ha ha ha…that’s one option. Another is to consider whether Story will trump rules in the current situation. on one hand, he could be the benevolent DM and pull an act of god, on the other TPK OFFERING FOR THE DICE GODS! MAY THE CRIT BLESS FLAMEWING’S ETERNAL BREATH WEAPON!!!!*ahem* sorry. but yeha this is one of those tough calls one that can either make or break a player. Save them and wound them hoping they learn, or let the troll run them down and eat thier head. Decisions, decisions…
I just started a campaign with my buddies where death in combat isn’t final. d20 modern system so party wipes are easy with firearms. every death gets a small benefit (based on d8 roll) and you respawn as a new clone in 1d3 hours. my buddy got to see his own corpse being eaten by goblins so that did mess with his character a bit. I think I may be a bit evil……. oh well
As a DM who has a group of players that can be very stupid, I have faced this conundrum. In fact, my crimson DMing dice are now barred from my use, because when I roll those fuckers, bad things happen.
What do you call the area under Jabbas Palace? There’s ALWAYS a dungeon available in ANY setting. Even modern settings can have a Christian Grey dungeon….
I’ve seen that look, and I’ve had that look, I think the entire group just died. I used to do a bit when this happened where the group ended up facing death and could bargain for their lives in a timed encounter. If they managed to keep from being collected either through negotiation, battle, or simply keeping away long enough they came back to life but with only 1d4 hit points. This would also give them a surprise attack as the enemy would think they were dead. Keep in mind sometimes you have to improvise when a campaign goes really bad.
Oh Damn..I thought this was a planned bit. IE: All the characters were supposed to die to face the mother, as part of the plot arc. The fact that he didn’t expect to TPK makes this all the worse.
We’ve all had that happen. Mine was a dragon getting into just the right position and lighting everyone up. Players accepted it as legal and a consequence of their actions as I had established a pattern to the dragons movement and attack by then- the party let themselves get clustered up and out in the sort of open.
OK, I’m still sort of a tabletop newbie, so I have to ask – what does it mean to “fudge” a roll? Does the DM roll and then just give the result the players want if the dice don’t fall that way, or does he/she roll the dice in an actually-not-very-random manner?
From what I’ve seen, it can mean either of those things. Hell, once I decided to fudge a dice roll and didn’t roll any dice at all, I just stated some random numbers.
Its not uncommon for GMs to roll his or her dice behind a screen so the players cannot see the results. Sometimes the sound of the dice hitting the table can create sufficient suspense. Afterwards, the GM will give whatever result will move the story along best. Fudging (changing the results) can sometimes be harmful to the players, such as the Big Bad Guy escaping when the dice say he was captured.
At this point, I would give the players an option of a ‘moment of prescience’, where they they all saw a glimpse of their potential deaths. Essentially rewinding time a minute so to undo their deaths and give them a second chance.
/>
HOVER-TEXT: My conscious goblins look and sound like Larry, Darryl, and his other brother Darryl from Newhart.
i just watched the episode where the find they find the blond out in the winter other wise i would have never got that reference
oh crap . .we are so boned!!!
I got that hover-text reference! Haha!
Hey Brian . . .do u mind if i borrow that ploy for my next game. . its sorta kinda total mega awesome 🙂
wooooooo….. looks like the DM is having a bit of a consciousness issue with a pending TPK.
Go for it!
When the devil on your shoulder is hard, you know you’re going to get an earful.
/passes Qtip
That roll means that the cave in killed the cultists and not the party right? Please let it be right.
“The enemy becomes over-confident and makes a mistake” is a perfectly reasonable consequence here. No fudging needed!
What mistake could they possibly make AFTER THE GROUP IS ALREADY DEAD?
He could just pull the ‘it was all a dream’ card and start over.
Sure, if he doesn’t want to DM for them again. Which is a likely result of pulling a stunt that lame.
I don’t know about Newhart, but I’ve met Larryl, Darryl and Darryl in Baldur’s Gate.
Which were a reference back to the characters in Newhart:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newhart#Larry.2C_Darryl.2C_and_Darryl
Oh, its one of those situations. Welp only one thing left to do now…
Use the same dice to make new characters?
ha ha ha…that’s one option. Another is to consider whether Story will trump rules in the current situation. on one hand, he could be the benevolent DM and pull an act of god, on the other TPK OFFERING FOR THE DICE GODS! MAY THE CRIT BLESS FLAMEWING’S ETERNAL BREATH WEAPON!!!!*ahem* sorry. but yeha this is one of those tough calls one that can either make or break a player. Save them and wound them hoping they learn, or let the troll run them down and eat thier head. Decisions, decisions…
I’d let the dice fall where they may, and go for it. See where it takes them. 🙂
This is going to result in a new campaign with new characters as they try to stop the Grin.
OR… try to stop the Grin, but from ‘the other side’ – maybe as agents of The Mother.
Is it wrong that I’m hearing King Candy and Fix-It Felix Jr as the devil and angel respectively?
No, no it’s not at all wrong to hear such things.
I just started a campaign with my buddies where death in combat isn’t final. d20 modern system so party wipes are easy with firearms. every death gets a small benefit (based on d8 roll) and you respawn as a new clone in 1d3 hours. my buddy got to see his own corpse being eaten by goblins so that did mess with his character a bit. I think I may be a bit evil……. oh well
Evil, no. Twisted, a little. Now if you threw in Sanity points… hooo would that be evil!
OOooooo that is a great idea!!!
That alt-text reference made me feel old.
I always feel old…
But then I remember, I’m only 3859…
You’re picture is awesome Reminds me of Viscous Whispers.
Well, thats going to suck for somebody.
[points] KILLER GM!! KILLER GEE-EMMM!!!
Who me? Every DM has a little bit of a killer in them, why else would we be a DM?
I figured Sam was setting them up to die so that he could push a plot centering on the Dead, but it looks like not.
…Now however, is the perfect time to begin improvising that plot. Might even be a neat way to bring Vella into the picture again.
Larry, Darryl and Darryl 🙂 Just meet them again yesterday in Baldur’s Gate 1…
*chants* tpk tpk! TPK TPK!
As a DM who has a group of players that can be very stupid, I have faced this conundrum. In fact, my crimson DMing dice are now barred from my use, because when I roll those fuckers, bad things happen.
Mulligan?
I had the evil mage Fireball the party last night. 8d6 : 6-6-6-6-6-6-4-3. I yelled “Yahtzee!”
They weren’t really amused…
No lie, that’s fricking funny.
I had a sorcerer cast a Maximized Lightning Bolt the hard way. Granted, he was only 5th level, but seeing 6-6-6-6-6 was awesome.
In my game just yesterday rolled 6-6-5-4 on 4d6 with a trap against 4 players of whom only one made their reflex save.
They were not amused.
If Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies actually figures into your game anywhere, non-ironically, and without reason, you might be a terrible GM.
I look at it as being a realistic GM, bad things can happen. but then I was considered a trap master by most of the groups I’ve lead over the years.
oh and for those like me its DM not GM, GM is for losers.
What if you are running a game without Dungeons. Like Star Wars?
What do you call the area under Jabbas Palace? There’s ALWAYS a dungeon available in ANY setting. Even modern settings can have a Christian Grey dungeon….
…and that gets us to d20 Modern.
I’ve seen that look, and I’ve had that look, I think the entire group just died. I used to do a bit when this happened where the group ended up facing death and could bargain for their lives in a timed encounter. If they managed to keep from being collected either through negotiation, battle, or simply keeping away long enough they came back to life but with only 1d4 hit points. This would also give them a surprise attack as the enemy would think they were dead. Keep in mind sometimes you have to improvise when a campaign goes really bad.
Oh Damn..I thought this was a planned bit. IE: All the characters were supposed to die to face the mother, as part of the plot arc. The fact that he didn’t expect to TPK makes this all the worse.
We’ve all had that happen. Mine was a dragon getting into just the right position and lighting everyone up. Players accepted it as legal and a consequence of their actions as I had established a pattern to the dragons movement and attack by then- the party let themselves get clustered up and out in the sort of open.
DM on one shoulder, GM on the other.
I’ve killed entire parties with disease dart traps in the first session, especially with new players migrating from d20 systems.
I’m certainly among the DM group…
And honestly? Now I’m itching for a dozen players to take on Ravenloft. Soooo good!
OK, I’m still sort of a tabletop newbie, so I have to ask – what does it mean to “fudge” a roll? Does the DM roll and then just give the result the players want if the dice don’t fall that way, or does he/she roll the dice in an actually-not-very-random manner?
From what I’ve seen, it can mean either of those things. Hell, once I decided to fudge a dice roll and didn’t roll any dice at all, I just stated some random numbers.
The first option. Though not necessarily the one they want… More one that isn’t quite as bad.
Its not uncommon for GMs to roll his or her dice behind a screen so the players cannot see the results. Sometimes the sound of the dice hitting the table can create sufficient suspense. Afterwards, the GM will give whatever result will move the story along best. Fudging (changing the results) can sometimes be harmful to the players, such as the Big Bad Guy escaping when the dice say he was captured.
As we’ve seen in Karthun… death is not always the end.
TPK! TPK! TPK!
I’ve had situations where this would happen. However, my players are (unfortunately) get pretty salty when it looks like they’re gonna die.
At this point, I would give the players an option of a ‘moment of prescience’, where they they all saw a glimpse of their potential deaths. Essentially rewinding time a minute so to undo their deaths and give them a second chance.