IMHO this isn’t a terrible thing since the no DCC can hold a candle to what Gygax wrote (that dude loved contact poison) and the element of true risk increases player enjoyment. Who wants to play a cakewalk?
And without the chance of a TPK, you would never have the great stories of the near-TPKs, which are some of the best gaming stories EVAH.
Here is a near-TPK we had some years ago. Please bear in mind we run an old 1st Ed. game with fast and messy rules. If you are a lawyer this will annoy you to no end, but that’s probably why you don’t game with us.
Any how:
Setting: Greyhawk, Sea of Dust.
PCs: At the top of their game, all around 10-12th level or so, and heavily outfitted with magic items won from their bout with Loth's childer.
Story: PCs are wandering through the desert, looking for ancient ruins half submerged in the shifting sands. Blue dragon begins to track them, deciding it wants all their magical goodies for his own. After three days of tracking (i.e. the DM giving the PCs the chance to get their act together) the dragon dives down out of the sun, lightning breath crackling from on high.
Despite the ambush, the PCs whoop arse on the dragon. Not only do they win, but they manage to subdue my sweet little blue. Ignominy of ignominies.
PCs decide to get info out the dragon. “Where is your lair?!”
Dragon gives directions, PCs let drake go.
Alrighty. So I might have been a little peevish at the time, but I decided that the dragon had lied. Not only had he not told them of his own lair, he actually directed them to the lair of a dracolich, resting in torpor.
PCs enter “empty lair.” See dracolich. Dracolich wakes up. PCs hit the thing with everything in their arsenal. MR eats up most the magic, and the thing’s HP weathers the rest.
Dracolich’s turn. Hits the PCs with its breath weapon. I call for rolling saving throws. Everyone fails but the monk and the paladin. I roll for damage in the open.
This is a huge mistake.
Room crackles with tension. I get a massive roll. All the failed-savers die, and the even the monk gets whiped from the table with his low HP.
The paladin has … ONE HIT POINT LEFT.
Table goes quiet. Members of the party had died before, sure but never everyone, all at once. Even I’m on pins, begging the dice gods for the party to live, but unable to suspend the story AND back down from rolling in the open. Beyond that, there’s not any way for the paladin to make it out alive. He can’t run fast enough, and even with his best damage he can’t completely off the dracolich. But I’m watching the player (my brother) and he knows exactly what he is planning to do. Mystery to me.
We roll for initiative in the open.
Paladin wins.
He pulls out a Ring of Wishes. 1 wish left. He wishes everyone back in time 1 hour.
Everyone’s jaw hits the table. PCs are all alive once more. We all begin to breath again.
The dracolich is not tampered with again, but they do hunt down that rogue blue and make it regret ever lying to them.
Guess my PCs are as vindictive as I am.
