I finally get to play the Fantasy Trip as a player instead of a GM, and two sessions in we have a total party kill. There are, of course, reasons.
First, the group I am playing in is a father and his 2 sons. Teen agers are not known for their caution, so we played a bit more dangerously than the players in my other group, which is mostly 50+ year old gamers who have been gaming for decades, would do. Though that group will also take some pretty heavy risks (I need to do a recap of the last session, and one of the players did get talked out of doing something that would have been, if not a most of the party dead, most of the party in a military prison).
The GM, his first game, has a pretty solid campaign, and while we managed to beat the vampires in the previous session, we did not manage to defeat the Lizardman Wizard in the 2nd session. Now, as those who play TFT know, it can be a very deadly game. No resting and magically poof your hit points all come back. The GM was overly generous with healing potions (enough so to possibly distort the game, so that part has been pulled back a bit). We were a bit worn down from a gargoyle attack (and planning on going back to collect the gall bladders) when the wizard showed up. Rather than retreating, as most of us were at least a bit wounded, we made a full attack. Prentum, who almost can't miss in normal range with arrows, managed to plink him several times but never seemed to hurt him. Our bruiser got killed by 3 (yes, 3) lightening blasts. Pretty much the same for the other character, and, knowing if I turned tail & ran, Prentum could never live with himself even assuming he could get out before getting zapped, charged and died.
Turns out the wizard had a 20ST power stone, a ring of stone flesh, and a +4DX ring. So even if my short bow managed to hit him, I would have had to roll a 5+ to even hurt him. And as you all know by now, I do not roll well! Plus he was a 52 point wizard. So, from our 35 point characters, vastly overpowered.
He was upset, especially as his son has had his 3rd character die in our games (twice because of me). Game balance is important, but also over-rated. We should not have attacked this character, but we did not know enough to see that he was far more powerful than us. A better solution would be to run away to live and fight another day. I've read some interesting takes on 5th edition, and glad I don't play that often. If you can't die in the game, there is no real point to me to play: no consequence and may as well play make believe and get everything we want. Not that you can't die, but the mechanics (of which admittedly I've only read about and not actually read) seem to make the monster points something that the players should be able to defeat. Now, I may be misremembering what I read, so perhaps it is not quite like that. But that does remind me that I also want to run or play the Blackest of Deaths:
Caution: This game was designed by using a unique mix of Modern and Classic game mechanics; however, this game is very old school in it’s principles and philosophies. The Blackest of Deaths has no modern sensibilities from a tonal standpoint. For those who have never experienced the old school way of play or for those who have but have now forgotten through the years, please understand this before continuing: YOUR CHARACTERS WILL DIE.
Now, having died, we actually have 2 options. Our group had encountered members of the Crimson Blade, a witch hunting group from Edge City (yes, we are playing in my world, and he made up his own guild! So very cool!). I said we could play members of that guild, off to see what happened to that group we sent to Dead Man's Gulch. I've already rolled up a character for that:
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