this post was submitted on 09 Nov 2023
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I used to do that, but all of the DMs running those games were sadists who thought the game is the DM vs the players and actively tried their best to TPK every session. It was bad enough that I quit going after a few sessions with the 2 different groups there.
A DM can always TPK the party, so there’s no game in that. I think you just encountered a different playstyle than your preferred one. Some people like mechanical dungeon crawls where everyone is expected to have one or two backup characters on hand because death happens.
These guys were hostile towards players. I'll give you an example. I rolled a 1 on an attack against a goblin that was fleeing. The DM decided that a 1 meant I accidentally hit another player who was not even close to the goblin. He made me roll to see if I overcame the players AC and I rolled a 20, which he said meant I crit the other player. Then he had me roll for damage and I rolled max damage and killed the other player. It was that player's first time playing and they had spent a ton of time creating their character. That was when I decided I didn't want to play with that DM any more. Deciding I hit another player all the way across the room was hostile, and then forcing a crit was icing on the cake. Actually having me outright kill another player when I was attacking a goblin with eldridtch blast is just ridiculous.
A critical fumble system is in use at many tables including my own. No where near as extreme a thing as you believe it to be.
I'm familiar with the system, it's in the rulebook. It's his decisions on how to handle it by attacking another brand new player that I disliked, especially since that sort of thing was common for him and he seemed to get enjoyment from it. If you as a DM get enjoyment from killing your players then you're not the DM for me. I've played D&D off and on for 35 years, and those were the only two DMs I've played with that were actively trying to kill their players. Not my thing, which is why I don't play there anymore.