T is for Triumph

There is a moment in a role-playing game where a character, facing incredible odds, actually manages to triumph.  And that moment is so, so sweet.  

Following Joseph Goodman's advice in the Dungeon Crawl Classics Core Rulebook, I now roll almost everything in the open, and I let players roll to see what the damage against them is.  If you survive despite the odds, you not only know that you did so, but you have a good idea of how unlikely your survival was.

During Tuesday night's game, I ran part of Greg Gillespie's excellent Barrowmaze using DCC rules.  The thief, drunken almost to a stupor due to the malign influence of his sword (Alemourn) became separated from the party by a stone wall, and faced seven of the un-dead by himself.  

Through luck, and a judicious use of Luck, the thief triumphed.

And, I am sorry, but no game where the GM fudges, or where PC protection is built into the rules, ever matches the sheer exuberance of triumphing over long odds when you know...you know....that the judge isn't going to intervene to save you.

Especially when how you use your resources (in this case, the thief's Luck Die) helps to swing the odds into your favour.

Good job, Garett, and may your character live to steal many a jewelled throne!