That stupid Altell commercial made we want to figure out what level DM I am. I started keeping track of character deaths in my STAP and assumed I started at 1st level. As of right now, a few pages into adventure 6, I now have 33,000XP and am a 8th level DM.
What about you?
That stupid Altell commercial made we want to figure out what level DM I am. I started keeping track of character deaths in my STAP and assumed I started at 1st level. As of right now, a few pages into adventure 6, I now have 33,000XP and am a 8th level DM.
What about you?
Hmm.... I'm not sure how much XP I've collected for character death alone. It would probably not be that big, I've only got about five kills under my belt, all from the AoW campaign I just finished.
I think I should get several ad hoc awards, with a couple of them being pretty big awards.
Also, I don't know how DM XP from previous editions would carry over (not that I'd have much more XP... I was usually a player, since we had a very good regular DM).
Even then, without going into epic levels, I'm modest, and would only put myself at about 5th level. Still plenty of room to grow.
I think I'm in the negative levels, as I have spent well beyond the sane amount of my time, experience, and money crafting potent encounters. Perhaps I've risen as a zombie DM. That would explain how I can get by on so little sleep...and my craving for fresh brains.
:-)
Epic level! I stopped counting the dead years ago.
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 6
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That stupid Altell commercial made we want to figure out what level DM I am. I started keeping track of character deaths in my STAP and assumed I started at 1st level. As of right now, a few pages into adventure 6, I now have 33,000XP and am a 8th level DM.
What about you?
In the spirit of crankiness, I'd suggest not ranking DM chops by character kills. Any idiot can kill a character (and usually does). How about in terms of grand campaigns run to conclusion? :)
In the spirit of crankiness, I'd suggest not ranking DM chops by character kills. Any idiot can kill a character (and usually does). How about in terms of grand campaigns run to conclusion? :)
Well, if that's the case, I've run many campaigns from start to finish. Starting at level 1 to about 10 or 12. My last campaign was from levels 1 to 20 and that wasn't an Adventure Path. This campaign, being STAP and all, will be from 1 to 20. :) I have no idea what level that makes me. ;)
The true masters get the characters to kill their own dang selves...
;)
A personal favourite way of killing my players. If they do it to themselves its just so much sweeter.
One way I have found that is good for killing players is lulling them into a false sense of invincibility. I suppose really smart players never fall for this little trap but my players fumble into this flawed way of thinking over and over again. Essentially they fight some horrible monster and half the party dies. After that they are playing their best game for a number of sessions - but then they pick up a few levels and they start to think of their characters as 'so much stronger' then the ones they used to have and eventually they start to slip - they get careless and blammo - one really nasty elaborate ambush with powerful foes combo'd with players who forgot to scout and are no longer making sure that their line of retreat is open and I manage to kill half the partyt. At this point I go back to step one.
Another popular way of killing the players is to get them to put themselves in some kind of really compromised position. I had a dungeon that was falling apart into a massive chasm far below so the floor is missing in all sorts of places. Well part way along the players come to a room with no floor and a door on the other side of this open chasm. They move along and it becomes clear that to get to there objective they don't have to use this door. Its just some hard to get to door that is out of the way of where they must need to go. Well now the players start to obsess about the door - they can't get the door out of their heads. They go back and examine the room from the edge of the passage and using spells and what not work out that the walls of the room have dire warnings not to continue on through the door.
Well at this point my players are absolutely convinced that 'The DM does not want us to go through the door'. Ipso facto there must be treasure is unimaginable quantities beyond the door. Treasure in such amounts that it will totally break the wealth by level guidlines. The fact that I made the damn door and whatever happens to be beyond it is something that I put there (and therefore it would not really screw up the wealth by level guidlines) does not seem to occur to them. No the room has no floor and there are dire warnings to keep away - obvously nothing but treasure beyond this point.
Anyway they concoct some elaborate system to get to the door involving something like 1000 feet of rope and get themselve across the chasm. They open the door and enter the area where they have to go a little further into the sanctum. So the all get out of their home made harnesses and advance deeper into the area. Soon enough they come upon a Phantasmal Slayer which they have now released. It kills off one of the players with a death touch. The rest of the players flee the scene with the creature in hot pursuit only to be brought up short when they get to their rope bridge contraption. Unable to spend minutes getting themselves back into their home made harnesses most of the players are forced to try to run across what now amounts to a tight rope over a 1000' foot drop. Two more players fall to their death and I am left contemplating the fact that the surest way to get players to go some where is to stick obsticles and warnings in their path.
I do not have my DMG handy. Can someone tell me what the minimum level is for: Craft NPC, Scribe History, Forge Worlds, Craft Wondrous Traps, Craft paints and minis, Forge Killer Combos.
That's what level DM I am.
No worries though, soon I will be able to cast third level quickened, silent, maximized, maps.
This DM isn't worth the trouble. I'm too far down the CR chart to be worth any XP to any of you.
Move along. Nothing to see here.
No worries though, soon I will be able to cast third level quickened, silent, maximized, maps.
Ohhhh! I'm envious. None of my maps are either quick or silent. They're always a long time comming and accompanied by lots of screaming and pulling of what little hair I have left. I gotta get me some of those feats.
I remember when I became a 3rd level DM. I took Craft Plot as my feat, and spent quite a bit of XP doing it. So much so, that I hovered right around the minimum of 3rd level. Unfortunately, my plots were too complex for my players, and I was docked XP for failing to provide a good game, knocking me down to 2nd level.
Despite the loss, I was faithful to seeing my old plots work and attempted to play them through. My players responded by killing my game. I had a choice, then, be brought back with a Raise Dead at first level, or create a new DM.
Roughly 3 years later, I am now a new DM. I stick quite closely to the core rulebooks, allowing only a limited number of splatbooks, and follow the advice of epic level DMs through running STAP. I figure by month's end, I'll have just enough XP to qualify for 2nd level.
I went Epic some time ago. Going for apotheosis now.
The true masters get the characters to kill their own dang selves...
;)
I would take a slight exception to my esteemed collegue Heathansson's take on this issue. I believe that I am a true master GM with a plethora of PC Kills to my credit. My current Age of Worms campaign (presently in the Spire of Long Shadows) boasts a modest 42 PC kills and counting (see my thread 'Killer GM runs Age of Worms' for specifics on Player Abuse and my other "skills").
I think that it is far too enjoyable to Personally do the massacring of PC's, FAIRLY mind you, to resort to allowing them to merely self-destruct themeslves. While I'm willing to allow the PC's to get themselves killed, and admit that those demises are often more humorous; overall, it is less Satisfying.A perfect example might be my last AoW game session: a dubious Player who ALWAYS makes Saving Throws when they count proudly boasts that he 'Nat 19'd' his saving against a DC 26 Finger of Death Spell from a very nasty Worm Naga/Sorcerer 4. I patiently waited until the next round and smiled evily as I informed the player that he was the recipient of yet another DC 26 Finger of Death, and observed him closely as he rolled his new saving throw, which he naturally failed, and died miserably. The sheer euphoria of laying a humility lession on the turd (player) is incredible:) Try it!
Charisma, Imagination, a knack for story telling, funny, able to Improvise Oh and the most Important able to cook up some great tasting homeade Pizza for the group! Well those are my 2 copper pieces.
DAve
What level? Who knows? (My players would say Epic.) I kill an average of three PCs a session, even when I'm running Epic Level Games.
Level 1,000. I wonder what level the DM in the D&D cartoon is? It must be pretty crap if Tiamat can beat him up? He's certainly not as a high a level as the DM on the front of the 1st. Edition DMG. Now that's a DM!
I'd say 7th level DM. I just took Leadership (my wife is my cohort), and have 2 successful Adventure Paths under my belt. I've maxed out my Sense Munchkin, Knowledge(bulls***), and Bluff, as well as dabbling in Craft(background) and Profession(world builder). My bonus feat for 6th level was Evil Genius(Vile, of course), and I also have Improved DM's Friend (my modifiers are +/- 4 instead of 2), Plot Twist, and Cleave PC. I think I'll pick up 8th level once I get a Thrall of Malcanthet to infiltrate our STAP party as a cohort :)
Hard to say, as according to my players I for one must have started out as a Mind Flayer. Plus some levels of Mindbender and Wizard-Illusionist. There must be some Prestige Classes involved as well, and according to my age , I must have achieved Lichdom some time in the past. Someone said I resemble a Star Spawn of Cthulhu....
which would make me ...an Epic outer evil ?
As for "player deaths" - I usually find it most satisfying to put players in self-destruct mode, starting totally unnecessary inter-group feuding and competition and usually resulting in a deadly chain reaction when one PC dies because other chgaracters don't come to his/her help - especially fun if the character in question is a key memeber of the group like the cleric or wizard.... I live for those moments of insanity, viscious avenging and internal back-stabbing.
Owner - Johnny Scott Comics and Games
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As for "player deaths" - I usually find it most satisfying to put players in self-destruct mode, starting totally unnecessary inter-group feuding and competition and usually resulting in a deadly chain reaction when one PC dies because other chgaracters don't come to his/her help - especially fun if the character in question is a key memeber of the group like the cleric or wizard.... I live for those moments of insanity, viscious avenging and internal back-stabbing.
You've accurately described my group of players. My players always end up back-stabbing each other over some perceived slight. I like to add a bit of paranoia to each role-playing encounter with an NPC, and encourage one on one DMing for encounters that only involve one PC. The one PC then decides what (and what not) to tell the rest of the party. It makes for a fun time, with the party doing its best to kill itself off during "down time", but pulling itself together for the main encounters.
As for my level, I don't know what it would be. I've run countless campaigns (usually capping off at about 15th level), and found myself "DMing by the seat of my pants" as PC after PC takes an unexpected turn during an encounter (which usually results in something more interesting or, in some cases, more humorous, than anything we could have planned for).
Most importantly, my players leave each session with smile on their face, fond memories of the deeds they've accomplished (or plan to accomplish), and looking forward to our next session.
Another popular way of killing the players is to get them to put themselves in some kind of really compromised position. I had a dungeon that was falling apart into a massive chasm far below so the floor is missing in all sorts of places. Well part way along the players come to a room with no floor and a door on the other side of this open chasm. They move along and it becomes clear that to get to there objective they don't have to use this door. Its just some hard to get to door that is out of the way of where they must need to go. Well now the players start to obsess about the door - they can't get the door out of their heads. They go back and examine the room from the edge of the passage and using spells and what not work out that the walls of the room have dire warnings not to continue on through the door.
Well at this point my players are absolutely convinced that 'The DM does not want us to go through the door'. Ipso facto there must be treasure is unimaginable quantities beyond the door. Treasure in such amounts that it will totally break the wealth by level guidlines. The fact that I made the damn door and whatever happens to be beyond it is something that I put there (and therefore it would not really screw up the wealth by level guidlines) does not seem to occur to them. No the room has no floor and there are dire warnings to keep away - obvously nothing but treasure beyond this point.
Anyway they concoct some elaborate system to get to the door involving something like 1000 feet of rope and get themselve across the chasm. They open the door and enter the area where they have to go a little further into the sanctum. So the all get out of their home made harnesses and advance deeper into the area. Soon enough they come upon a Phantasmal Slayer which they have now released. It kills off one of the players with a death touch. The rest of the players flee the scene with the creature in hot pursuit only to be brought up short when they get to their rope bridge contraption. Unable to spend minutes getting themselves back into their home made harnesses most of the players are forced to try to run across what now amounts to a tight rope over a 1000' foot drop. Two more players fall to their death and I am left contemplating the fact that the surest way to get players to go some where is to stick obsticles and warnings in their path.
Seriously sounds like something right out of Knights of the Dinner Table.
well.... in my experience, KOTD is far less a satirical comic than actually a well-observed documentary of player interaction *grin*