Difficulty of campaigns - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Difficulty of campaigns

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
denbyak
Aug 23, 2007 7:25:17 I remember reading the old Darksun books and getting to the section on character trees. They said to make three characters because Darksun is so rough your gonna lose em. Even to this day my players are always scared when they go ANYWHERE and fleeing is always one of there options. I am not afraid to kill characters because they wouldnt try to get away when they are hurt or make thoes stupid unrealistic mistakes. How about the other DMs how close to the danger and Natural survival of Darksun do you get? and do your players except this? Because I do not pull any punches and teach each of my NPC's as real people and therefore they want to win to.
#2
zombiegleemax
Aug 24, 2007 10:29:25 The intended path of a campaign should be challenging, but not impossible. By using everything at their disposal creatively and keeping their senses peeled, players should come out of trouble by the skin of their teeth at worst, and sometimes even do quite well for themselves. Athas should, however, be purest hell for the unwary and those who charge straight in. If you're not giving it everything you've got, the desert will swallow you and spit out the pieces.

There should always be the opportunity to come up against a far superior force. One should always assume the worst, because it's impossible to hold all the cards. You should know enough to run or hide if you've bitten off more than you can chew.

If the group chooses to go off the beaten track, think carefully. If the plan seems well thought out, it might just pay off. Otherwise, pull out all stops - foolishness gets you no more than you deserve.

I'll admit, however, that I tend to have a soft spot for players new to the setting. I go easy on people who are just starting out with it, and gradually introduce them to the harshness of the world.
#3
cnahumck
Aug 24, 2007 13:07:44 I go hard right off the bat. I generally kill a PC or 2 within the first few sessions. Often in ways that punish them from stupidity or not being careful. Then, it's the dance of making it hard so that they fear for their lives, while pulling punches when necessary. Once the campaign gets going, I don't want to kill a PC unless it's because of a heroic, or idiotic act.
#4
brun01
Aug 24, 2007 16:07:56 I just had to kill my whole group, again. The first time, the party druid attacked Hamanu during the Crimson Legion battle and now the party tried to overpower a slaver archdefiler high drik.
Someday they'll learn that DS is not a walk in the park...
#5
ruhl-than_sage
Aug 24, 2007 23:17:14 My PC's don't die too often, but I make it abundantly clear to them that running away, surrendering, and negotiating to your disadvantage are all necessary options, as it looking the other way and not getting involved despite any moral qualms you might have about what's going on around you.

If they do something stupid I don't hesitate to kill them, have them lose all their stuff, or whatever seems appropriate to the situation.
#6
Jesse_Heinig
Aug 26, 2007 6:28:14 For my most recent Dark Sun campaign, I gave the players a content advisory warning. I informed them that the setting would be pretty gritty, and that many of the allowances made in other games wouldn't be taken here. In specific, a DM will often tailor adventures to his group; if the group has no rogue, there are fewer traps, if there's no arcane caster, less magic support needed for encounters, etc. For Dark Sun, I warned them that if they're lacking important resources for their party, I won't pull punches - they'll just get killed if they can't cut it, and then they can make new characters that do have the necessary skills.
#7
ruhl-than_sage
Aug 26, 2007 18:30:32
For my most recent Dark Sun campaign, I gave the players a content advisory warning. I informed them that the setting would be pretty gritty, and that many of the allowances made in other games wouldn't be taken here. In specific, a DM will often tailor adventures to his group; if the group has no rogue, there are fewer traps, if there's no arcane caster, less magic support needed for encounters, etc. For Dark Sun, I warned them that if they're lacking important resources for their party, I won't pull punches - they'll just get killed if they can't cut it, and then they can make new characters that do have the necessary skills.

Yah, I completely agree with that philosophy. I don't recall ever reshaping encounters to account for the player's deficiencies, unless it was to take advantage of them rather than give them a break.

For instance one of my player's created a Psychic Warrior character that had been a very popular and successful young mul gladiator in the arena at Tyr. She was inexperienced at creating characters however and designed him in such a way that he needed to "power-up" to be really effective in combat. This of course wasn't a problem in the arena, because you know when your match is about to start. But, it was a huge problem on the streets and in the deserts of Athas. Needless to say the party got ambushed a lot.

Another example has to do with the Half-Giant in the Party. He was extremely weak willed, crude, and had a particular fondness for Alcohol, so I presented him with plenty of opportunities to get drunk at inappropriate times and get himself and/or the party into trouble. Also there is the whole size issue "oh you can't fit into the underground part of the ruins hmmm.... I guess you'll either have to knock down some walls or wait outside"

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 denbyak Aug 23, 2007 7:25:17	I remember reading the old Darksun books and getting to the section on character trees. They said to make three characters because Darksun is so rough your gonna lose em. Even to this day my players are always scared when they go ANYWHERE and fleeing is always one of there options. I am not afraid to kill characters because they wouldnt try to get away when they are hurt or make thoes stupid unrealistic mistakes. How about the other DMs how close to the danger and Natural survival of Darksun do you get? and do your players except this? Because I do not pull any punches and teach each of my NPC's as real people and therefore they want to win to.
#2 zombiegleemax Aug 24, 2007 10:29:25	The intended path of a campaign should be challenging, but not impossible. By using everything at their disposal creatively and keeping their senses peeled, players should come out of trouble by the skin of their teeth at worst, and sometimes even do quite well for themselves. Athas should, however, be purest hell for the unwary and those who charge straight in. If you're not giving it everything you've got, the desert will swallow you and spit out the pieces. There should always be the opportunity to come up against a far superior force. One should always assume the worst, because it's impossible to hold all the cards. You should know enough to run or hide if you've bitten off more than you can chew. If the group chooses to go off the beaten track, think carefully. If the plan seems well thought out, it might just pay off. Otherwise, pull out all stops - foolishness gets you no more than you deserve. I'll admit, however, that I tend to have a soft spot for players new to the setting. I go easy on people who are just starting out with it, and gradually introduce them to the harshness of the world.
#3 cnahumck Aug 24, 2007 13:07:44	I go hard right off the bat. I generally kill a PC or 2 within the first few sessions. Often in ways that punish them from stupidity or not being careful. Then, it's the dance of making it hard so that they fear for their lives, while pulling punches when necessary. Once the campaign gets going, I don't want to kill a PC unless it's because of a heroic, or idiotic act.
#4 brun01 Aug 24, 2007 16:07:56	I just had to kill my whole group, again. The first time, the party druid attacked Hamanu during the Crimson Legion battle and now the party tried to overpower a slaver archdefiler high drik. Someday they'll learn that DS is not a walk in the park...
#5 ruhl-than_sage Aug 24, 2007 23:17:14	My PC's don't die too often, but I make it abundantly clear to them that running away, surrendering, and negotiating to your disadvantage are all necessary options, as it looking the other way and not getting involved despite any moral qualms you might have about what's going on around you. If they do something stupid I don't hesitate to kill them, have them lose all their stuff, or whatever seems appropriate to the situation.
#6 Jesse_Heinig Aug 26, 2007 6:28:14	For my most recent Dark Sun campaign, I gave the players a content advisory warning. I informed them that the setting would be pretty gritty, and that many of the allowances made in other games wouldn't be taken here. In specific, a DM will often tailor adventures to his group; if the group has no rogue, there are fewer traps, if there's no arcane caster, less magic support needed for encounters, etc. For Dark Sun, I warned them that if they're lacking important resources for their party, I won't pull punches - they'll just get killed if they can't cut it, and then they can make new characters that do have the necessary skills.
#7 ruhl-than_sage Aug 26, 2007 18:30:32	For my most recent Dark Sun campaign, I gave the players a content advisory warning. I informed them that the setting would be pretty gritty, and that many of the allowances made in other games wouldn't be taken here. In specific, a DM will often tailor adventures to his group; if the group has no rogue, there are fewer traps, if there's no arcane caster, less magic support needed for encounters, etc. For Dark Sun, I warned them that if they're lacking important resources for their party, I won't pull punches - they'll just get killed if they can't cut it, and then they can make new characters that do have the necessary skills. Yah, I completely agree with that philosophy. I don't recall ever reshaping encounters to account for the player's deficiencies, unless it was to take advantage of them rather than give them a break. For instance one of my player's created a Psychic Warrior character that had been a very popular and successful young mul gladiator in the arena at Tyr. She was inexperienced at creating characters however and designed him in such a way that he needed to "power-up" to be really effective in combat. This of course wasn't a problem in the arena, because you know when your match is about to start. But, it was a huge problem on the streets and in the deserts of Athas. Needless to say the party got ambushed a lot. Another example has to do with the Half-Giant in the Party. He was extremely weak willed, crude, and had a particular fondness for Alcohol, so I presented him with plenty of opportunities to get drunk at inappropriate times and get himself and/or the party into trouble. Also there is the whole size issue "oh you can't fit into the underground part of the ruins hmmm.... I guess you'll either have to knock down some walls or wait outside"