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Message: <blockquote data-quote="DonTadow" data-source="post: 2355869" data-attributes="member: 22622">Or you could have had the being automatically go after a player PC.  The assumption being that the NPC figured that an idiot running into close combat with a bow is not smart enough to be effective. in combat I really try not to end a session in combat.  That's pretty much a taboo that, at least in my gaming circles, is avoided.  If you have to leave a game in the middle of combat, I'd write something in where it makes sense to break at that particular point in the combat.  Perhaps introducing an event towards the end of the session such as several NPCs entering into the room, or the lights suddenly going out, or a magical item crashing to the floor producing a 1 round magical effect.  I know it sounds wierd, but WWE actually has this procedure down pact.  When they do longer matches, they have to do commercial breaks between the matches.  This could be very disruptive if not done right.  So they break the match up and end every before commercial break with some type of match cliffhanger (good guys losing badly, all parties suddenly knocked unconcious, the introduction of another player in the mix).  In my campaign ressurections are rare too.  I can't speak for the others, but i suggested that because my main goal is to make sure i"m fair to the players.  I have to use what I can in my DM power to rectify a situation I let get out of control.  Ressurecting under other circumstances is taboo, but the circumstances of having his player lose his character due to no actions of his own is sufficient enough evidience to warrent a mysterious ressurection.  And again, this can fit well into your campaign world.  You don't have to explain how the ressurection happened now, only that it did.   You can have others detect spellcraft and tell them that the means ... are not divine.  In other words leave an easter egg.  You can come back and explain it later on in the story.  It might even inspire you to write an adventure or to.  As Joss Whedon once said, Death is a plot device.   I agree, you have to strive to produce a feeling of looming death to a game, but death should occur because of bad tactics and dice rolls, not babysitting my 3  year old and not making it to the game.  A character should always be in control of his own destiny.  Even in your descriptions you keep saying the words I I I, not Bob ,Fred and Jane.  Having another player play his character is no different than the DM playing someones character.  The player returning has no sense of accomplishment as he was not involved in his own death whatsover.   IF I die I want it to be on my terms.  Also to clarify you have to be balanced how you bring on that looming feeling.  If you do it too much you create paranoid players whom second guess their every move and impede the flow of the game and then all of a sudden you got a super tactical sim.  You should have a good mix of challenging encounters, easy encounters and overwhelming encounters to keep your players consistently on their toes.  Eh, You got players who question your ethics?  I've always rolled in secret and all my DMs have as well and I've never questioned their rolls.  I think that players have to trust their DM  to make good decisions.  Rolling out in the open as a DM takes some of your DM powers away.  Remember you're the DM not one of the players.  A Basketball REferee doesnt have to explain every call and you don't have to produce all of your rolls.  Why wasn't he troglydyte not dealing non-lethal damage if they were thinking of taking the pc's prisoner.  Shouldn't he have switched to non-lethal damage after seeing how much blood (his low hit points) was pouring from the archer.  You could have done more but there's nothing you can do about the past.  But you're still DM and you can logically clean this up and fix the situation without ruining your game.  If that player liked that character it would be fair.  LIke I said in my last post, when it happened to me, I said I understod but i was really upset as i cared about the character but sucked it up for the game.</blockquote>

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