Monkey's paw thread

[poolio]

So you're running a game and somehow or another your player's somehow got a magic lamp, a ring of wishes, a luck blade or perhaps the name sake of this thread, a monkey's paw, now any dm can tell you a wish can be almost as disruptive to a game as a deck of many things, so what can we do about it? We do what these types of items always do in these situations, we corrupt the wishes to teach them why it's bad to wish for what you want instead of earning it

So in this thread, let's make some wishes and see how many we can corrupt :)

And to get the ball rolling, I'll start,
PC: "i wish for infinite gold!"
DM: "okay a small cloud appears above your head and starts raining coins on you, the value of gold plummets as there is now an abundance of the material"
Not to mention the possible danger of being buried alive by gold

So what can you come up with my fellow giants?

[the_brazenburn]

"I wish I could fly!"

The genie hurls you up in the air. You fly for approximately 40 seconds before hitting the ground and breaking every bone in your body.

[Pex]

Here we go again.
:smallsigh:

A wish does not give the player permission to try to Win D&D. Get over your greed and be reasonable.

A wish does not give the DM permission to screw over the PC for his jollies. Get over yourself and let the player have fun.

[MadBear]

Here we go again.
:smallsigh:

A wish does not give the player permission to try to Win D&D. Get over your greed and be reasonable.

A wish does not give the DM permission to screw over the PC for his jollies. Get over yourself and let the player have fun.

http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/124/028/5c2.jpg

[QuickLyRaiNbow]

I'll give the same advice I give every single time: deal with in-character problems in character, and deal with out-of-character problems out of character. If a player is being intentionally disruptive, that's an out-of-character problem and ought to be dealt with as such.

Also, a character doesn't just 'get' an immensely powerful magic item. The DM has to give it to them. If you as the DM are going to give out a ring of three wishes, you ought to be prepared for the consequences.

While that doesn't quite address the original post, I hate these sort of adversarial proposed solutions. The DM and the players are on the same side.

[poolio]

Just to clarify, this is supposed to be a pointless fun thing to tease your brain, like try to make a wish for something you don't think can go wrong and everyone else tries to make it go wrong.

Nobody here's trying to screw over anyone, there aren't any sides, it's a little game, have fun with it.

Or a moderator can just nuke it i guess if people think it's a waste of time or bad for the community or whatever

[ProsecutorGodot]

A character has a deck of many things in my game, 2 wishes and 2 fates. I'm not really looking to do anything backwards to the character since the chance of him being as lucky as he was to get it really excited everyone at the table.

That said, if he starts wishing to find certain items while they're preparing to take on Strahd, it would be pretty unfortunate for him to end up in Ravenloft Castle.

[Theodoxus]

Every game I've run since I can't remember, has ended up with a DoMT in it. I like to see how the players react to the potential power.

One player, whose character from the moment he was introduced, had done everything in his power to become the most famous person in the world. So, when he got a wish, he wished to be the most famous person in the world, with a 300' statue of him in Waterdeep harbor. I granted it, though I did give him the wishing backlash. He was fine with the consequences though. He quickly retired the character to go 'on tour' and bask in his fame.

Another player used a wish to "implode that green dragon" (the green dragon in LMoP, to be exact). He felt that exploding the dragon would potentially kill everything in the area, so implosion would be safer. I granted it. It was fun watching the party tiptoe around the floating green marble that the dragon had become, expecting it to reverse in a spectacular manner. It's still hanging out at Cragmaw Castle, waiting for something to take it.

So, while I agree with Pex et al that Monkey's Paw wishes are pretty lame in the grand scheme of happy gaming, I'm curious how you'd warp the two I granted.

[smcmike]

I wish for a sandwich.

[bc56]

Might I direct you to this thread? (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?480181-Corrupt-a-wish)

[kivzirrum]

For what it's worth--very little, but still--I don't think this is an inherently confrontational thing to do. I think players can have fun with their wishes being "monkey's paw'd". I think it just takes open-minded players, and a DM who's just fooling a bit, and not being a total sadist. :smalltongue:

[Ganymede]

One of my players earned a wish from a Deck of Many Things in my current campaign. He wished for a powerful magical staff.

Instead of giving him the magical staff, I teleported him and his party to a sunken temple where it was located. They had to fight through guardians, solve magical puzzles, endure fiendish traps, and deal with a sudden betrayal, in order to reach the magical staff. And, in the end, taking the staff released a primordial horror that'll serve as a future adventure hook.

But hey, he got his staff.




I wish for a sandwich.

A Sand Witch, you say? *an annis hag appears*

[Tanarii]

A wish does not give the DM permission to screw over the PC for his jollies. Get over yourself and let the player have fun.
Actually, it does. Explicitly so.

[Pex]

http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/124/028/5c2.jpg

Yes, that's exactly how I feel.

Thank you.

[MadBear]

Yes, that's exactly how I feel.

Thank you.

Do you mean to come off as abrasive? Because every thread I see you on, the tone of your writing reeks of "badwrongfuning" others.

[Tanarii]

Do you mean to come off as abrasive?You get used to it eventually. Pex has some good insights. It just takes understanding and compensating that he's an anti-DM-tyranny zealot the same way an anarchist is anti-anything-government. :smallamused:

[Pex]

You get used to it eventually. Pex has some good insights. It just takes understanding and compensating that he's an anti-DM-tyranny zealot the same way an anarchist is anti-anything-government. :smallamused:

I'm an anti-DM-tyranny-Jerk-Player zealot, thank you very much.

[MadBear]

I'm an anti-DM-tyranny-Jerk-Player zealot, thank you very much.

I don't disagree or even mind your position at all (in fact I find myself agreeing with it sometimes).

I'm just saying you catch more flies with honey then vinegar.

[GrimmTrigger]

A guy from a game I played in years ago decided to be "that guy" and wish for more wishes. DM responded by dropping a deck of many things in his lap.

[QuickLyRaiNbow]

I don't disagree or even mind your position at all (in fact I find myself agreeing with it sometimes).

I'm just saying you catch more flies with honey then vinegar.

I'm not sure I've ever seen a fly caught on the subject of DM/player power relationships, no matter the bait.

[Joe the Rat]

I've seen seven in one blow.

The best way to catch a fly is when the two sides swat at each other and make the perfect catch.
And a Brave little tailor reference.
You're also far more likely to catch a fly with a mound of horsehockey, which is what the debates often fill up with.



Anywhoo...

The monkeys paw is more a parable about being happy with what you have, or not meddling in things you don't understand.

But not-quite-right wishing is also a staple of the hobby.

I find it's best when the wish is a little bittersweet - costs and unseen side-effects that create hooks or challenges, but do not invalidate the original request. Ass-twisting reversals are best-saved for wish-granting entities working under duress. Threatening an entity that you are asking to warp reality for you isn't always a smart choice, and excessive use of Intimidation in social interactions should be appropriately "rewarded."