Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site tilt.FUN
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!princeton!tilt!chenr
From: chenr@tilt.FUN (The 1200 baud hacker)
Newsgroups: net.games.frp
Subject: Re: Killing off characters
Message-ID: <187@tilt.FUN>
Date: Fri, 19-Oct-84 20:00:33 EDT
Article-I.D.: tilt.187
Posted: Fri Oct 19 20:00:33 1984
Date-Received: Sun, 21-Oct-84 14:06:25 EDT
References: <3905@decwrl.UUCP> <1662@ucla-cs.ARPA>
Organization: Princeton University EECS Dept
Lines: 61

> I think magical items of the sort posted are perfectly legitimate for many
> reasons:
> 
> (1) If you've got powerful characters, it is probably because you handed out
>     a lot of nice magic.  This gives characters instant death potential
>     against their opponents.  It is only fair that some of the items they
>     find have instant death potential against them.

I agree that nasty magic items have their place.  However, a DM
shouldn't need nasty items to control a campaign, or even an obnoxious
character.  Too many people have bought E. Gary Gygax's claim that high-
level D&D is un-balanced, unchallenging D&D.  Nothing could be further
from the truth.  High-level D&D, when done right, can be not only just
as challenging, but also more exciting than low-level D&D.

The key, of course, is realizing that power is relative.  A person, upon
entering the campaign I play in, was ranting about, "How can you have world
that's full of 20th-level characters?  If I'm 20th level, I could go destroy
a city..."  The following conversation then took place.

	DM:  "Before you go off destroying any cities, think first.  How
	      many 20th level characters are there living in that city?"

	PC:  "Ummm."

	DM:  "And what will they do once they find out you trashed the city
	      they live in?"

	PC:  "Ummm.  Hunt me down and kill me?"

	DM:  "Riiiggggghhhhtt."

The trick is to not let the player-characters get too powerful relative to
the campaign.  The lazy way out is to keep PCs from getting powerful at all.
The creative way out is to make up a world that is more powerful than the PCs
in it, and to juggle the balance of power to make sure that no one gets the
upper hand.  After all, a world dominated by Algathroth the Magnificent, even if
he is an NPC, is going get really boring.

With regards to a battle, there's no reason to punish PCs for possesing items
that have "instant death" capability, just give NPCs items with the same
capabilities, or be intelligent and creative enough to allow for the possiblity
of defences against such items and give them to some of the NPCs.

It is true that high-level battles tend to be shorter, but as a rule, this
is a result of a "time-compression" due to the fact that high-level PCs can *do*
much more in a round than low-level PCs.  The amount of subjective time remains
about the same, you're just fighting with fractions of rounds being important
and not just rounds.

Nasty magic items have their place:  the normal risk of life.  There have been
lots of good arguments explaining why a nasty magic item might be created, so
I won't repeat them.  But don't use them as "control" devices.  You can
control PCs very well without them.

----

The preceding message was brought to you by --

		Ray Chen
		princeton!tilt!chenr