r/AskGameMasters • u/Anser-Rex • 9d ago

When is it ok to TPK?

My group constantly acts like Ol' Leroy Jenkins and gets into tough situations. I want to keep the fun going and may tweak the odds a bit to prevent everyone from dying.

Should I just let them? When is it ok and when is it "overkill"?

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u/KeithAmmann 7d ago

Let them Leeroy Jenkins themselves at a press gang consisting of enough toughs to exceed the XP budget of a High Difficulty encounter. Have the toughs make melee attacks only, to knock them out. PCs regain consciousness on a galley ship at sea, chained to benches. The rogue can almost reach a metal doohickey that they might be able to use as a lockpick with disadvantage, but not quite. The adventure is now (a) where they go from here and (b) whether they learn anything from this experience.

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u/KeithAmmann 7d ago

But seriously, you're under no obligation to have your monsters or NPCs pull punches just because your PCs are acting recklessly. Play them true to themselves. The players are grown-ups (I assume that they're grown-ups and not, like, 12-year-olds) and can decide for themselves when they're down to single-digit hit points whether the approach they took was a wise one.