Save or Die!

There are some weapons that the DM has at his disposal that I'm not terribly fond of using. These include night attacks, gear-destroying attacks, energy drain, and save or die spells. So, I'm not terribly fond of the idea of firing off a Destruction spell and requiring the party rogue to make a Fortitude save at DC 22, or be destroyed forever.

That's not to say I won't use such attacks.

The truth is that all of the above are valid parts of the game system. Night attacks can and do happen, and should be permitted. Some creatures can and do damage the equipment of their foes, or have the dreaded energy drain ability. And extremely powerful magic should be something to fear. Not including these elements does the game a disservice, and does the players a disservice as well (because if you remove these elements, shouldn't you also remove PC death at all, or perhaps injury, or... The point being that a lot of the excitement of the game comes from knowing that bad things can happen.)

However, it is important to note that I will not make extensive use of any of the above attacks on PCs. I won't throw endless ambushes by energy draining creatures at night at PCs, nor take every opportunity to destroy their equipment. I will use these attacks, but will use them sparingly. Oh, and I'll let the PCs cut loose with their powerful abilities, as well.

Of course, it would be nice to assume that the same holds true in reverse - if the PCs discover a particular combination of abilities that becomes unbeatable, I would like to see them use it perhaps twice before moving on. There's not a lot of fun to be had if every opponent is defeated in one round by the tactical nuke feat.

Not that that's a problem I've had lately.