adventure as written makes crossing the bridge far too deadly, the orcs or dwarves would never be able to cross it, so I did have less-deadly DCs noted. The PCs were more worried about orcs cutting the bridge as they crossed.

You may be thinking about two different bridges in "Forge of Fury".

The bridge in the entrance (at least as I DM'd it) had no chance of collapsing and no direct danger. Once the PC's killed the orcish archers on the far side, crossing it wasn't a problem. I suppose it's possible I overlooked a rickety bridge rule or don't remember it, but that seems unlikely to me.

BTW, that entire fight -- from the arrow slits on the entranceway to the dwarf door to the bridge -- was one of my favorites. I call it the "Saving Private Ryan" scene, in homage to the D-Day ramp comes down and everybody's shooting at you scene in that movie. I'm proud of my players for making it through alive (with a lot of smokesticks and some clever tactics).

The bridge is the basement is the one that's ready to collapse, and it's no longer in use. Pitted by the acid from . . . well, you know.

There were two other ways into the dungeon, BTW. Four in my version, because I added a door to the glacier above (for ice mining for cold iron weapons!) and a teleportal gate to the Malachite Fortress from the Shackled City Adventure Path.

 

[S'mon]

There were two other ways into the dungeon, BTW.

Forge of Fury is a nicely designed environment. With better art it might have been a real classic. I ran it in 4e D&D with PCs higher level than it was written for, and perhaps did not get the most out of it. Chatting about it here, I'm tempted to run it again with the Pathfinder Beginner Box.

 

[Tallifer]

I really dislike the adversarial style of D&D which some posters advocate here. I much prefer an interesting story with interesting characters. I do not want to play an expendable red shirt, I want to play one of the protagonists of the story. If one of the characters die it should be for a memorable reason, not because the dungeon master threw an unkillable monster or unbeatable trap at the party (or inescapable monster I suppose).

Fortunately I have been able to play with many dungeon masters who also enjoy long-running stories with main characters. A shout out to Ian W., J.M.C., Ian H., Ed C., Jeff M. and of course the designers of Dark Age of Camelot.

On another note, this poll does not offer a very good range of options, because it assumes that luck is paramount in character death. The dungeon master sets the stage for most of that: does he allow critical hits and fumbles which can kill players easily (like in Pathfinder's deck of cards)? Does he make clear the consequences of certain actions in his world, or does he spring umpteenth level guards on the players? Does he design encounters 5 levels above the party? Does he allow players to find a safe haven to rest, purchase and get information? Does he favour some players over others, or play the mother-may-I game?

 

[Seraphine_Harmonium]

I don't typically like killing too many characters. Killing one character in a dramatic moment is fine, but gratuitous killing off of characters has the potential to get in the way of player enjoyment. It all depends on the group though.

I think it is important that the PCs be IN DANGER, though. And when they do die, they should typically stay dead. Resurrections, if possible, should be difficult and rare. As in requiring a quest of its own to complete.

 

[ExploderWizard]

I do not kill characters.

I do not keep characters alive.

Adventuring is a contact sport. Injury and death may result from participation.

 

[Wild Gazebo]

I have a finely tuned Awesome Meter.

If the death will be more awesome than nearly dying: death it is.

If the near-death experience is more awesome than the death: maimed cruelty it is.

I don't let dogma stand in the way of my fun.