How to avoid killing your player characters as GM

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by hal

For all others who want to chime in - how do YOU keep your player characters alive in a modern or future campaign?

Honestly, by not having fair fights. If my players are fighting, its because its cover while they run away from superior odds, because the foe is weak, or because they've done enough prep that this fight either isn't hard anymore or it is the key to the last thing they need to "win", and usually both.

This is partially about my players, but its how I've trained my players to approach the challenges I give them.

As a secondary note, I've found that even in high tech, instant death is rare. Remember that a failed death check makes you "dying", not dead, and you only start rolling at -HP.