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<blockquote data-quote="S'mon" data-source="post: 5063664" data-attributes="member: 463">Well, some sessions are 'meh', and a few are not good.&nbsp; My worst game was the one where I introduced a new, super-realistic, diceless mass battle system, and bored the players rigid for 4 hours.&nbsp; Running 'Necropolis' by EGG was a disaster, nearly a campaign-killer, but we realised that and abandoned it pretty swiftly.&nbsp; 'Meh' episodes where the written adventure is playable but not great are fairly common - notable recent-ish disappointments include DCC 'Dreaming Caverns of the Duergar' (dull, pointless caverns each with a duergar or derro); and the finale of X5 Temple of Death (the scenario includes a flying ship that short-circuits the adventure).&nbsp; OTOH I had a game where there were several no-shows in the 4th session of the adventure, where the PCs faced the hobgoblin king in his throneroom.&nbsp; It turned into a bloodbath with dead PCs scattered everywhere and the last PC standing, the party Cleric, locked in a desperate embrace with the last hobgoblin, stabbing at each other with their daggers.&nbsp; The PC triumphed, standing in the throneroom awash with blood and corpses, then dragged out the body of the one still-living but unconscious fellow PC, returning to the daylight.&nbsp; It was grim but awesome.So, a near-TPK doesn't have to be bad.&nbsp; If the PCs are clearly outmatched I expect them to realise this and retreat.&nbsp; I have always been reasonably generous to fleeing PCs, but I expect them to realise they can't win every fight.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="S'mon, post: 5063664, member: 463"] Well, some sessions are 'meh', and a few are not good. My worst game was the one where I introduced a new, super-realistic, diceless mass battle system, and bored the players rigid for 4 hours. Running 'Necropolis' by EGG was a disaster, nearly a campaign-killer, but we realised that and abandoned it pretty swiftly. 'Meh' episodes where the written adventure is playable but not great are fairly common - notable recent-ish disappointments include DCC 'Dreaming Caverns of the Duergar' (dull, pointless caverns each with a duergar or derro); and the finale of X5 Temple of Death (the scenario includes a flying ship that short-circuits the adventure). OTOH I had a game where there were several no-shows in the 4th session of the adventure, where the PCs faced the hobgoblin king in his throneroom. It turned into a bloodbath with dead PCs scattered everywhere and the last PC standing, the party Cleric, locked in a desperate embrace with the last hobgoblin, stabbing at each other with their daggers. The PC triumphed, standing in the throneroom awash with blood and corpses, then dragged out the body of the one still-living but unconscious fellow PC, returning to the daylight. It was grim but awesome. So, a near-TPK doesn't have to be bad. If the PCs are clearly outmatched I expect them to realise this and retreat. I have always been reasonably generous to fleeing PCs, but I expect them to realise they can't win every fight. [/QUOTE]

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