Killing PC's: My Philosophy
In general, I don't like killing PC's. When I run an ongoing campaign, I tend to get a little attached to the individual player characters myself. After all, they are the protagonists in the grand tale that I've been weaving for months. For this reason, yes, I sometimes fudge the die when I know that that crit hit will annihilate a party member, possibly leading to a TPK. I also have employed a sort of posthumous deus ex machina, wherein the party, having all been reduced to negative hit points in a TPK, awakens with low hit points as prisoners to whatever dungeon dweller happened to have defeated them. This of course leads to an inevitable escape attempt, and the adventure continues.
On the other hand, sometimes you just gotta die. Its an integral part of the game. You delve into dungeons looking to gain wealth and power, but its all meaningless if there is no threat or consequences. So when it comes time to make the big decision, to kill or not to kill, how do I deal with it? Well, there are several factors:
Does the party have a cleric? If the party has a cleric capable of raising the dead, then a) nobody should have reasonably died in the first place and b) death is a speed bump, so yeah, you gonna die.
Has the PC in question done something monumentally stupid? If the answer is "yes" then not only will I not pull my punches, I will probably toss the kitchen sink at you. Now, by "monumentally stupid", I don't just mean taking a calculated risk for a reasonable gain (accepting an attack of opportunity in order to reach a fallen comrade, for example), but rather a foolhardy and disruptive enterprise such as "I'm going to sneak off by myself and open the bloodstained door" (there was a grell inside. It ate him).
Is the PC in question game-breaking and/or disruptive? Definitely yes. Sometimes deliberately, but never arbitrarily. In regards to game-breaking characters, let me say that I am in no way opposed to character optimization. I am, however, opposed to min/maxing powergamers who can't do basic math. One example of this was a friend of mine who decided to roll up a half-celestial halfling barbarian/psion (oh, 3rd edition, the things you let us do). Now I need to take responsibility and say that I never should have allowed such a ridiculous build, but as a general rule I like to say "yes" because it makes the players happy and the whole point is to have fun. That said, the problem with this character was not the template or the unlikely race/class/multiclass combo. It was the player's inability to handle basic subtraction and manage his power points. Not only that, this character was also the cause of a lot of in-party conflicts, one of which resulted in the death of another PC. The result was both game-breaking and disruptive, so when he failed his save against a save-or-die affect, I didn't shed a tear (of course, his next character was a Monk/Rogue/Ninja of the Crescent Moon. *sigh*).
Is it just plain fair? If so, then yes. Sometimes nobody does anything stupid, everyone's character cooperates with each other, and all the PC's are engaging and invested in the storyline. At times like this, I don't enjoy killing a PC off, but a natural one is still a natural one, and a beholder's death ray is still a beholder's death ray. If its fair, then you just gotta roll with the punches (or death rays, as the case may be).
Now all that said, I have made a resolution to myself recently: No more fudging dice rolls to save PC's. With the lack of save-or-die effects in 4e, its up to me to keep the threat of death alive in the PC's hearts, even if I have to kill a PC I really like. After all, its all part of the game.
On the other hand, sometimes you just gotta die. Its an integral part of the game. You delve into dungeons looking to gain wealth and power, but its all meaningless if there is no threat or consequences. So when it comes time to make the big decision, to kill or not to kill, how do I deal with it? Well, there are several factors:
Does the party have a cleric? If the party has a cleric capable of raising the dead, then a) nobody should have reasonably died in the first place and b) death is a speed bump, so yeah, you gonna die.
Has the PC in question done something monumentally stupid? If the answer is "yes" then not only will I not pull my punches, I will probably toss the kitchen sink at you. Now, by "monumentally stupid", I don't just mean taking a calculated risk for a reasonable gain (accepting an attack of opportunity in order to reach a fallen comrade, for example), but rather a foolhardy and disruptive enterprise such as "I'm going to sneak off by myself and open the bloodstained door" (there was a grell inside. It ate him).
Is the PC in question game-breaking and/or disruptive? Definitely yes. Sometimes deliberately, but never arbitrarily. In regards to game-breaking characters, let me say that I am in no way opposed to character optimization. I am, however, opposed to min/maxing powergamers who can't do basic math. One example of this was a friend of mine who decided to roll up a half-celestial halfling barbarian/psion (oh, 3rd edition, the things you let us do). Now I need to take responsibility and say that I never should have allowed such a ridiculous build, but as a general rule I like to say "yes" because it makes the players happy and the whole point is to have fun. That said, the problem with this character was not the template or the unlikely race/class/multiclass combo. It was the player's inability to handle basic subtraction and manage his power points. Not only that, this character was also the cause of a lot of in-party conflicts, one of which resulted in the death of another PC. The result was both game-breaking and disruptive, so when he failed his save against a save-or-die affect, I didn't shed a tear (of course, his next character was a Monk/Rogue/Ninja of the Crescent Moon. *sigh*).
Is it just plain fair? If so, then yes. Sometimes nobody does anything stupid, everyone's character cooperates with each other, and all the PC's are engaging and invested in the storyline. At times like this, I don't enjoy killing a PC off, but a natural one is still a natural one, and a beholder's death ray is still a beholder's death ray. If its fair, then you just gotta roll with the punches (or death rays, as the case may be).
Now all that said, I have made a resolution to myself recently: No more fudging dice rolls to save PC's. With the lack of save-or-die effects in 4e, its up to me to keep the threat of death alive in the PC's hearts, even if I have to kill a PC I really like. After all, its all part of the game.