The Cascade Death

[The Old Hack]

The Cascade Death


or, How I learned to stop worrying and love the Fugue

Right. In this I am going to write down a few thoughts about a very expensive experience and how to avoid it. This is probably an experience known to many here. (If it isn't, then I'm an unusually big klutz -- not a possibility I am willing to just rule out, to be frank.)  So, let's take it from the top. What is a cascade death? Well, basically speaking, it goes like this. You are on a quest or other adventure, you are rolling along and things are going well, and then WHAM, you get creamed by an unexpected crit or by stumbling into one or several truly lethal mobs. Well, this can put anyone off their stride, and as a result, after you have returned, you make some sort of bad choice or decision which gets you killed again. This then puts you still more off your stride and your game, you stagger punch-drunkenly into another lethal mess and then suddenly your HP plummet due to some mob which sniffs easy pickings, and hey, isn't this the Fugue? Oh crud...

Anyway, whether you are familiar with the above scenario or not, I'm going to try to come up with a few ways of reducing the frequency of such a cascade occurring. I am not saying that any of my ideas will be foolproof protections or solutions, I am just hoping that they will trim the frequency of a cascade death occurring.

So, to get started. My first assumption is this: what triggers the cascade is the very first death. Before it happens you are likely in good form and playing a decent game. Then the hammer falls and you are sitting in the Fugue wondering exactly which fleet of trucks hit you and if anyone got their numbers. Then you either respawn or get revived with a nice chunk of XP lost, and that alone is enough to put a damper on your day. But there are more problems. Your buffs will all have gone, if you are a caster you will likely have lost a number of your spells, your backpack will be in a shambles and your quickslots totally messed up. And right here we have one prime cause of cascade deaths, and the first step in avoiding them.

1) Reorganising your pack is irritating. Annoying. It's fiddly, exacting and often the last thing you are in the mood for after waving a lovely chunk of XP goodbye. AND A PACK IN CHAOS CAN AND WILL KILL YOU IF ANOTHER EMERGENCY HAPPENS. Now, I am not saying you need to put everything in perfect order directly after respawning, and for that matter, often you won't even have the time to -- but a fast workaround is to quickly move a few lifesaving pieces of gear into readily available quickslots. This can be cure potions, invis potions, devices that let you cast blur and so forth. Place them where they are prominent so you won't have to fiddle to find them. Then, when that unexpected Stonehand Giant pops up to cream you, you hit the panic button and go invisible or Haste yourself the Hades away from it or something. And you do it MUCH faster than if you have to fumble through an inventory that is in total chaos.

2) Being off your game because of that first annoying death is harder to bring under control, but there are ways. Ask for a brief AFK so you can get a Coke or some comfort food or the like. Take a smoking break if that is your thing. Make sure that you have something in your stomach, low blood sugar just never seems to help. And if you are really screaming, raging mad at yourself, the monsters, your fellow players and the DM, then you really badly need to take  a break till you aren't. And yes, I know this can be hard advice to follow -- you'll want your own back, and ideally you want it day before yesterday -- but do it anyway. Tell your fellow players that you are too upset to play properly. Inform the DM so as well, preferably politely. No-one will resent you for logging even in the middle of a quest if you are not having fun and you can't regain your calm again, not if you tell them why you are logging and apologise for it.

3) If you stay on and continue playing, BE CAREFUL. It can be tempting to go back to the front line and start slugging right away. But you can do it without taking chances. If you haven't had your buffs replaced, you will certainly be much weaker than before and the opposition may well be the same or even more powerful. It helps here that if your party mates have any brains whatsoever, they will know that dying sucks and will be understanding of your desire to avoid a repeat experience. Don't be the first one to head in. Let others get that nasty aggro. Use missiles from a safe spot and be ready to hit that emergency hotkey I mentioned in 1). Of course, if you happen to be a mission critical member of the team, such as the tank or the main healer, the situation may put a lot of pressure on you to push hard and take chances -- but in that case, you should insist on the whole group being more careful and if at all possible on a chance to rest and rebuff. Or even say to the others, "I can't fulfill my main role optimally anymore. We either have to find some sort of substitute option or abort." This will be better than letting the others pressure you into continuing -- if you really are mission critical, the mission will fail anyway if you keep dying.

4) If it is a DM quest, it becomes harder to tell the others to slow down or to face the possibility of aborting. For that matter, it also becomes harder to tell it to yourself. Here, the DM is your friend. Tell the DM frankly that you don't feel good about going on and ask him for advice. Or ask him if he minds giving you a few minutes of time to set up emergency quickbars, getting a drink or whatever. In spite of rumours to the contrary, the DM generally isn't out solely to repeatedly kill your character; he is here to play the game and have fun and hopefully share that fun with you. You can likely work something out with him, even if that has to be 'I have to bow out, I am in no shape to continue this quest.'


Well, that's my thoughts on cascade deaths and how to reduce their frequency. Any and all criticisms and suggestions for improvement will be gratefully received. I hope this will in some way be helpful for people here or at least give them a good laugh.

Cheers,
~tOH.

[lovethesuit]

LTS likes this.

[Gotham]

Dying and dropping level is just an exscuse to pound lvl 5 quests for sweet startup loot anyway

[Kinslayer988]

I have dealt with this many times like a BoM spice that put my ranger from 7 to 3. It happens but hell, DM gave us loot and a fun time so I did not mind.

[Spiffy Has]

One time, I left a Dm quest, and I got more XP for Role Playing my character when she was scared shitless at the prospect of continuing through the quest.

So she left.

Big XP and a DM tell, "Was fun."

[Aethereal]

Cascade deaths and the love of alchemy:

"Excellent, it's time to work on the electro-aqua-pyro-metamagic experiments, nothing can stop me now!"

[Currently level 7]

*Begin experiments: wonders are found, then a devourer of worlds pops up to say hello.*

*Dead.*

[Now level 5]

"Alright, I've got only six more permutations to test, and I can't cast my life saving buffs anymore. Meh, I want to finish this set of experiments! I'll just be careful..."

*Complete the first of six, a dud result. Continue on to the second of six, a large block of the ceiling falls on top of you, and you don't have stoneskin etc.*

*Dead.*

[Now level 3]

"What is there to even lose anymore? I can only gain!"

*Complete three of six, after painstakingly organising reagent order.*

[hide=Guess what?] *HUGE SUCCESS!* "Yes, the first fragment of the world key!"[/hide]*Complete four of six.*

[hide=Guess what?] *You are dead.* [Now level 2][/hide]"Only...two...more."

*Begin four of six. You accidentally repeat one of the painful experiments from above due to rearranging error, but it's too late to change anything now, so you quickly add some random reagent in to avoid catastrophe... or at least discover a new result.*

[hide=Guess what?] *You are dead.* [At least you didn't lose a level. :twisted: Still level 2][/hide]"This one will be the one, I shall unlock the key to the universe!"

[hide=...] *As you cast your final spell over the chaotic amalgamation of elements, you can see the spark of that which you seek, it is so near! You turn down the flame of the distiller, carefully monitoring the pace at which your artifact cools down...

...alas, your skill is insufficient (you're fairly certain being level 2 had something to do with it), your project fizzles and before your eyes is the most sublime realisation, an experience you shall never remember, as you glimpse but for a moment upon all creation, until it is all dark.* [Level no longer applicable, you have found peace at last.]

(I wish I had a picture that Balop drew for me, but I couldn't find it anywhere, it would have summarised everything.)[/hide]