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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Raven Crowking" data-source="post: 4507871" data-attributes="member: 18280">I would say that it is a different kind of excitement.  And, actually, I do think that there is (or should be) a place in the game for both kinds of mechanics.  "Slow petrification" is less mythological/folkloric than all-or-nothing petrification, of course, and if it simply disappears after the monster is slain it is questionable why it is more suspenseful than hit point loss.Sometimes, though -- assuming a reasonably competent DM -- knowing that you have only a single save means your decision points are more important.  Does 4e encourage you not to fight the medusa?  Does it encourage you to deal with it in some other way?  If not, it fails to encourage the form of mental elasticity I was referring to earlier.Back in the 4e preview threads, I agreed that the "reduction of the ability for a single die roll to totally screw you over" was often, but not always, a good thing.  I disagree, though that "The dangers remain", because one specific danger does not, i.e., "the ability for a single die roll to totally screw you over", and I maintain that this danger specifically has value.One of the design parameters of 3e was that it is fun to roll dice.  Knowing that one bad die roll can kill you is a profoundly different sort of fun.  It is the fun of solving a problem.  Specifically, the problem of "How can I do this without having to roll any dice?  Or, if I must roll dice, how do I hedge my bets?"Ultimately, in any game system, there is a point where the characters are low on hit points, have run out of spells, and are unsure if one last hit will do it.  Those moments -- whether they succeed or fail -- are the moments we gamers tend to talk about long after the actual campaign has passed.  Although admittedly in moderation, gamers IME overwhelmingly like to let their fate hang on a single die roll.  Or, at least, they certainly find great enjoyment in doing so after the fact.I have no problem with different strokes for different folks.  I do have a problem with those for whom the idea that death in an RPG is the subject of serious angst is not a strawman.  And I think we both know that they exist.<img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D"  data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" />That's true.  And we also need to try to give the "best possible reading" to each other's comments, because we lack body language and tone of voice to convey meaning.  Well, until the other person proves to be a prat.  Then the Ignore list works exceedingly well.(I imagine that I am on one or two Ignore lists myself.)RC</blockquote>

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