I wonder if there's a mechanics way to try to build in fail-fail-succeed patterns into D&D. All I can think of right now is a lowering bar for succes each time something fails.
What's nice about a game where the DM and all the players really care about one another and individual character arcs is that often on a fail, my table can come up with a powerful consequence that isn't just death - whereas with other tables I've played at where no one much cares about characters, the only real consequence is death because then you need to redo the tedious process of rolling up a character.
I wonder if there's a mechanics way to try to build in fail-fail-succeed patterns into D&D. All I can think of right now is a lowering bar for succes each time something fails.
It is a problem, because player agency means a real chance of failure up to death without harming the foe.
What's nice about a game where the DM and all the players really care about one another and individual character arcs is that often on a fail, my table can come up with a powerful consequence that isn't just death - whereas with other tables I've played at where no one much cares about characters, the only real consequence is death because then you need to redo the tedious process of rolling up a character.
The dynamics are important.
It works rather differently for a writer. You might find this interesting
https://writingandreflections.substack.com/p/the-dm-vs-the-writer-as-a-matter