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Beelzebub1111
2010-07-12, 09:39 PM
I have a confession to make. A character wanted to multiclass into psion for more PSPs and and Extra Feat (starting as a psychic warrior) so I had him roleplay a little bit with a master. Well...I made it so that his "Master" turned out to be part of an evil psionic cult that his race is the mortal enemy of, and that he was trying to RECRUIT the player.

Am I a bad person to manifest this detail 3 sessions AFTER the training began?

Blazen
2010-07-12, 09:41 PM
I would say no. Mostly because the player shouldn't mind since he will get a chance to fight his former master (or possibly join him depending on alignment).

onthetown
2010-07-12, 09:44 PM
Hell no. Sounds like a fun plot. In fact, I would say that the player shouldn't know at all unless his character figured it out.

Beelzebub1111
2010-07-12, 09:46 PM
I would say no. Mostly because the player shouldn't mind since he will get a chance to fight his former master (or possibly join him depending on alignment).


The fight just recently happened, The master was taking it easy on him, trying to kill his companions first, then offering again. He came too close to comfort to getting killed, so he let him have a Recall Agony before psionic plane shifting away (schism), to plot and ask him to join again, take him more seriously next time.

Another retroactive plot point, I had to come up with a reason that they desperately want him to join, so I figure that the progenitor of his family line was one that played both sides of the conflict until the very end, seeing him as the best chance to join them as an ally.

NowhereMan583
2010-07-12, 09:50 PM
As long as the player can't prove it wasn't your plan all along, you're fine.

Beelzebub1111
2010-07-13, 12:24 AM
As long as the player can't prove it wasn't your plan all along, you're fine.
I'll take that advice, though I do feel a bit guilty, hence the confession.

NowhereMan583
2010-07-13, 12:31 AM
I'll take that advice, though I do feel a bit guilty, hence the confession.

Well, you're not hiding the fact that this is retroactive just to look good or to screw over your player; you're hiding it because admitting that it's retroactive damages verisimilitude. And it wouldn't make sense to throw away a perfectly good plot point just because you didn't think of it at first. So no need for guilt, since you're really improving your game. You just have to be sneaky about it.:smallsmile:

Lord Vukodlak
2010-07-13, 12:42 AM
I once retroactively changed the events of a whole story arc because the PC's revelation as to what he thought was going on was way better then what I came up with, so I made his idea the truth.

He was happy for unraveling the "mystery" and I was happy for getting credit for his idea.

Thajocoth
2010-07-13, 04:44 AM
Anything that the players don't know is in a quantum state. You have plans, sure, but sometimes something doesn't work, or would be anticlimactic, or the players missed something important, or you just think of something cooler... Anything that's still in quantum flux is malleable. It is the act of observation from the players (you telling them that it is so) that solidifies something in the game as being solid.

So if these changes are what will make the story kick butt, then do it! Do it because you want the story to be awesome!

The Cat Goddess
2010-07-13, 04:48 AM
Ret-Con'ing is an author's best friend. :smallbiggrin:

Hadrian_Emrys
2010-07-13, 04:51 AM
Well executed Ret-Con'ing is a GM's best friend. :smallbiggrin:

"Ret'conned" your post for ya. :smallwink:

NowhereMan583
2010-07-13, 10:41 AM
Anything that the players don't know is in a quantum state. You have plans, sure, but sometimes something doesn't work, or would be anticlimactic, or the players missed something important, or you just think of something cooler... Anything that's still in quantum flux is malleable. It is the act of observation from the players (you telling them that it is so) that solidifies something in the game as being solid.

So if these changes are what will make the story kick butt, then do it! Do it because you want the story to be awesome!

Well put.

I support the quantum theory of plot wholeheartedly.

kjones
2010-07-13, 10:53 AM
I recall a game in which the BBEG was a lycanthrope, who had been taking this drug that made him super-strong at the cost of his sanity.

The party found out about the drug from his supplier - and one of them said, "Wait a minute! This has belladonna in it!"

The GM froze, but instead of admitting his mistake, he just smiled and said, "Yes, it does. Interesting, isn't it?"

The players conferred for a few minutes and came back with, "This means he can't be a werewolf! He must be a shapeshifter who just uses a wolf form!"

The GM nodded soberly and said, "It would certainly seem that way, wouldn't it?"

The players congratulated themselves on their discovery, while the GM made a few quick adjustments to the NPC's stats. And everyone wins!

I think that what you did is completely legit.