Equipped for combat

[Major]

So I have a question. As we all know certain creatures have DRs to different materials. The creature in question for this thread is werewolves.

Is it the DMs responsibility to warn "you may battle werewolves buy silver weapons." or is it the player's responsibility to be ready?

I ask this because I'm on both sides. In one game my character is known for 'always being ready for anything', but at the same time with countless other things to buy I'm unsure if I should be spending money for silver weapons.

In another game I'm the DM and sometime down the road the party may encounter werewolves.

So fellow gitp peeps, how do you handle dealing with special equipment?

[Soren Hero]

well...did u drop hints that there may be werewolves around? such as, wierd howling during full moons? mysterious disappearances, murders etc during full moons? rumors, legends or myths about the area? if so, then it's their responsibility to be prepared...if u haven't dropped any hints, you should...i don't ever TELL my players if something unique is coming up...if i've done my job right, they'll know ahead of time to prepare...i ran an undead heavy campaign, told my players during character creation that it was gonna be an undead heavy campaign, constantly showed them undead during play...most of the players responded/stocked up accordingly...one stubborn player still wanted to play a sneak attacking rogue with no gravestrike (i think this is the one)

[Ein0r]

depends on the situation the PCs are thrown into, and how good their information gathering is.
In our group the party has the sole responsibility for special gear. If they dont try to recieve the appropriate information, it is not the dm's fault if they will fail.
If they have the information but just dont get it, then i will mostly throw an obvious hint, just to not let the party steer into a suicidal situation. But this again, is situational.^^

[Ozreth]

You should never tell them what they should prepare for, if they want that much of an immersion kill why aren't they just playing warhammer or something ? : p

Either drop hints along the way as somebody said, or just catch them totally off guard, both are fine. If they find themselves in a tough spot they can run or be creative, I think people have forgotten how to do either of those things over the years when their characters are faced with danger they aren't sure how to handle.

[Major]

You should never tell them what they should prepare for, if they want that much of an immersion kill why aren't they just playing warhammer or something ? : p

Either drop hints along the way as somebody said, or just catch them totally off guard, both are fine. If they find themselves in a tough spot they can run or be creative, I think people have forgotten how to do either of those things over the years when their characters are faced with danger they aren't sure how to handle.


I think this is my favorite quote :D

[KillianHawkeye]

Yeah, there is no obligation for the DM to tell the players in advance what kind of opponents they will be facing.

I mean, if you are going to run a game with practically nothing but undead, you might want to mention it to the guy playing a Rogue. But in the other extreme, if you tell what every villain is going to be in advance it ruins the surprise. You can't hand everything to the players on a silver platter, after all. It really depends on if you want them to be able to slay the werewolves at the first encounter or if you want to make them a more major threat which the PCs have to gather resources to defeat.

[Quietus]

It depends, really. If the entire campaign is going to be basically nothing but lycanthropes, or at least 50% lycanthropes, and there's no mystery to it, then the players should be warned. If it's a mystery, then it should be available, but not warned beforehand. And if they're just a feature of an arc, well, silver weapons should still be available. But in general, unless you're doing an entire campaign about lycanthrope hunters, I don't think this falls under the "Must warn PCs" rule. Undead shut down huge amounts of options, so you DO need to warn a player there. Lycanthropes have damage reduction, that's not nearly as rough as "No sneak attacks, no stunning, no polymorph, no ability damage, no mind control".

[That_guy_there]

All the above comments are good for the DMs POV. I'm of the mind that PCs should be responsible for being prepared, but hints should be dropped. (light hints though).

As for your PC who is "ready for everything" i suggest the Metalline Special Ability (a +2 enhancement). its on p38 of the MIC. Its worth the investment if you want to save a little space and encumberance.

[Doc Roc]

Either drop hints along the way as somebody said, or just catch them totally off guard, both are fine. If they find themselves in a tough spot they can run or be creative, I think people have forgotten how to do either of those things over the years when their characters are faced with danger they aren't sure how to handle.

They have forgotten because you can die in half a round in 3.x. Being unprepared is suicide. Running loses some of it's savor when you are taking 400+ damage a turn.

[AslanCross]

I don't think the DM has to tell the players explicitly that they have to prepare for what's coming. Otherwise this kind of obviates all of the iconic special defenses that monsters have.

On the other hand, it's not fun for the players to run into encounters that consist entirely of "o noez we can't kill it, run for your lives." I think if monsters with certain special defenses are a major feature in the current plot arc/sandbox area, ways to bypass these defenses should be available or at least knowable through context.

It might be ridiculous to have a werewolf infestation in a town known for its silver mines, but the opposite is just as ridiculous: "No, nobody has any alchemical silvered weapons in this region because there are no silver mines on this continent."

An interesting middle ground might be the serial murder of alchemists and silversmiths in the area, with vicious claw marks on the bodies. There's enough of a hint of what they're up against, and while the weakness is available, the PCs have to look up/protect/pursue fleeing remaining sources of said weakness.

[manyslayer]

As a player, I always try to have at least one silver and one cold-iron attack. To me its just part of the adventuring gear.

As a DM, if it is a planned encounter and it isn't a completely secret shadowy organization, drop some hints, leave some clues. If the foe is intelligent, it may actively seek to eliminate its weakness in the area. The lycanthrope that kills alchemists and steals their silver. An evil fey that charms some thugs to steal cold-iron weapons and throw them down the town well. Also, even if the clues aren't direct (word of savage animal attacks on farms near the northern woods), let some research bring up some clues. I'm a big believer in if you don't use your brain, you get what's coming to you.

[PollyOliver]

I think it kind of depends on the characters.

If we're talking relatively experienced adventurers or mercenaries or soldiers, or some sort of paranoid survivalist, sure. If we're talking a ranger with lycanthropes or fey as a favored enemy, sure, even at level 1. I could expect all those people to have a cold iron and a silver dagger on them, or some silversheen, without straining any credulity. And in that case, at that level of character experience/familiarity, I would not consider it the DM's responsibility to be dropping hints.

Level 1 farmboy fighter, just out to see the world? Probably not. I do think the DM should drop hints, if the characters couldn't reasonably be predicting it on their own. Or at least make it possible for the characters to figure it out. If you ask a couple people about the job, you should probably get enough information to know you need to guy buy a new knife.

[LordBlades]

They have forgotten because you can die in half a round in 3.x. Being unprepared is suicide. Running loses some of it's savor when you are taking 400+ damage a turn.

This. 3.5 is usually so strong offensively that sticking around something you aren't sure you can beat is a very bad idea. If it's to strong to beat, it usually can instagib at least 1 PC per round, which means you are down at least 1-2 chars until you get the chance to run.

[subject42]

It depends, really. If the entire campaign is going to be basically nothing but lycanthropes, or at least 50% lycanthropes, and there's no mystery to it, then the players should be warned.

This is a big one. For example, if you plan on running an all Undead, Construct, and Undead Construct-themed campaign. You should probably mention this to your players before they come to the table with party consisting of a Beguiler, Debuffer Sorcerer, Rogue, and Bard.

Alternately, a good encounter that plays up party weak points is a good way to make players void their bowels and start thinking strategically.

[Kylarra]

I think it's the DM's responsibility to give a reasonable explanation of the premise of the world and the game you're gonna play. If it's a heavy lycanthrope game or if the first story arc is "yeah you guys got together to hunt the werewolf that's been preying on nearby village of NomNomPeasants", then yeah they should be aware of it.

[Major]

I'm not talking entire adventures, I mean short adventures in between key story events.

[Thurbane]

I think this is my favorite quote :D
Agreed...it's a great quote.

I think the CR/ECL system has a lot to do with it. Some players expect that they will never run into a CR inappropriate foe, even by chance or outright stupidity. Constant use of the ECL guidelines can breed a sense of complacency, that the party will always expect to be able to conquer encounters.

I'm not saying that every 5th encounter should be a Huge Ancient Red Dragon, I'm just saying that allowing for a party to stumble into the occasional foe that they should really avoid, or negotiate with, can help to create a sense of immersion. Especially when you give them advance warning - "Are you sure you want to march the 2nd level party over to adbandoned mine that local legends say was overrun by illithids?".

For me, knowing that basically every encounter is going to fall into ECL guidelines makes it feel less like I'm exploring the DMs world, and more like I'm trapped in some sort of linear CRPG.