Keeping characters alive

[BobP]

LET them die. It happens. An adventurer's life is dangerous and fate is fickle. Remember them with fondness.

[larsdangly]

There is a lot to be said for that. In most fantasy roleplaying games, every character has a very good chance of getting to be a grizzled veteran of a thousand fights. In TFT, if you ever manage to reach an Aragorn-like level of adventuring experience you will be nearly unique.

[Original_Carl]

Originally Posted by BobP

LET them die. It happens. An adventurer's life is dangerous and fate is fickle. Remember them with fondness.

Truly. However, I never get through any modules. I had to run Death Test like 6 times before I had anyone survive it. I don't know how I'll get through Tollenkar's Lair.

This is a soft complaint, mind, but it's hard to have campaign continuity when the characters die so frequently and with such swiftness.

Still a great game. Probably the best Fantasy RPG I've played to date.

[Axly Suregrip]

Originally Posted by BobP

LET them die. It happens. An adventurer's life is dangerous and fate is fickle. Remember them with fondness.

Best thing about this answer is that this approach is more fun. I have played safely (actually my default) and it can be boring. When you go all out, well you are going to lose some or all your characters but have a blast along the way.

OriginalCarl,
Regarding struggling through DeathTest: some of this is just getting more experienced in playing. Other things you can do are to make it easier for your guys. For example:

- let your beginning characters be full blown ITL starting characters. That is, they start with $1000 to purchase any non-magical equipment. That alone is an edge. They also will have talents. This is like starting with one more attribute point. Do not do the ITL character generator steps as this gives you a more well rounded character while what you need is some one mostly set up for combat.

- if you still cannot get through, then start with +1 attribute point per champ. Four 33 point champs with talents and fine weapons will still need to play well, so it will still be fun.

Good luck.

[hcobb]

To survive Death Test take four crossbow snipers

ST 12, DX 11, IQ 9, Crossbow, Missile Weapons III, etc.
Light Crossbow(2d; adjDX 14, one shot per turn), etc.

Shoot everything that moves and ignore everything that doesn't move.

[Original_Carl]

I can game characters to get through the challenges. In Death Test, for example I ran a bunch of solo romps through it before I subjected it to actual players. I had good success with "the four spearmen" myself (Albert, Bertha, Charlie, and Darlene).

It was when actual players played it with their own choices for characters that things went nuts. I allowed full 32-point ITL characters, albeit without $1000 for equipment and just time after time it was TPK. I finally opted to let them rest and regain a small amount of health between rooms.

Maybe it's just me and my groups, but the dice are brutal in TFT. One high crit ends it all and while that's pretty exciting, it makes it tough to do more than single-evening adventures. You have to have a pretty heavy hand as a game master/referee if you like playing with the same characters week-over-week.

[hcobb]

Originally Posted by Original_Carl

One high crit ends it all and while that's pretty exciting, it makes it tough to do more than single-evening adventures.

Hence the one-crit wonder t-shirt.

[Steve Plambeck]

Death Test was aptly named. See it as a training exercise not for the characters, but for the players. It's good to start over with the same party that got killed off last time, and let people learn from their mistakes. You don't have to really call the characters "dead" unless you do make DT a location in your campaign world.

Unlike a programmed module, the GM has near-infinite leeway in a campaign game scenario, and doesn't even have to let the players know when something changes on the fly. Say you've planned 6 goblins to ambush the party. By the time they get to that encounter, if the party looks too beat up, the GM can always extemporate with "You are ambushed by...well... 4 goblins." If the party is really banged up, go with "3 wounded goblins... they look exhausted" -- hahaha. It's your story, you can always dial it down before everyone is killed off.

[larsdangly]

Thank goodness Death Test is challenging; there's nothing we need less than to have the main programed solo dungeon be a walk over!

[Skarg]

Death test will tend to kill new inexperienced players with 32-point characters, players who don't understand TFT tactics very well, people who haven't been through Death Test before and don't know how to go through it without hitting lots or rooms, people who run into some notably bad luck, and so on.

Adding player experience or a few character points or talents tends to tip the scales. Mostly I see Death Test being a cake walk when experienced players are involved, even at 32 points.

There are ways to greatly reduce the risk of dying in TFT, mostly about tactics.


In a campaign game, besides tactics, lifesavers include physickers, keeping the physickers alive, bringing enough companions, being cautious, and having injured people take time to heal up when possible.

We were quite able to keep at least a pretty good number of PCs alive in our campaigns in such ways. We lots many companions, but most of those were NPCs.


But above all, I think the chance of death and failure needs to be real, or else there's not much game situation, not much excitement, and not much interest.