Panicked Characters and items the player's forget they have.

[Silva Stormrage]

Hello, random question. If a character is panicked and must flee with all resources at their disposal what happens if the player himself forgets he has an ability? I am the DM in this situation and the player forgot he has an item that lets him teleport to a safe location with some limitations. Would the character remember he have the item or should I let the player decide how to flee? I am leaning towards let the player decide (As long as it's not something like "I flee by punching the caster in the face so I can flee once she is dead!" or something like that).

[Maquise]

I would say that if a player can't remember they have it, the character is too panicked to remember they have it.

[LanSlyde]

On the contrary, letting them choose how they flee would be the frightened level of fear. Panicked has them so worked up they doing everything in their power to flee from the object of terror. They must use all methods available, if they can't teleport they must fly, if they can't fly they must climb, if they cant climb they must run, if they can't escape they drop into the fetal position and cry for mommy. So again, I would say the PC is forced to use his item. Just because he 'forgot' it was on his sheet is no excuse. Metagame he may have forgotten, but in character something like that isn't just forgotten about. Especially if it will help you flee from the unholy terror that is slowly advancing upon you.

[Tvtyrant]

On the contrary, letting them choose how they flee would be the frightened level of fear. Panicked has them so worked up they doing everything in their power to flee from the object of terror. They must use all methods available, if they can't teleport they must fly, if they can't fly they must climb, if they cant climb they must run, if they can't escape they drop into the fetal position and cry for mommy. So again, I would say the PC is forced to use his item. Just because he 'forgot' it was on his sheet is no excuse. Metagame he may have forgotten, but in character something like that isn't just forgotten about. Especially if it will help you flee from the unholy terror that is slowly advancing upon you.

See, I think this is exactly the sort of thing people would forget. It is like the people whose car is stuck on the train track, but instead of getting out of the car they honk at the car in front of them.

[Mirakk]

I'd say it's plausible they're so panicked they forgot they even had it.

The way I see it, someone who is truly afraid would use the method of travel that's most instinctual to them. If they have wings, they'd fly. If they're a land traveler, they'd run... if they're a burrower, they'd dig. Using a magical teleportation device or whatever is definitely not a natural act unless they possess it as a Spell-Like Ability.

[ericgrau]

Panicked characters can't use items:


Panicked
A panicked creature must drop anything it holds and flee at top speed from the source of its fear, as well as any other dangers it encounters, along a random path. It can’t take any other actions. In addition, the creature takes a -2 penalty on all saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks. If cornered, a panicked creature cowers. A panicked creature can use special abilities, including spells, to flee; indeed, the creature must use such means if they are the only way to escape.

Panicked is a more extreme state of fear than shaken or frightened.


The random direction and cowering instead of fighting once cornered seems to also imply that panicked characters can't think clearly. Frightened characters don't drop what they're holding and may fight if cornered.

As for player knowledge vs. character knowledge it's hard to say what one would know more easily than the other. Remembering an item when frightened falls under the topic of metagaming in general. But for panicked it's moot since you can't use items anyway.

For spells and special abilities IMO the character is very familiar with what he spent so long studying or what he's known for so long so go ahead and use the best one to flee.

[Silva Stormrage]

Kk thank you for the feedback. I think he will just forget he had it. Also since its somewhat moot as he can't hold the item either XD.

Also somewhat moot now too as he is surrounded and thus will be cowering if he fails a will save.

[Uhtred]

My DM always ruled that he couldn't keep up, truly, with six players and all the hardcore things we could do beyond hour AC, HP, and Saves, and that if we didn't remember our items, spells, or abilities then that was on us, not him, and there was no retroactively saying we used an item if we didn't. It makes sense, as a D&D player we become our characters and if we didn't remember then technically neither do our characters.

[HunterColt22]

It can depend, particularity if it is an item the DM gave and specifically remembers it for some reason. My DM has made us roll WIS mods to determine if we remember something that we forgot, and he specifically gave for an encounter of this type, or he just wants to watch us squirm after it happens and then we remember out of game, but we can't do crap because our character was having a brain fail at that moment. I have also done it to remember certain things a character is wearing and such. Which led to me keeping a big secret from the party for a good hunk of time while we were traveling once. It was funny to see one of their faces after they found out their "friend" was on the sky boat with us that day.

[BowStreetRunner]

My DM has made us roll WIS mods to determine if we remember something that we forgot...

I personally like this method. If you think of something the player has not thought of, go ahead and ask the player to make a WIS (for a matter of intuition/common sense) or INT (for a matter of reason or memory) check for his character. If he succeeds, you tell him what he didn't think of. If he fails, let the matter drop without a DM hint.

Honestly, I can state from experience that people who are panicked will often forget even the most basic information. I have always considered PCs to be more like trained veterans - whether military, firefighters, police, or others trained to deal with crisis situations and cope with fear and panic. Those people are less likely to forget something key than an ordinary untrained civilian, but even hardened veterans can sometimes make simple mistakes under intense pressure.