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No matter how much a player might wish it, bad things will happen to his character. Whether it's a monster getting a lucky hit in, or the King expressing 'concern' about you absconding with the bulk of the royal treasury and his daughter, it's inevitable. Bad things happen.
However, there are three distinct levels of bad.
1) shit.
This is when you roll a 1 when you really didn't need it, but it's not something that's going to kill your character. Maybe you fumble a Move Silently roll and the guards notice you sneaking out of the Princess' bed-chamber (or the Queen's, or the royal harem, whatever. The guards get really shirty about that sort of thing). Or maybe it's something less guard-chasey but more embarrassing like horribly failing a Performance (Dance) check and face planting in the middle of the ballroom. You can make up for it, but it's going to take some time.
2) Oh shit.
This is when you escape from the guards only to discover the King's Grand Vizier is really a polymorphed Ogre Mage. And you discovered this by hiding from the guards in his room, he has initiative, and you don't even have your shirt on yet. Or the person you challenged to a duel is the most famous duelist in the land, and well known for leaving his opponents with hideous scars. It's trouble. It's past "I can talk my way out of this" trouble and into "This is not going to be any fun for me at all, is it?" trouble.
3) What the shit!?
This is when the GM wants to end the campaign, but instead of just switching out with one of the players and making his own character, he's going to pulp you all. That Ogre Mage? Really a corrupted Gold Dragon. With Epic levels of Monk. That duelist? Really a corrupted Gold Dragon. With Epic levels of Monk. You get the picture. Nothing short of the GM's wife/girlfriend/SO is going to save the character or the campaign. Maybe not even them, depending on how comfy the couch is.
However, there are three distinct levels of bad.
1) shit.
This is when you roll a 1 when you really didn't need it, but it's not something that's going to kill your character. Maybe you fumble a Move Silently roll and the guards notice you sneaking out of the Princess' bed-chamber (or the Queen's, or the royal harem, whatever. The guards get really shirty about that sort of thing). Or maybe it's something less guard-chasey but more embarrassing like horribly failing a Performance (Dance) check and face planting in the middle of the ballroom. You can make up for it, but it's going to take some time.
2) Oh shit.
This is when you escape from the guards only to discover the King's Grand Vizier is really a polymorphed Ogre Mage. And you discovered this by hiding from the guards in his room, he has initiative, and you don't even have your shirt on yet. Or the person you challenged to a duel is the most famous duelist in the land, and well known for leaving his opponents with hideous scars. It's trouble. It's past "I can talk my way out of this" trouble and into "This is not going to be any fun for me at all, is it?" trouble.
3) What the shit!?
This is when the GM wants to end the campaign, but instead of just switching out with one of the players and making his own character, he's going to pulp you all. That Ogre Mage? Really a corrupted Gold Dragon. With Epic levels of Monk. That duelist? Really a corrupted Gold Dragon. With Epic levels of Monk. You get the picture. Nothing short of the GM's wife/girlfriend/SO is going to save the character or the campaign. Maybe not even them, depending on how comfy the couch is.