So there are typically two camps of thought on Gamemaster fiat, (fudging dice rolls to the uninitiated). To the hard-core player who likes the rolls to always be what the rolls are, GM fiat is a bad thing. I'm typically of the other camp, the camp that believes that role-playing is about entertainment. If the players get slaughtered due to a couple of lucky (unlucky for them) rolls that cause massive criticals in the first encounter; then the story isn't fulfilled, casualties due to stupid play I generally don't fudge though, as that reinforces bad play. (Such as charging off after a kobold into an unexplored hallway, and running face-first into a gelatinous cube.)
I won't pull punches in important battles, but random encounters will never kill one of my parties (sans stupid play). I will also not keep adding HPs to big bad end guys just so they can speak their monologue. Pathfinder characters tend to kill even BBEGs pretty quickly. Now, I do make sure my BBEGs have lots of HPs or High ACs, max HP per level is one way I control HPs of a boss, no random dice rolls. I use the following HPs in my games of Pathfinder:
Weak or Henchmen enemies have 1 or 2 HP/HD (plus Con bonuses) 10-15%of Max)
Standard have 3-4 HP/HD (35-50% of Max)
Mini-Bosses have 5-9 HP/HD (75% of max)
Bosses have max HP plus usually toughness, as they're meant to be a threat, and to stay around. Adding additional HP or AC with one shot items (potions, scrolls, etc)
With playing with younger players, character death can be especially traumatic, but, it can also be VERY memorable, everyone remembers their first character death, just make sure your players are ready for it.
I won't pull punches in important battles, but random encounters will never kill one of my parties (sans stupid play). I will also not keep adding HPs to big bad end guys just so they can speak their monologue. Pathfinder characters tend to kill even BBEGs pretty quickly. Now, I do make sure my BBEGs have lots of HPs or High ACs, max HP per level is one way I control HPs of a boss, no random dice rolls. I use the following HPs in my games of Pathfinder:
Weak or Henchmen enemies have 1 or 2 HP/HD (plus Con bonuses) 10-15%of Max)
Standard have 3-4 HP/HD (35-50% of Max)
Mini-Bosses have 5-9 HP/HD (75% of max)
Bosses have max HP plus usually toughness, as they're meant to be a threat, and to stay around. Adding additional HP or AC with one shot items (potions, scrolls, etc)
With playing with younger players, character death can be especially traumatic, but, it can also be VERY memorable, everyone remembers their first character death, just make sure your players are ready for it.
Just to add my 2 cents, I feel that story is the most important aspect. Dice rolls are there to add randomness of the world we live in. There have been several times where I was upset at the GM fiat of letting my character live, whereas I would have rather the character die due to his mechanations (not bad rolls or stupid decisions, just in game story manipulation that led to death). I think that characters should be able to derail a story at its beginning. Not obnoxiously, but smartly. If you need GM Fiat to do that, then so be. If not, then whatever mechanic you come up with.
ReplyDeleteGood point, I'm not using GM fiat for railroading purposes, merely to prevent totally random character deaths prior to a final scene, so IF the characters are already on their way to said ending, no need to have a lucky mook strike one of them dead due to a 20. Now there are some games where that's kind of the point, but poorly designed encounters and lucky dice rolls shouldn't be one of them.
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