When Do You (GM) Kill PCs?

[Evilhalfling]

I let the dice fall, mostly, and roll in the open to curtail the temptation to change them in tense situations, but I will nerf tactics if possible, the enemies deciding to concentrate on the unwounded character, or flee without taking a last smack at a PC. That said, I have to quit having ghouls use Coup de Grais on paralized PCs, a bad save or two and those ghouls are deadly.

lets see death roll:
Thief/Wiz/Ftr 7th lvl total ambushed by 2 thieves - flanked and masacred before anyone could react
(with a 5 con he had just been beating the odds until now.)
Barbarian- 7th level - Died coming out of rage - party was scatterd and being chased by dragon. They overlooked the fact that a nearby sorcerer had 2ch left on a wand of false life.
Monk 5th - Ghoul CDG
Ranger 5th- was standing on a door being used to block a stairway, fumbled and fell down stairs, bitten by vipers.
Fighter 6th - Ghoul CDG

 

[afrorooster]

I try to avoid it, but i do dislike fudgeing dice rolls. Once in a while, if i'm hopeing to evolve a plot around the character in the future I may, but part of the fun is knowing your DM will let you die. I voted for only when it is dramatically appropriate. That includes the one time our group wanted to have a short campaign...we had two game sessions before and on the third the whole party died on a covered wooden bridge....Needless to say, the best part was that I didnt fudge any rolls. And the person playing the orc (and holding the torch) definatly roleplayed it very well....

 

[Altamont Ravenard]

It's only recently that I've accepted to kill PCs. In the past, I would fudge at the critical moment. I've "hardened" myself as of late :>

IF a PC dies due to extreme bad luck, I'll usually arrange for a raise dead to become available. If a PC dies due to player stupidity, it's character rolling time for the poor sap.

AR

 

[Hussar]

My guidelines...

If there a death, then let it have meaning...it shall not be CHEAP!

Letting the players know in advance, that something might be bad around the turn, make them work harder to overcome the challenge.

Let the Dice fall where they may...is a cop out. The DM/Storyteller is the final law on all things in that verse. So, anything can be as wanted, as seen fit.

I don't believe in total TPKs...unless,as stated in this thread, the players put themselves into it. On that note, they have to be a bunch stupid SOBs to go there.

When you get hit with a bad blow, you suffer the problems that come with it. Lost armor piece, damage body part, strength lessen, nothing instant kill, again nothing cheap.

And lastily, having a decent size and very smart group of players, who understand the ramifications, when it comes to combat.

That goes a long way.

I know this is from early on, but it echoes nicely with some of the later posts. I would just like to say that I disagree with this 100%. I used to agree with this idea, but, as of late, I no longer ever try to derive any meaning out of PC deaths. If I wanted a death to have "meaning" to the "story", I'd write a novel. It's a game, and sometimes you get the bear and sometimes the bear gets you. Random, meaningless death is just as effective as deeply meaningful death. Do I go out of my way to kill anyone? Nope. Again, the dice fall as they may. Like I said, over a long enough period of time, the odds will always favour the DM so long as the PC's go into danger.

 

[S'mon]

I voted "let the dice fall where they may", but I use Fate Points & these greatly reduce the incidence of PC death. Death in D&D is a bit too easy IMO, hence the preponderance of resurrection magic. I'd rather have less death & less resurrection.

 

[The Shaman]

You see it's like this: if I don't think pc death is warranted, I don't put a situation in the game that would kill a PC. When I want death to be a possibility, then I ratchet up the danger.

Sounds right to me.

As far as the whole "story" thing goes...well, please see the EGG quote in my signature.

 

[JediSoth]

Typically, I don't go out of my way to kill a character. If it happens in a dramatically appropriate way, I'll let it happen. If it's a stupid fluke against something totally sucky (like a sick kobold just happens to crit at the beginning of the adventure or something like that), then I'll usually fudge a bit. If they do something monumentally stupid, like attack an entire army with just 5 PCs, then I pull no punches and make extra efforts to punish them.

Of course, since I discontinued my use of the DM's Screen in World's Largest Dungeon, I can't fudge anymore....which is a good thing for my over-populated group.

JediSoth

 

[jasper]

Let the dice fall where they may I am a stick an another quarter in the slot and get an extra life Dm. Raise Dead spells are generally easy to get and why shouldn’t the monsters win occasionally.
Tv show games hmmm Great Gabrielle is about to lose her grip on the tree branch and fall into the lava pit. Will she survive? Tune in tomorrow same Bat time, Same Bat channel. Of course she will so why the false drama?
…..Raise Dead, as is, is a big cheat.. So is fireball, cure light wounds, and detect evil. Sorry the spells are out there to be used.

…We build death as this big bad thing and when someone goes through it their only 20k and a level away from coming aback. … Those are the instances I'm refering to. I think if you want death to mean as much as it does even raising and reraising should have lingering consequences that have nothing to do with mechanics…. What is this we pale face? D&D is game so death is just another penalty.

I ain’t telling a story. I am playing a game.

…..The issue really comes down to how you treat the game you're playing/running. If you treat is just as a game, then killing the characters off doesn't have the same sting. If you treat it as you might a cooperative story, then you want to make sure that the protagonists of the story stick around until you reach the end…. Bingo Redwick. You win a Marvel no prize.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

As has been said - it tends to be the player's decisions that end up killing PCs.

However I let the dice fall where they may. I have a game mechanism (Fate Dice - I called 'em that before there were 'Action Dice' and ain't goin' to change now) to prevent death in minor situations, and leave the rest to the players. (Lately I have been allowing players to spend Fate Dice to prevent death only for someone else's character, not their own. If not one player thought that it was worth it to prevent Billy Joe Bob the Barbarian from trying to swim across a moat of molten lava 'because the rules say that I can, I have enough hitpoints to Aaarghh! the pain! Aarrrgh....' then he remains a carbon impurity and ashes on the wind. (No this did not happen, I really am making this one up. This time.)

The Auld Grump

 

[Nebulous]

Lately I have been allowing players to spend Fate Dice to prevent death only for someone else's character, not their own.

hmm. I sort of like that idea.