As a player, you don’t NEED to survive! Err, what was that?!? Death isn’t a failure; it’s an experience. Further, you don't need to “turn every chirp the GM makes into something significant”. Guide your own destiny; choose your own path! A simple thing I must constantly remind myself about is "do what your character would do." In order to succeed at that, I need to know my character. Seems simple.
If I find that my path leads to a character death or something else detrimental to the party, then so be it. For me, that's the essence of the fun of role-playing. And there is another school of thought - when you set out to beat the storyteller … well … that’s when your persona is set aside in some ways, and the game becomes something a bit different. That’s more of a “beat the GM” flavor. Many enjoy that sort of game. Go get some!
If I find that my path leads to a character death or something else detrimental to the party, then so be it. For me, that's the essence of the fun of role-playing. And there is another school of thought - when you set out to beat the storyteller … well … that’s when your persona is set aside in some ways, and the game becomes something a bit different. That’s more of a “beat the GM” flavor. Many enjoy that sort of game. Go get some!