I'm the note taker, but I died. Line between meta-gaming and catching up?

[killem2]

So, my conjurer died. I'm the most active player when it comes to note taking, and being that character that reminds everyone, what happened.

Well, as I said, I'm dead. I rerolled, got a grotesque Goliath Dungeon crasher who has met with them at a previous NPC frost giant they met before going into said Kobold cave.

Now, I as in me, the person, know what we have done, so have they. Problem is, since I'm the one who takes down a lot of the notes, and they just don't bother, when it comes to remember key plot lines or specific enemies we fought and tactics to prepare for, its almost like deer in head lights with the rest of the group.

They have a spattering of info, but not much.

How can I, RP may way back to being caught up? :smallconfused:


TDLR: How can I turn my metagame knowledge into character knowledge.

[JusticeZero]

...you hand your previous notes to everyone else, destroy YOUR copy, then be completely ignorant of everything. You can start taking notes from your point zero, including poorly recounting the muddled explanations that the other players give you of the notes you've been taking.

[shadow_archmagi]

Just wait for a scene transition, and have one of the party members say "... and that just about sums it up!" when the camera cuts back to you. Then you nod appreciatively and say "Wow! Sounds like you guys have been having quite an adventure."

[Maginomicon]

Just wait for a scene transition, and have one of the party members say "... and that just about sums it up!" when the camera cuts back to you. Then you nod appreciatively and say "Wow! Sounds like you guys have been having quite an adventure."

This. In-character everyone would have remembered everything, and probably would have looted the corpse of their former friend and found any physical notes he kept on him anyway. Catching up doesn't need to be an exercise in meta-gaming and can be handled just like it would happen in-character if it really happened. Who knows, maybe your allies can take the opportunity to "embellish" a few things about their adventures and reminisce about their fallen friend.

[Gerrtt]

Yeah, just pretend that all your notes were kept in your character's journal. The rest of the party kept your journal to return to your family, but for now they are benefiting from reading what you were writing about.

[Waker]

Unless actually keeping a journal was an aspect of the character, the information recorded is supposed to be the accumulated party knowledge. At least that's how I looked at it.

[killem2]

Well the thing is I know that we will be fighting some sort of dragonborn dragonspawn or half Dragon. We also almost died from a surprise breath attack earlier on as well. We do know that we are in the hunt for a white Dragon and so far we have already killed a medium white Dragon a few dragonspawn and a
Many kobolds.

The biggest problem is when I died they took my to try and find a cleric to rez me and the nearest one was 3 weeks away and they could not take that time. They split my wealth and did not buy any supplies such as torches potions scrolls wands anything. Not even some wand of shield or something to stop the magic missiles we got slammed with. I just want to hint at out lack of being prepared without knowing it with my character.

[Maginomicon]

I just want to hint at out lack of being prepared without knowing it with my character.
Ask the GM if that might be accomplished by any of the remaining party members making a WIS or Spellcraft check of a certain DC?

[Deaxsa]

Ask the GM if that might be accomplished by any of the remaining party members making a WIS or Spellcraft check of a certain DC?

even better: ask the DM to only focus those who could have made the decision to better protect themselves. i am horribly opposed to allowing the "character" get the knowledge even through the player's ignorance. make them learn. (just like i am opposed to allowing a party redo a TPK when they did not power attack the BBEG who had 12 ac and damage reduction) if they make the mistake, and you let them get away with it, they will never learn. ask your dm to not let THEM get away with it(and to largely ignore you). you are fully aware of the possibilities, but they are not. ESPECIALLY if the players should have known.

edit: and i'm not saying "they should know how to defend themselves," i'm saying "punish them if they don't even try to prep for the coming fight" and if you could not have possibly prepped, you, personally, should not be punished for your lack of action


The biggest problem is when I died they took my to try and find a cleric to rez me and the nearest one was 3 weeks away and they could not take that time. They split my wealth and did not buy any supplies such as torches potions scrolls wands anything. Not even some wand of shield or something to stop the magic missiles we got slammed with. I just want to hint at out lack of being prepared without knowing it with my character.

wait, why COULDN'T your character get upset? he can't ask if there are ways to avoid getting hit by that spell over and over again? (i mean, if it's that much of a problem, anyone would try to find a way to deal with it, your fellow players notwithstanding)

[killem2]

wait, why COULDN'T your character get upset? he can't ask if there are ways to avoid getting hit by that spell over and over again? (i mean, if it's that much of a problem, anyone would try to find a way to deal with it, your fellow players notwithstanding)

Are you talking about my conjurer or my new goliath?

I will admit, I should have taken one round to throw up my shield after I saw them leave down another hallway. It was like 5 rounds later before they jumped me with a load of missles.

Aside from that, the rest of the party is pretty haphazardly going about their business.

[Hua]

I'm amazed that if they decided to go get you rezzed that they could possibly run out of time for that. Sure there is a limit on raise dead spell, but Gentle Repose is only a second level spell and it lasts days at a casting.

My vote is to go with the suggestion of passing your notes to the other players and not keeping a set for you. That was a great suggestion. Just start your character's knowledge over.

[Andezzar]

The biggest problem is when I died they took my to try and find a cleric to rez me and the nearest one was 3 weeks away and they could not take that time. They split my wealth and did not buy any supplies such as torches potions scrolls wands anything. Not even some wand of shield or something to stop the magic missiles we got slammed with. I just want to hint at out lack of being prepared without knowing it with my character.Nobody could cast Gentle Repose (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/gentleRepose.htm) to preserve the body? putting the corpse into a bag of holding should at least slow decomposition through the lack of air.

[Bob]

Protections against meta-gaming shouldn't extend so far as to prevent a player from having an identity in the game. So far, it sounds like your identity in this game has been that of a decision maker and perhaps a subtle leader. If that is true and you want to continue in that role with your new character, just express that to your DM. "this is what I was doing before, this is what I want to continue to do, even though I am using a different personality to do it."

Obviously using heavily meta-gamed knowledge ruins immersion, but forcing a player to waste his time with a course of action that he already knows is going to turn out badly also ruins immersion, and is a bit cruel.

[killem2]

Nobody could cast Gentle Repose (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/gentleRepose.htm) to preserve the body? putting the corpse into a bag of holding should at least slow decomposition through the lack of air.

/facepalm :smallsigh::smallsigh:

Nope no one thought of it.

See we're on a time sensitive quest as well. It not all that bad, we need a true fighter type anyway, the pyschic warrior we have isn't cutting the mustard.

[TuggyNE]

It not all that bad, we need a true fighter type anyway, the pyschic warrior we have isn't cutting the mustard.

Really? Weird, not sure why PsyWar would be inferior unless it's just built wrong somehow, or isn't using powers very efficiently.

[killem2]

or isn't using powers very efficiently.

bingo this the reason

[elonin]

Just wait for a scene transition, and have one of the party members say "... and that just about sums it up!" when the camera cuts back to you. Then you nod appreciatively and say "Wow! Sounds like you guys have been having quite an adventure."

Depends on the style of the game. If the game is light on each person perspective role playing or is closer to group play (almost everyone knows anything that anyone in group does) then this might be reasonable. I have noticed that in LARP we managed to blow a number of quests cause of poor memory and disagreement of what had happened.

[koboldish]

I don't know about everyone else, but my party would be like: "Oh, the guy who died, he deffinitely had no money whatsoever!" And then they would go buy magic items.

Yeah... I need a new party.


Anyways, in character, it shouldn't be a problem. Give the players your notes, and have them sum it up in character. Sorry I can't say anything else on the matter.

[killem2]

I don't know about everyone else, but my party would be like: "Oh, the guy who died, he deffinitely had no money whatsoever!" And then they would go buy magic items.

Yeah... I need a new party.


Anyways, in character, it shouldn't be a problem. Give the players your notes, and have them sum it up in character. Sorry I can't say anything else on the matter.

Thanks for the advice and thanks to everyone to replied, I think I found a clever way around it. :)


I'm not 100% out of the loop just partially it seems. You see, the party on their way to this cave, met up with a frost giant who was actually kicked out of this cave (his home) by a Huge Dragon.

Since the party had exited the cave once already, and had came back to this very giant to have him skin a medium dragon they slayed, I know somethings, so I am going to give them a hard time about a few things (RPing my horribly low charisma character (3)):

1. Basically go over with them about there lost member, and if he had any money and how if they want me to risk their neck for them we need to be prepared.

2. Question the reason (since I do have a wisdom of 15 and int of 13), why they are here, because its not out of the goodness of their hearts. I'll ask them if they are being given a reward and if the wee man that died would have gotten a reward and pressure them into giving me a good word. (Sly way of me trying to get a reward for my goliath like I would have with my halfling :P)

3. Since I backed out of choosing to have a warbeast lion awoken, but my DM had already had a story in place for it, we're just going to RP that he's missing and that will drag me along to see if he went to the cave. (which he did and he's dead)

Among other insulting banter that my socially inferior character has lined up lol. :smallbiggrin::smallbiggrin: