From: "Brian Koppi"
> Also, don't obsess over making every adventure just the right level
> of challenge. I used to inadvertently sabotage my own games because I
> wanted the party to walk away with roughly 10% of their resources
> intact every time, certainly no more than 20%. Some adventures might
> turn into cake-walks, others might be disastrous. Let them.
> Plausibility and consistency are far greater tools in creating a
> dramatic and exciting campaign than "action movie" endings.
>
Oh yeah. I've had long-term players take new players aside
and explain that "this campaign is real - some of the stuff you'll
encounter is far too powerful to approach and if everyone else
suddenly disappears it's a clue to start running". The only rule
I followed was that they would never be ambushed by a creature
too powerful for them to fight, assuming reasonable caution
by the players.
On the other hand making mince-meat of an orc war party
without breaking a sweat is a good way for the players to look
back on how powerful they've become - it provides a frame
of reference that's grounded in the whole campaign, rather
than a subset carefully designed to challenge but not destroy
them.
Chris Tutty
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