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Message: <blockquote data-quote="gizmo33" data-source="post: 4238852" data-attributes="member: 30001">When I think back to being about 11 years old and we were learning the game, I recall a number of things that are relevant to your question:The first is that I don't really think that things can be too easy at the start.  If they are new to RPGs in general it might take them a while to figure out what the odds are on any given situation.  There are so many detail to absorb with an RPG that I think that even climbing a wall can be a challenge for the players when they first start.  Fear of the unknown is useful here.  Also, I think rolling the dice in itself can be fun, even if the result would be a foregone conclusion for experienced players.The second thing is that I killed tons of PCs as an 11 year old DM and the people that played just kept coming back for more.  People liked rolling up new characters for the most part, although after some time playing people got attached to certain characters and those deaths were traumatic.  Basically, if you want PC death to be part of your game then I think it makes sense to have the possibility there from the beginning.  Consider having new PCs return to the game with the same/similar relative strength as the slain character.  Otherwise, maybe use an action point system if the existing one for 4E isn't sufficient.  Then again nothing establishes the atmosphere of danger in a campaign like a TPK.</blockquote>