A Work of Genius...
- Thread starter Jack Jarvis Esquire
- Start date
Every DM's worst nightmare... players going completely off the carefully laid out script and into territory that you never could have planned for when building your world.
From personal experience:
Player: I throw the baby overboard.
Me: You do what!?!
Player: My character hates babies. I throw it overboard and go back to looting.
Me: *thinking about the carefully planned campaign to return the royal heir to his father* Are you sure?
Player: Yeah, no one needs to listen to a baby crying while we are searching.
Me: *sighs*
From personal experience:
Player: I throw the baby overboard.
Me: You do what!?!
Player: My character hates babies. I throw it overboard and go back to looting.
Me: *thinking about the carefully planned campaign to return the royal heir to his father* Are you sure?
Player: Yeah, no one needs to listen to a baby crying while we are searching.
Me: *sighs*
Frieling Slyhand
Well-known member
DM has to punish them when they start going too far off. In the case above, I would have a some royal guards appear looking for the royal baby. Punishment ensues. Perhaps arrest and imprisonment in dungeon and loss of some special gear/items which are "confiscated."
Br4d
Well-known member
If I had players like that I'd have the chairs wired beforehand and I'd send some volts through them every time they acted out like that. Temper of an angry god and all that...
Titus Ovid
Mover and Shaker
Well, the story has to change then. Some folks will be in search of that baby. And now the party gets hunted or at least investigated. It will be fun to witness them trying to crawl out of that hole.
Actions have consequences even in p&p.
Cheers,
Titus
Actions have consequences even in p&p.
Cheers,
Titus
Br4d
Well-known member
My favorite consequences were when a party I was DMing killed a Displacer beast and had to deal with Displacer kittens popping in and out for hours.
Jack Jarvis Esquire
Well-known member
Back in the day I ran a homespun campaign based very loosely on 1st Ed AD&D. I got away with murder on the rules as all my mates had never ever heard or played any RPG.
I remember their first reaction to polyhedral dice was along the lines of "WT* are THEY!!!"
We had a lot of fun over 3 teenage summer holidays. Football when it was sunny, AD&D when it rained. A few of the lads actually enjoyed rainy summer holidays for the first time!
One if the "house" rules was to roll a percentile for hit location - crits could chop off a limb or a head (even before vorpals , which only increased the crit range beyond 1 in 20).
The glee was always when someone rolled a 63. Because that was the region above the thigh and below the belly button.
Much hilarity ensued, though the pressure was always on to describe the effects - especially if a non humanoid was the unfortunate target.
Looting every single corpse was mandatory - with the Wiz distracting the pally and cleric whilst the thief got down to business.
Good days. That song takes me back...
My youngest daughter showed it to me when we were playing an old Parker Bros. D&D box game after Christmas.
I remember their first reaction to polyhedral dice was along the lines of "WT* are THEY!!!"
We had a lot of fun over 3 teenage summer holidays. Football when it was sunny, AD&D when it rained. A few of the lads actually enjoyed rainy summer holidays for the first time!
One if the "house" rules was to roll a percentile for hit location - crits could chop off a limb or a head (even before vorpals , which only increased the crit range beyond 1 in 20).
The glee was always when someone rolled a 63. Because that was the region above the thigh and below the belly button.
Much hilarity ensued, though the pressure was always on to describe the effects - especially if a non humanoid was the unfortunate target.
Looting every single corpse was mandatory - with the Wiz distracting the pally and cleric whilst the thief got down to business.
Good days. That song takes me back...
My youngest daughter showed it to me when we were playing an old Parker Bros. D&D box game after Christmas.
Titus Ovid
Mover and Shaker
Some years back we introduced bard percentage points (bpp) into our campaigns. It is a measuring system how well known or notorious you are in that region. There were days when players didn't care for xp but asked for new bpps. And now and then we have one or two creative and eloquent people that actually compose a rhyme or small song based on the events.
Fun all around.
Cheers,
Titus
Fun all around.
Cheers,
Titus
Onyxia2016
Well-known member
Back in my day I always had some scenarios ready when a player tried to go off the rails.
Lets just say D&D gods can be vengeful when needed. Players quickly learned to not do stupid things in an attempt to break the campaign.
Lets just say D&D gods can be vengeful when needed. Players quickly learned to not do stupid things in an attempt to break the campaign.
Fisto Mk I
Well-known member
What your scenarios if one player purposely kills whole own party and himself unresurrectable way just because "The campaign bored me"?
Onyxia2016
Well-known member
Something like that, done with malice, would guarantees that person loosing their seat at the gaming table in the future.
Fisto Mk I
Well-known member
Sure, this is exactly what happened to that person from my example, he was expelled from the role-playing community of the city, if not forever, then for many years. However, the very many months of the campaign, on which the efforts and funds of the players and the master were spent, this no longer saved.