Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Tom B1" data-source="post: 7949512" data-attributes="member: 6879023">I have found a bit the opposite. Players get very frustrated when the die from random dice in a minor fracas. Nobody likes to die (I like it more than most.... enjoy the new character creation.....) but to die accomplishing something important gives a death meaning. To die just because the dice dislike you some day... argh. And the reality is most RPGs don't make it easy enough to accomplish the simple things and failures unlikely enough to cause harm that if you roll a bunch of tests over a campaign, you will fail critically all too often and end up horribly wrecked or dead. We had a crit table once in D&D that had a 1/400 chance of a decapitation. We saw that happen on several occasions and it killed one of the most fleshed out and well played characters in the middle of a fight with the Saughagin (sp) King in an underwater temple complex. Fortunately that death felt appropriate because the group was battling a big, mean boss monster. The character was given a heroes byre after the boss fight. We did realize that could have happened even in the most minor of fights and then it would have really sucked for everyone. The issue is realistic and fun and somewhat risky encounter in the real world will, statistically over not too long, main or kill you. To have a great game, we need some blunting of that. I do agree with letting stupidity kill characters if they had a chance or two to recognize their peril but persisted in the risk. Those are the cases I'd let the dice fall where they may. In most games, I have found having some limited resource that can help mitigate the most severe outcomes of the dice is a good idea. Luck Points, Destiny Points, Action Points, Fate Points, whatever... it mitigates the insta-kill or the permanent maiming. Esp in universes with no super heal or resurrection ish magic or tech. I have sometimes allowed players to choose bad ends for their character because it made for a better adventure. I am generous in letting them replace lost characters (or turned characters) because they were generous to the story and experience for everyone else.</blockquote>

Verification