AtwasAwamps
2009-11-10, 10:23 AM
How many of you have ever done something that was exactly the opposite of what you know your DM wanted you to do and what your group expected? I don’t mean something that brings the game to a screeching halt, but rather, something that your DM absolutely did not expect and that took fellow players for a loop as well. Something that sent askew some well-laid plans and caused the DM to struggle momentarily to catch up with what happened or at least have an alternative.
Some examples:
1: My character, a 4e Resourceful Warlord who is a bit of a rascal, newly met up with the main adventuring party. He has been through one combat encounter with them, and it was a nasty one, but they stood by him and he stood by them. Two of the party members are also famous rabble-rousers and fighters that my character has heard stories about (and has made up stories about and is not telling them. One of them is under the impression that he had an amorous encounter with a dragon while blacked out. It’s fantastic.)
At one point, they ask me to step away from the group, along with the cleric (who is also new) so that they (more tight-knit and very “family” style group) can discuss whether or not to let us in on their ultimate goal. While we are away, POOF! The Tiny Annoying NPC appears. This is this particular DM’s trademark…an irritating little guy who follows the party around and causes trouble and taunts them, usually homebrewed and cheated into invincibility. Sometimes this can be fun, but most of the gaming group hates him. So he appears to me, playing a little banjo and dancing around, talking about the party and how they’re going to need the MacGuffin that he gets out and shows me, but that they don’t know it yet. He makes me swear not to tell them, and does the same to the cleric. We both agree.
The party comes back and the first words out of my character’s mouth are: “So there was this tiny irritating thing that just appeared and wanted me not to tell you he has the object you need for some quest you folks are on. So you should probably get it from him the next time you see him. Just a thought.”
The cleric players stared at me for a moment and then the entire group started laughing OOC. IC, the invoker (the nominal party leader) looked at me, then looked at the rest of the group and said “He’s in.” The DM stared at me for a moment in pure unadulterated frustration (I think he was really hoping to create some party tension with that) and then began scribbling on paper. I’m assuming my GP is going to be replaced with onions by a magical banjo-playing scarecrow, but the look on his face was priceless.
Some examples:
1: My character, a 4e Resourceful Warlord who is a bit of a rascal, newly met up with the main adventuring party. He has been through one combat encounter with them, and it was a nasty one, but they stood by him and he stood by them. Two of the party members are also famous rabble-rousers and fighters that my character has heard stories about (and has made up stories about and is not telling them. One of them is under the impression that he had an amorous encounter with a dragon while blacked out. It’s fantastic.)
At one point, they ask me to step away from the group, along with the cleric (who is also new) so that they (more tight-knit and very “family” style group) can discuss whether or not to let us in on their ultimate goal. While we are away, POOF! The Tiny Annoying NPC appears. This is this particular DM’s trademark…an irritating little guy who follows the party around and causes trouble and taunts them, usually homebrewed and cheated into invincibility. Sometimes this can be fun, but most of the gaming group hates him. So he appears to me, playing a little banjo and dancing around, talking about the party and how they’re going to need the MacGuffin that he gets out and shows me, but that they don’t know it yet. He makes me swear not to tell them, and does the same to the cleric. We both agree.
The party comes back and the first words out of my character’s mouth are: “So there was this tiny irritating thing that just appeared and wanted me not to tell you he has the object you need for some quest you folks are on. So you should probably get it from him the next time you see him. Just a thought.”
The cleric players stared at me for a moment and then the entire group started laughing OOC. IC, the invoker (the nominal party leader) looked at me, then looked at the rest of the group and said “He’s in.” The DM stared at me for a moment in pure unadulterated frustration (I think he was really hoping to create some party tension with that) and then began scribbling on paper. I’m assuming my GP is going to be replaced with onions by a magical banjo-playing scarecrow, but the look on his face was priceless.