In  my own games the answer to my own OP is "no", but I was curious to see if anyone would be defending the 'yes' side.

How much I defer to the PCs depends on the genre.

In CoC and Warhammer, "ties" go to the monsters. Humans don't get an even break in grimdark.

In OD&D sword & sorcery? Gamma World or Rifts? Sure. Ties to the heroes works for me because I run most Old School games as survival horror.  

Also, I assume competency with PCs. If you are a supersoldier, you are good at supersoldier shit. If its not a challenge, I can skip dice rolls.

But that's the extent of my "being nice."

Hmm. I guess that is one nicety I do for my players. In the event of a tie on initiative, PCs go first.

Quote from: RPGPundit;1004868Well? As a GM, do you feel that you need to cut players a break with their characters? How, and to what extent, if so?

I TPKed 2 parties of 4 PCs in the span of 2 1/2 hours this week.

So no....no you do not have to be nice if they are going to play stupid.

Quote from: RPGPundit;1004868Well? As a GM, do you feel that you need to cut players a break with their characters? How, and to what extent, if so?

Not really.

I don't go out of my way to kill off PCs, unless it is part of a plot in the game.

PCs have Hero Points and a lot of flexibility, so can generally survive well enough despite anything I do.

If a PC does something stupid due to lack of knowledge of the player, I generally explain why it might not be a good idea. However, in a recent session, Mello Yello, our Baboon Yelmic Hero and King of Dragon Pass, struck a couple of trolls in Cragspider's Castle with Adamantine Claws, killing them both instantly. Now, those with knowledge of Glorantha would know that Gbaji made trolls infertile using adamantine claws, so a Light Hero killing trolls in a Demigod's Palace using Admantine Claws is just asking for trouble. rather then advising against it, I let it go and then let the PCs find a way to talk themselves out of the situation, they did it by basically pointing out that anyone doing this would have to be really powerful, as nobody less powerful would even dream of doing something so stupid, a Critical roll later and Cragspider decided to show Mello Yello the respect he clearly deserved.

So I certainly wasn't nice to my players this weekend. I was a guest of honor at a local con, and so of course I DMed (I ran Lion & Dragon for them, in Dark Albion, using an adventure called "Hecate's Tomb" which will be an upcoming "RPGPundit Presents" book).

The group was 2 girls and 3 boys. By the end of the session the three boys were dead and the two girls had converted to the cult. They all loved it though. Even the guy who was taken out by a ridiculous string of critical injuries.