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Heliomance
2011-05-10, 07:50 PM
Sending the players against a zombie elephant when the Dread Necro can cast Command Undead is a bad idea.

Four zombie Terror Birds with 94HP apiece is far too many HP for a level 5 party to chew through in any reasonable length of time, even with the assistance of the aforementioned zombie elephant.

Never, ever underestimate the suicidal tendencies of PCs.

dsmiles
2011-05-10, 08:04 PM
Never, ever underestimate the suicidal tendencies of PCs.This is a very important lesson for a budding DM/GM. Keep it close, and never forget it. :smallwink:

Eldan
2011-05-11, 01:59 AM
Oh god yes. "Hello, guards we originally planned to sneak past. We are here to assassinate your leader."

Heliomance
2011-05-11, 02:21 AM
They encountered a village. Every single person in the village was dead, missing their eyes, and covered in scratch marks. As they went further in, they discovered a few people had scrawled "It's so beautiful" on a wall in their own blood before they died. They eventually found one survivor, sitting on a doorstep, missing his eyes, babbling about how beautiful it was and how he'd painted it, how he never wanted to see anything else again. there were more dead villagers around the house, and a small trickle of blood leaking out from inside.

Two of the players went inside.

Wings of Peace
2011-05-11, 04:14 AM
Bah, it'll give them teeth. The average level of my party is 4 and our DM sends waves of seven or eight kobolds at us with 70hp a piece and wizard support at us. Rather than quell our suicidal tactics it's just made us mean.

huttj509
2011-05-11, 04:16 AM
They encountered a village. Every single person in the village was dead, missing their eyes, and covered in scratch marks. As they went further in, they discovered a few people had scrawled "It's so beautiful" on a wall in their own blood before they died. They eventually found one survivor, sitting on a doorstep, missing his eyes, babbling about how beautiful it was and how he'd painted it, how he never wanted to see anything else again. there were more dead villagers around the house, and a small trickle of blood leaking out from inside.

Two of the players went inside.


Well by that point you just HAVE to, I mean, come on!

You can't just walk away from that.

And when the world ends there will be a human being standing by a button marked "do not push, seriously, don't", saying "I just wanted to see what it would do."

Draconi Redfir
2011-05-11, 04:19 AM
They encountered a village. Every single person in the village was dead, missing their eyes, and covered in scratch marks. As they went further in, they discovered a few people had scrawled "It's so beautiful" on a wall in their own blood before they died. They eventually found one survivor, sitting on a doorstep, missing his eyes, babbling about how beautiful it was and how he'd painted it, how he never wanted to see anything else again. there were more dead villagers around the house, and a small trickle of blood leaking out from inside.

Two of the players went inside.



And then what happened? *sits down for storytime*

dsmiles
2011-05-11, 04:46 AM
They encountered a village. Every single person in the village was dead, missing their eyes, and covered in scratch marks. As they went further in, they discovered a few people had scrawled "It's so beautiful" on a wall in their own blood before they died. They eventually found one survivor, sitting on a doorstep, missing his eyes, babbling about how beautiful it was and how he'd painted it, how he never wanted to see anything else again. there were more dead villagers around the house, and a small trickle of blood leaking out from inside.

Two of the players went inside.If you don't go inside, how will you ever get caught on the plot hook?

Heliomance
2011-05-11, 05:43 AM
One of them went mad, the other I gave a bonus on the save due to being wildshaped at the time and not wanting to take out two party members in the second session. They managed to drag the mad one out and cast Blindness on her before she clawed her own eyes out, but she's now been NPCd as no-one can cast Remove Curse.

Volthawk
2011-05-11, 05:51 AM
Oh god yes. "Hello, guards we originally planned to sneak past. We are here to assassinate your leader."

Yeah, the risks of having a madman character in the party...

Killer Angel
2011-05-11, 06:53 AM
Two of the players went inside.

Seriously... did you expect something different? :smallwink:

SilverLeaf167
2011-05-11, 07:33 AM
But what was it inside that made all the villagers mad?

Heliomance
2011-05-11, 07:47 AM
They're not sure. Asking any of the living witnesses simply gets a response of "so beautiful..." :D

panaikhan
2011-05-11, 07:48 AM
something I learned as a DM.

"Every time you make something idiot-proof, the PC's will come up with a better idiot"

Eldan
2011-05-11, 07:51 AM
They're not sure. Asking any of the living witnesses simply gets a response of "so beautiful..." :D

Well, I'd start testing. Send in summons and see if it works on animals. Remote-operated magical sensors. And so on. Try blindfolding yourself, or shouting in.

I mean, you justhave to examine something like that.

SilverLeaf167
2011-05-11, 08:15 AM
Didn't the blinded PC even see what it was? Were the references to its beauty just plain madness?

Choco
2011-05-11, 08:50 AM
Never, ever underestimate the suicidal tendencies of PCs.

:smallsigh: Yeah, no matter how long I DM, that is something that never ceases to amaze me. Some players just take a while to learn that just because something is in their path does not mean that they can beat it, and that some obstacles are best avoided instead of plowed through...

This happened last week in a 4e game I DM for 2 players:

The Barbarian was down to just 1 healing surge for the day and was currently at little over half health, the Shaman was practically untouched. They come across a small army lead by the current villain, an army containing enemies that they had struggled a little against when they were in much smaller numbers.

So what do they do?

The Barbarian charges and promptly starts getting surrounded. The Shaman, seeing this, decides that it is a good idea to try to ping the villain (who is sitting in the back not participating and who has a crapload of HP) for some minimal damage each turn instead of trying to help and/or talk some sense into the barbarian. That would have been a wipe had the cavalry not arrived at the last second and driven the villain off...

Yeah, what have I learned after all these years? Try to have some believable out for the PC's just for those days I don't feel like wiping them (like the 3rd session of the campaign for instance...). The PC's in this case knew there were friendly forces nearby, and I was able to play it in such a way that they felt important for stalling to give their allies time to show up, even though they were just being stupid :smalltongue:.


Yeah, the risks of having a madman character in the party...

I learned, as a player, to not interfere with what the madman does and distance myself from him as much as possible. That way when he inevitably attracts the wrong kind of attention I am not dragged in and can watch him suffer the consequences of his actions :smallbiggrin:

As a DM, I learned to not punish the whole party for the madman's actions. Unless of course they encouraged the player to make and act out that kind of character. I sure as hell know that when I'm a player I am none too happy when I keep getting screwed over by the actions of the resident party idiot.

Volthawk
2011-05-11, 08:57 AM
I learned, as a player, to not interfere with what the madman does and distance myself from him as much as possible. That way when he inevitably attracts the wrong kind of attention I am not dragged in and can watch him suffer the consequences of his actions :smallbiggrin:

As a DM, I learned to not punish the whole party for the madman's actions. Unless of course they encouraged the player to make and act out that kind of character. I sure as hell know that when I'm a player I am none too happy when I keep getting screwed over by the actions of the resident party idiot.

Nah, he's cool generally. He isn't disruptive, really (hell, he's our resident pacifist) and it led to the pretty interesting stuff. See, most of our actions are based on limited information and acting without knowing the full picture anyway, so it just pulled things along a little. Makes some pretty cool RP as well (he's not just a "I'll do it cuz I'm CRAAZY" type, he just sees things differently).

Eldan
2011-05-11, 09:10 AM
Plus, you guys are often a bit too passive for my tastes, so a madman stirring up some action is pretty welcome.

I mean, I can't have the DMPC suggesting all the plans, can I?

Choco
2011-05-11, 09:44 AM
Nah, he's cool generally. He isn't disruptive, really (hell, he's our resident pacifist) and it led to the pretty interesting stuff. See, most of our actions are based on limited information and acting without knowing the full picture anyway, so it just pulled things along a little. Makes some pretty cool RP as well (he's not just a "I'll do it cuz I'm CRAAZY" type, he just sees things differently).

*sniff*, that makes me so happy! I didn't know that players who play non-disruptive crazy characters still existed! I am so jealous....

Talyn
2011-05-11, 09:47 AM
I gotta say, it seems like the OP thought he was playing a World of Darkness (or maybe a Call of Cthulhu/Don't Rest Your Head) game - in D&D, players ought to be expected to go in to the place that everyone comes out maddened and dead.

That's sort of what D&D adventurers DO. That's why they are adventurers!

jpreem
2011-05-11, 12:15 PM
Jep it would be kind a lame - babbling villagers around of this wretched hut. Or townsfolk warning you that nobody has returned from the forest of Doom etc. Then you just shrug your shoulders and say: "Meh alrighty then. Ill just not go there. I'd rather be a dirt farmer"
End of campaign.

Pisha
2011-05-11, 02:32 PM
True. Still, there has to be some middle ground between "Hmm, sounds dangerous, guess I'll go grow beets" and "Welp, guess I'll go stroll in and glance at the dangerous and insanity-inducing maguffin!" I mean, if nothing else, steal a page from mythology and look inside the room via mirror.

hewhosaysfish
2011-05-11, 03:20 PM
Well, I'd start testing. Send in summons and see if it works on animals. Remote-operated magical sensors. And so on. Try blindfolding yourself, or shouting in.

I mean, you justhave to examine something like that.

And then weaponise it. Just keep it in a box and flash it at people you don't like. "Here, look at this!"

Eldan
2011-05-11, 04:07 PM
Ah. The Medusa approach.

AsteriskAmp
2011-05-11, 04:19 PM
Oh god yes. "Hello, guards we originally planned to sneak past. We are here to assassinate your leader."Yeah, the risks of having a madman character in the party...

Or a character with Asperger's Syndrome, or damage to the prefrontal cortex.

Heliomance
2011-05-11, 08:02 PM
Jep it would be kind a lame - babbling villagers around of this wretched hut. Or townsfolk warning you that nobody has returned from the forest of Doom etc. Then you just shrug your shoulders and say: "Meh alrighty then. Ill just not go there. I'd rather be a dirt farmer"
End of campaign.

A more sensible response - especially bearing in mind they were aware that this is a horror game - is what they eventually did, which is to burn down the house and warn everyone they come across not to go that way while they try to figure out what's going wrong with the world.


Didn't the blinded PC even see what it was? Were the references to its beauty just plain madness?

Oh, she saw it. Getting a coherent answer out of her, though... that's a different story.

rayne_dragon
2011-05-11, 08:10 PM
A more sensible response - especially bearing in mind they were aware that this is a horror game - is what they eventually did, which is to burn down the house and warn everyone they come across not to go that way while they try to figure out what's going wrong with the world.


Oh... see, you need to specify the horror part. In D&D it's perfectly sensible to go into such a house (well, at least in 3rd and later editions), but in something like Call of Cthulhu then burning it down or just plain fleeing makes more sense. Context is everything.

AsteriskAmp
2011-05-11, 08:19 PM
Oh... see, you need to specify the horror part. In D&D it's perfectly sensible to go into such a house (well, at least in 3rd and later editions), but in something like Call of Cthulhu then burning it down or just plain fleeing makes more sense. Context is everything.
Burn it? In Call of Cthulu you call the Chernobyl team and get them to cement the town and surroundings. It's way to risky to only burn it, in best case the abomination inside is fire resistant.

Heliomance
2011-05-11, 08:30 PM
Oh... see, you need to specify the horror part. In D&D it's perfectly sensible to go into such a house (well, at least in 3rd and later editions), but in something like Call of Cthulhu then burning it down or just plain fleeing makes more sense. Context is everything.

It is D&D. You can do horror in D&D.

Jarawara
2011-05-11, 10:33 PM
Jep it would be kind a lame - babbling villagers around of this wretched hut. Or townsfolk warning you that nobody has returned from the forest of Doom etc. Then you just shrug your shoulders and say: "Meh alrighty then. Ill just not go there. I'd rather be a dirt farmer"
End of campaign.

I had that happen to me, at the start of my last online campaign.

Party was still preparing to venture forth into the world, to see what all there is to see. A local merchantman, a friend of the party members, told them of a dangerous part of the woods. "A young couple from town went wandering too far into those woods, and they were never seen again. Don't go there, for who's to tell what dark denizens may be lurking there, preying upon the unwary."

Players type back to me: "Ok. We won't go there."

I sat staring dumbfounded at the screen for a whole minute before improvising a different adventure hook that didn't appear difficult or dangerous in any way... :smallconfused:

*~*

To the OP, regarding the insane town: Is it possible the players didn't understand the danger involved? Just listening to your original description, I didn't associate anything as being 'currently dangerous' inside the house -- to the point that I was confused by your surprise that they entered the house. I mean... they entered the town, right? They walked the streets, they examined the bodies. What made that particular house the source of all madness? What implied the madness was still there? The whole scenario screams out to me "Something happened here, investigate this!". Note the 'happened', as in, 'not currently happening'.

If players can lose PCs simply by going past a doorway, without clear enough indication of which doorway is "one doorway too far"... you only teach the players to never go anywhere or do anything.

(Of course, you may have paraphrased your story, while in the game it was much more clear that the evil madness was currently inside. I can only go on the description you posted, having not been there in the game.)

rayne_dragon
2011-05-11, 11:39 PM
It is D&D. You can do horror in D&D.

Ah, yes, that is true, although the 'standard' of D&D is more heroic fantasy - at least these days* - so it takes a bit more effort to pull it off. It does sound like you're doing a good job (it sounds like the kind of campaign I might enjoy).

* - the mortality rate of my AD&D parties is more suggestive of the horror genre. :smalltongue:

Heliomance
2011-05-12, 05:14 AM
In retrospect, it may have been better to have had one or two villagers who hadn't gone in, panicked out of their mind, and warning the PCs that everyone who'd gone into that house had gone mad and clawed their own eyes out. We live and learn.

dsmiles
2011-05-12, 05:17 AM
* - the mortality rate of my AD&D parties is more suggestive of the horror genre. :smalltongue:I think I'm in love. :smalltongue: With your games, that is.

Roderick_BR
2011-05-13, 11:23 AM
This is a very important lesson for a budding DM/GM. Keep it close, and never forget it. :smallwink:

Agreed, agreed.
They learn, though. Some of my groups, after 2 or 3 sessions, started to get suspicious of everything I threw at them. At some points, it was hard to get them for surprise because of their level of paranoia.

mint
2011-05-14, 06:39 PM
Are you seriously not going to tell us what was going with the madness?
Because I am pretty sure killing people using their own curiosity is against the Geneva convention.

Nidogg
2011-05-15, 06:52 AM
Culd be a nymph re fluff, people gouge out their eyes rather than aflicted with blindness...

Heliomance
2011-05-15, 08:21 AM
Are you seriously not going to tell us what was going with the madness?
Because I am pretty sure killing people using their own curiosity is against the Geneva convention.

Someone had gotten possessed by something and had painted a supernaturally beautiful painting - one so amazing that after looking at it, you never wanted to see anything else again.

It's just a symptom of the wibble that's happening on the island they're on.

Tiki Snakes
2011-05-15, 11:12 AM
Someone had gotten possessed by something and had painted a supernaturally beautiful painting - one so amazing that after looking at it, you never wanted to see anything else again.

It's just a symptom of the wibble that's happening on the island they're on.

Surely that is what will-saves and so on are for?

Traab
2011-05-15, 12:29 PM
I had that happen to me, at the start of my last online campaign.

Party was still preparing to venture forth into the world, to see what all there is to see. A local merchantman, a friend of the party members, told them of a dangerous part of the woods. "A young couple from town went wandering too far into those woods, and they were never seen again. Don't go there, for who's to tell what dark denizens may be lurking there, preying upon the unwary."

Players type back to me: "Ok. We won't go there."

I sat staring dumbfounded at the screen for a whole minute before improvising a different adventure hook that didn't appear difficult or dangerous in any way...

Read this and the next one (http://www.goblinscomic.com/08212005/) :p

randomhero00
2011-05-15, 02:20 PM
Another lesson, its spelled learned not learnt unless you're english.

dsmiles
2011-05-15, 02:40 PM
learnt \ˈlərnt\
chiefly British past and past participle of learn
It's a correct word. Much like "judgement." There's absolutely nothing wring with spelling it that way.

randomhero00
2011-05-15, 02:56 PM
It's a correct word. Much like "judgement." There's absolutely nothing wring with spelling it that way.

Um its exactly like I said it was. its not proper American English.

dsmiles
2011-05-15, 03:23 PM
Um its exactly like I said it was. its not proper American English.To be fair:
1. Not everyone on these boards is American.
2. "American English" as a language is a myth. It is a dialect. Ask someone else who majors in linguistics if you don't believe me.

oxybe
2011-05-15, 05:19 PM
at one point in time, i learned these things on a "today".

-don't go on about things that don't requires emphasis
yes it adds a vivid description to the world and (regretfully) yes, players will spend a large amount of time checking it out, not because it's interesting, but because you mentioned it (it will be searched for: traps, magic, hidden doors, hidden panels, secret messages, etc...).

sometimes a statue is just a statue, so don't go on & on about it's craftsmanship and uniqueness unless this is actually important.

one of my buddies got a wee bit of slack for doing exactly this in spades when he GMed: after describing this wondrous palace room filled with treasure, tapestries, books and a throne on a raised dais, we started to examine the area... at which point he stated that the efreet is none to happy to have us looking at the throne he is sitting on.

we all got a good laugh at this, but it drove the point that you should announce the important details first, then build around that and expound only if the PCs ask for more info.

-don't expect anything to survive interaction with PCs
PCs are a curious bunch and enjoy destroying things either by accident or intent. in a campaign i played in for a while we called it "burning the boat", in which the GM expected us to capture a pirate ship to continue the plot he had planned.

instead we had a Buccaneer BBQ and picked off the guys who jumped ship. oops.

i also had a group i was running for that, for some reason, usually left a city while it was on fire or attacked by some sort of horrible monster due to their actions. there exploits will be expounded on in a few points throughout these lessons i learned:

like how instead of killing or escaping from a major enemy NPC i had planned, the pixie used his amnesia arrows to make the guy forget who he was and the party's face made him think that they were all being accosted

the NPC had requested to meet with the face alone & the pixie trailed invisibly. the NPC knew the pixie was there but didn't care. when they entered the NPC's office, two guards grabbed the face. at this point the pixie made the NPC, who was 4 levels above any PC at this point, forget who he was and was seeing this unarmed lady accosted by 2 heavily armed guards.

their bluff allowed the memory-less NPC to think his ally is being accosted. NPC 4 levels above the PC beating on his own minions. yeah, fair fight.

they then sent him off on his way to finish the "quest" he was on with a bull**** story.

yeah, i didn't see that one coming.

nor did i see the ones that came after.

-someone will push the button
they will also go down the corridor, open the chest and pull the lever. common sense also states to not remove the load-baring immovable rod, but hey, it's just sitting there.

somewhat of an add-on to the first point, but if you put something in the room a PC can interact with, it's to be expected that it will be interacted with. possibly in ways you didn't expect it to.

-Give players an inch and they'll create a gateway to a demiplane several miles long

in other words, don't give players things if you don't want them to possibly abuse. as i said before, players are crafty buggers and some of us know how to get more use out of a 10ft pole and pitons that would surprise some people

example 1: never use a standard 10ft pole. upgrade it with a long nail shaped like a hook and make it a fisherman's gaff. it's a 10 ft pole that can hook things. nothing is ever out of poking, prodding or dragging reach.

example 2: a bronze map/scroll case shaped like a tube that has a simple cover. looks nice, but whatev- hey... why are you poking a hole in the bottom? are you sliding in an everburning torch... great, you made a waterproof flashlight you can easily.

example 3: pitons! pitons! pitons! so many uses for these things! you can jam them into things and test if a hole or something is trapped, use it to keep a door from closing (or try to keep it closed), use to jam a mechanism, use them for markers by tying a rag in the hoop, etc... also: helps you secure climbing rope. or your hammock. or...

example 4: the timberrogue, a 10 kilo log that can be used to: trigger traps by rolling down hallways (and "survive" the traps), can be used to open doors (as a battering ram), unlock chests (again, battering ram), roll down stairs, alone or in pairs and over the neighbor's dog. bonus points that it will not steal your gold or sneak attack you in your sleep.

now think of how an enterprising player can abuse/make use of a magic item with a more esoteric ability. remember the party i mentionned earlier? the PCs infiltrated an enemy base/outpost, assassinated the leader and disguised themselves as him. they then had all the mooks gather in the courtyard where the one in the middle was awarded a medal.

a medal called "amulet of fireball". that the party wizard dropped a fireball on.

and blew up the grouped up minions.

into a 6 meter radius crater.

-never plan too much in advance
the most well laid plots can go belly up FAST when PCs are involved and unless they enjoy the rails you can reasonably expect them to try to take the story in a way they would want to see it go.

the Pixie in the old group, loved fire and chaos enough that i quickly learned to create basic outlines and timeframes then adjust as needed, rather then a hard & fast plot. i think that pixie has racked up the most towns single-handedly destroyed by any single PC i ever played or GMed with: 4.

-destroyed one fort by prematurely letting a loose a demon i had planned to use later
-one was destroyed by lighting various places on fire to give the PCs time to escape
-said same demon came back and started destroying the town looking for it's "little friend"
-i forget how it destroyed the fourth town but i vaguely remember fire and more destruction

-don't be afraid to rule now and look up later
quick question: what happens when an invisible half-ogre in full-plate (silenced) opens a door and an invisible oni, readied to charge, charges the first person he sees: the character behind the half-ogre (it knew the PCs were coming and took up the position a little while earlier)?

answer: i'll ad-hoc it now and look it up later (i had both characters roll opposed bull-rush attempts and the loser fell arse over head. the oni failed the check, for those curious).

if you can't come up with an actual rule after a quick browse in the books, make one up on the spot and tell the group you'll look it up later after the game. unless the rule snafu is one that could have major consequences (as in the difference between a TPK or "we're alive!") it's generally better to keep the game going by adjudicating now and looking up the actual ruling later then have the game halt full-stop while everyone plays "Where's Waldo" but with legalese instead of a fashionably dressed, bespectacled man in a toque.

Solaris
2011-05-15, 05:28 PM
Yeah, the risks of having a player character in the party...

Fixed it for you.

BlackestOfMages
2011-05-15, 06:03 PM
@ randomHero
wait, so now we have to type in a corruption of a corruption of a language. gah, next it'll be pig latin for everything.:smalltongue:

English is English. There is no reason to pull someone up from trying in a different version to the one you use. It's just as easy to read one version as the other; calling someone out on it is going into hyper-grammer nazi mode. also, the person writing could be english. we do inhabit these forums too, y'know:smalltongue:

and, if we should be using one, surely the english we use should be English English, not American-English?

back to teh thread for me:
Heh, not expecting a PC to go into a madness house. though it does seem a bit jackassy that you'd go insane from seing a nice painting instantly, with no saves. I mean, it takes at least thirty seconds for the eye to begin taking in details. thats when the madness hits! when the PC's have put down the dice and feel safe

also, oxybe, I love your gaming group:smallbiggrin:my DM banned 10 foot poles...

oxybe
2011-05-15, 07:41 PM
@BlackestOfMages: yeah my group rocks. took me a while to find this bunch, but we've been gaming together for quite a few years now... 4-5 i think.

about the 10ft pole/mundane utility, i don't know if it was on this forum or another when i said it but my 2nd ed days, for better or worse could be called my "dungeon crawl era".

a lot of the really basic "mundane utility" stuff i learned is from that period in my gaming career. due to the hacky-slashy and "gotcha" nature of the dungeons we crawled we couldn't just action hero our way through the dungeons, as much as we would have liked to.

so we had to make due. usually while being broke.

the gaff was made thanks to me remembering my dad's fishing tools and decided "enough is enough" with the GM kept putting things just out of our reach. the deluxe special edition of the 10 ft pole has the gaff on one end and a magnet on the other (this helped us get the "coins of everburning", a small scrap of metal with everburning flame cast on it, that we used to lite up the bottom of wells or whatnot).
----
about the language thing: not just you English. Canadians also use a lot of the "alternate" spellings. i've alternated at times between the "armor" and "armour" for the spelling.

dsmiles
2011-05-15, 07:48 PM
about the language thing: not just you English. Canadians also use a lot of the "alternate" spellings. i've alternated at times between the "armor" and "armour" for the spelling.
Not just you Canadians either. I'm American, and use many of the alternate spellings of words. I often find myself using "judgement," "colour," armour," and "grey."

Qwertystop
2011-05-15, 07:53 PM
Or a character with Asperger's Syndrome, or damage to the prefrontal cortex.

I take severe offense at the first one!
:smallmad:

AsteriskAmp
2011-05-15, 08:39 PM
I take severe offense at the first one!
:smallmad:

Aren't people with Asperger supposed to be less likely to lie?

Traab
2011-05-15, 09:17 PM
Aren't people with Asperger supposed to be less likely to lie?

I thought it was pretty much random as to how they act/speak/think from person to person.

Seb Wiers
2011-05-15, 10:41 PM
Well, I'd start testing. Send in summons and see if it works on animals. Remote-operated magical sensors. And so on. Try blindfolding yourself, or shouting in.

Or, yah know, just throw in as many flasks of oil as you have, and then a few burning torches.

Seb Wiers
2011-05-15, 11:03 PM
Aren't people with Asperger supposed to be less likely to lie?

I think its more along the lines of "less likely to be able to judge when it would be socially advantageous to avoid the truth." Which is quite different from not being able to formulate or follow a strategy that includes deception.

Qwertystop
2011-05-16, 07:00 AM
Aren't people with Asperger supposed to be less likely to lie?
No.

I thought it was pretty much random as to how they act/speak/think from person to person.
Yes.

I think its more along the lines of "less likely to be able to judge when it would be socially advantageous to avoid the truth." Which is quite different from not being able to formulate or follow a strategy that includes deception.
Exactly. I've lied plenty of times. I just have trouble with white lies.

magellan
2011-05-16, 07:57 AM
Um its exactly like I said it was. its not proper American English.

That is not british spelling. That is how words look when they are written properly.

Heliomance
2011-05-16, 08:05 AM
Another lesson, its spelled learned not learnt unless you're english.

Fun fact: I am. Also, English takes a capital, and you're using "its" as a contraction of "it is", meaning it needs an apostrophe, thus: "it's".


Surely that is what will-saves and so on are for?

Depends on how powerful the effect is. Also, horror game. I was hoping that the fact that none of the villagers had come out unscathed, not even the 5% that you'd expect if there was a save involved, would tip them off. As I've mentioned, in hindsight, 'twould have been sensible to have a couple of people who hadn't gone in warn them off.

Volthawk
2011-05-16, 10:01 AM
Fixed it for you.

Touché. Also, our insane guy actually saved our hides last session. See, our two melee guys were grappling this demon which we were having trouble killing, and then he had the idea of getting one of the special smoke bombs we bought (they simulated Stinking Cloud) putting it in his bag, and putting the bag over the fiend's head, while the ogres he had with him kept him down.

dps
2011-05-16, 01:58 PM
That is not british spelling. That is how words look when they are written properly.

Irrelevant. Posts here aren't written; they're typed.

Unless you're creating your posts using some type of voice recognition software, in which case--well, still not written.

dsmiles
2011-05-16, 04:12 PM
Irrelevant. Posts here aren't written; they're typed.

Unless you're creating your posts using some type of voice recognition software, in which case--well, still not written.Depends. I have handwriting recognition software that came with my pen, but, admittedly, I'm not sure how it would work within the confines of a bbs or forum.

Iceforge
2011-05-16, 04:55 PM
I actually smashed a big Island into two (or cut through it with powerful proton blasts or something else futuristic like that)

I blame the DM for giving me a button and not thinking about the situation more carefully. :smallwink:

We had dived down to a "flying ship" which was at the button of the ocean, now, we was the medieval types, magic being normal, but technology being a foreign concept to us, but at one point in the past of this world, some very high tech civilization had been there and the "flying ship of legend" was a spaceship fully geared out with lasers and proton cannons and everything.

By clever use of Anklet of Translocation, we end up on the bridge of the ship and we all start checking out various features and the DM decides what each of us are doing as we say we push buttons and pull levers in each our area of the bridge, trying to get the ship to surface.

And he takes it in order, so it goes something like this:

DM: You push the button and a big light emits from the wing, and a ball of light flies out, cutting its way through the water and makes a huge flash of light in the distance and the shockwave rattles the ship
Me: (Meta) Wow, I found a proton cannon
DM: (turns attention to another player) You pull the lever and the ship rumbles and shakes, starts to push upwards and banks of sand is falling off the wings
Other Player: (meta) Yeah, I found the right thing.
DM keeps going around and ends up back at me: What do you do now?
Me: So let me get this right, my character got no idea about any of this technology and how any of it works, right?
DM: Yeah, that is more or less true
Me: And he just pushed this button, and as he did that, a light appear and flew out and exploded and then everything did shake and the plane started to levitate upwards
DM (looks worried) Ehm, yeah, thats true..
Me: (Loudly declaring) Guys, I found out how to get us up and out of here! (look at DM) I press the button as rapidly as possible
Other Players: Well, he says he knows how to get us up, so we are going to go look and wait on the results..
DM stands up and goes over to the map he drew of the Island a few hours ago, erases the middle parts and draw it into 2 seperate Islands, the "middle part" having suddenly disappeared

The ship we had hired to take us around which was waiting with crew and everything at the surface was smashed to bits by the huge waves created by the shockwave, but love the DMs reaction to me blasting things and he did ask me after the game why I loved destroying things so much...I dont know, but I do like it when I can logically justify that my character would do something which unintentionally (for my character, not me) causes serious heavy destruction

Grendus
2011-05-16, 05:47 PM
Ah, yes, that is true, although the 'standard' of D&D is more heroic fantasy - at least these days* - so it takes a bit more effort to pull it off. It does sound like you're doing a good job (it sounds like the kind of campaign I might enjoy).

* - the mortality rate of my AD&D parties is more suggestive of the horror genre. :smalltongue:

Not entirely true. The DM advice in 3.5 is more suggestive of heroic fantasy. Ramp up the CR of the encounters by three or so, low magic campaign (even worse, force them to play non-adept NPC classes), and low WBL. Knowledge (Arcana), Spellcraft, and Use Magic Device ranks have to be bought cross-class, and can only be taken when/after they have access to "forbidden knowledge" (possibly at risk of madness). Clutter the scenes with random crap objects, make them puzzle out solutions to monsters chasing them rather than brute force them with world shattering magic.

Heroes of Horror and Elder Evils both have some great guidelines for horror gameplay. It's just that most players don't like horror gameplay, and those who do usually use a horror system like Call of Cthulu.