I think a similar solution was devised in the Warhammer system ,that I also played in my tender youth.
You could use your points to beef up your chances at making it or have a bad result softened by applying the points after the fact or some such .
By all means Sir,do waffle .
I must say that grey areas arise in all GMs campaigns ,the situation were killing the characters would devestate months or years of careful campaignbuilding - accidental PC death isnt very alluring prospect then .Also in some cases ,the players are very thick,and killing the PCs doesnt improve /educate like you would imagine .Sometimes a gentle nudge or 10 is better than a firm hand and one slap to the face .
When that is all said - I cannot say strongly enough how important it is to make sure the dark and hungry beings that reside in the dice are kept sated with the HPand blood of player characters from time to time .I have sinned in this respect some times and the campaign grew too soft and some found it tedious.
After reigniting my vicious and bloodthirsty side I have rediscovered the joys of GMing that had been too long supressed.
I now strive to make the sessions present a tactical conundrum ( or sometimes a moral one -which is far worse for my lot -evil basterds that they are ) were the partys actions most likely will lead to one or more fatalities or grave injury that later will lead to slow and terrible death from infection.
( We do tend to have humorous sessions though -its not a bad mood cult )
I think creating a situation that will kill a PC should they not all pull their weight with prudence and valor pr session is important .Some luck should also be needed of course .
I say,my waffeling isnt half bad either !
Quote:
Originally Posted by Caradhras
I started RPGs way back in the early 80s with expert/AD+D and it was a strict dice game, no 'cheats' by the GM. This continued through .. T2k ,MERP, Cthulu, Runequest and Rolemaster until I played Vampire which is more a story based game than dice run, although dice play a part.
I learned from this more free form game, probably coupled with >20 yrs Gming and becoming more mature (omg!) that a balance is ideal for (imo) the perfect gaming experience. Sometimes the dice alone can spoil a great game/story/campaign, also too much 'fudging' can make the players feel seperate from their fates and kill the interest. Sometimes a bad guy has to escape, and sometimes if a player gets shot....he gets shot - the element of risk of loss of the char has to be present.
ATM I am running my own created game of Napoleonic British Riflemen in the Peninsula war based on the Rolemaster system following the history accurately but using a few ideas from Sharpe etc. Anyway, Rolemaster is a very viscious (accurate!) system especially with firearms and battles and i needed to devise something to give the chars a chance of not losing the head to a round shot or a musket ball through both lungs too regularly. In the end I hijacked an idea from HARP system called a Hero point. Basically, when I roll the result of the nasty musket ball etc I can say to the player 'you trip and see a round shot take the head off a trooper behind you - cross off your hero point' or such like.
It isnt ideal, but they know I am keeping it pretty honest and fatal yet they have a lifesaver from the evils of a fateful dodgy dice roll once every now and again.
Hmm sry - didnt mean to waffle on so.
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