This stood out to me: "Because the rogue's death happened during the course of a plot-centric battle, I (as the DM) opted to have the character die on the battlefield. From a story perspective, the character's death right then and there made sense." https://twitter.com/CHofferCBus/status/1321460690742353920

Before I ask my question, I want to make it 100% crystal clear that I don't have ANY ISSUE with what @CHofferCBus has suggested here, I think this is 100% acceptable as a way to play a TTRPG and I'm not suggesting otherwise, but it does make me curious

I personally don't want the burden of making the decision as to whether or not the character dies on the battlefield in this case. I want the dice and the PCs actions to make that decision. But it sounds here like the DM has to decide in each case if the death "fits the story"

And then decide if it has to be changed, if another alternative should be presented, and involve the player in this process. For me, that all happens BEFORE the dice are rolled. Not because I'm beholden to the dice, but because I don't want to make those decisions

I'm already responsible for creating and running an entire game world, and coordinating all the NPCs/Factions/Monsters etc. I don't want to have to evaluate events and decide if they need to be changed. It just seems like too much responsibility. And what if I mitigate a death..

... in one case but not in others. Doesn't this make ANY character death essentially the DM's responsibility? I just find this to be a daunting thing to put on the ref. I want the game to decide this, not me, or the players. How do others conceptualize this process?