Was I unfair?

[Jedi_Solo]

Thanks!

 

[sniffles]

1) I don't think any assumptions were made about this campaign - months before it started I informed my players that it was horror themed. They're all adults and they're all into fantasy and whatever; they know what horror is. How much more do I have to do to make sure my players understand what they're getting themselves into? I didn't want to railroad their character choices, so I left it open and let them choose.

I think a key element here is your repeated comments that your players are "all adults" and you should not have to repeat yourself to them in order to impart information. Unfortunately being an adult doesn't really have anything to do with it. I would suggest you remember that you will need to repeat yourself sometimes in order to get your point across. Your players may not recall clearly what you said, especially if they have personal lives that are distracting to them. Don't assume that because you said it once they will remember it, or even that because your wrote it down they can go back and refer to it again. Don't assume anything, in fact. People learn and retain information in different ways, and studies have shown that most people need repetition in order to learn effectively. They also need to use information they've learned in order to comprehend and retain it.


Hopefully this experience will have been a learning experience for both you and your players and you'll all do a better job of coordinating your expectations of the game. But don't count on it. People have certain behaviors they'll engage in no matter how detrimental those behaviors may be to their experiences. You may have to put up with them doing things you consider foolhardy if you want to continue playing with this group.

 

[Ian Demagi]

Whole game written

What is so bad about that? That the DM has planned the story is awesome! Part of being a DM is adjusting on the fly. My impression is Tylermalan is very capable of doing that. Some times you just have to be fair to the game to be a good DM. When they jumped down the whole without the entire party, then two PC's went back alone at different times? I might have given more "your about to die hints", but that is just DM style. EveryDM's style is different.

It is totally on the players if they do not have the essential elements of as adventuring group! Our group generally decides to fill out the 4 corners of a group-Main Combatant, Arcane Spell Caster, Divine Spell caster, & Expert. Then the other 2 players "get funky" (since there are 6 Players and a DM).

This party seemd to have it covered, until they split up. The more I think about it, the more I think tylermalan was fair. As a DM, I think you should avoid TPK's, but these guys seemed to aks for it, Ian.

 

[Thurbane]

Human Bard 1/Sorcerer 2 (what was he thinking?)

You know, I constantly see people sledging the Bard, when I have always found it to be an extremely viable class. One of my PCs runs a Bard/Soceror, and it is quite a handy character...YMMV...