pwning doodes
2018-04-14, 06:03 PM
So I'm a new DM, I've only just cut my teeth doing a oneshot. I've almost finished designing a low-level adventure, and I just have a few more tweaks to make, including this.
How can I make sure that the Bard doesn't just use Charm Person on the final boss?
tl;dr: I don't want to outright say "no" to my players when they ask to take perfectly legal actions, but at the same time, I think the story would be less fun without genuine interaction or combat.
Long version:
I plan to make the boss fight be only a single, challenging combatant. He was actually the mysterious quest-giver in the tavern, but turned out not to be as great as the PC's thought. When the players meet the assassin they're supposed to lead him to, the assassin isn't such a bad dude.
Now maybe the players will side with the assassin, tell the tavern guy they failed the mission, and make some friends in the Thieves' Guild. That's fine with me. Maybe when they lead the quest-giver into the hideout and he immediately tries to kill the assassin, they just let him do it. I'm not sure what happens then, but I'm okay with that outcome. If you guys can think of some reward the players get for that perfectly reasonable murderhobo decision in addition to being handed gold by the quest-giver, suggestions are welcome.
However, Charm Person is much less welcome. In my one-shot, they got to the final room, and the Bard went ahead and used two spell slots to Charm both of the goblins in the room (yes, goblins are "humanoid"). They saved the hostage and GTFO before the monsters knew what hit them.
That was funny once, but I really like this villain. As a full-blood human, there's no question that he could be targeted by Charm Person. I conceived of him as a disgustingly overbearing Oath of Vengeance Paladin, but he works much better as a villain than a PC. What I'm saying is that this mission right here? This is his life goal. He is out for blood against the assassin, and he'll be damned if he'll let some random adventurers that he just met take that away from him. Normally, that might lead to a fight, but if Charm Person comes into play, I think it's appropriate that he's resistant to it in some way. Call it a Paladin's devotion in the fluff, but what mechanic do I use? Better saves? Fey Ancestry effect? Straight-up immune? How does that affect his challenge rating? Mostly I want to just use my powers as a GM to say, "No. You can't charm him," but I feel weird about that. I want to let them think they just had bad luck. At that point, maybe I should just fudge the dice roll. "Wisdom saving throw? *rolls a 2* What's your DC? Only 13? He's unaffected by the spell." It's tricking my players, but in a way, all I'm doing is changing the chance of success from small to zero.
I could add more foes, but they would all be under his command, since he's the only one following his own agenda. If he calls off his hypothetical lackeys, they would just stop fighting.
Any suggestions? Anybody else had problems with mind-affecting spells, like Charm Person, Suggestion, and Dominate?
How can I make sure that the Bard doesn't just use Charm Person on the final boss?
tl;dr: I don't want to outright say "no" to my players when they ask to take perfectly legal actions, but at the same time, I think the story would be less fun without genuine interaction or combat.
Long version:
I plan to make the boss fight be only a single, challenging combatant. He was actually the mysterious quest-giver in the tavern, but turned out not to be as great as the PC's thought. When the players meet the assassin they're supposed to lead him to, the assassin isn't such a bad dude.
Now maybe the players will side with the assassin, tell the tavern guy they failed the mission, and make some friends in the Thieves' Guild. That's fine with me. Maybe when they lead the quest-giver into the hideout and he immediately tries to kill the assassin, they just let him do it. I'm not sure what happens then, but I'm okay with that outcome. If you guys can think of some reward the players get for that perfectly reasonable murderhobo decision in addition to being handed gold by the quest-giver, suggestions are welcome.
However, Charm Person is much less welcome. In my one-shot, they got to the final room, and the Bard went ahead and used two spell slots to Charm both of the goblins in the room (yes, goblins are "humanoid"). They saved the hostage and GTFO before the monsters knew what hit them.
That was funny once, but I really like this villain. As a full-blood human, there's no question that he could be targeted by Charm Person. I conceived of him as a disgustingly overbearing Oath of Vengeance Paladin, but he works much better as a villain than a PC. What I'm saying is that this mission right here? This is his life goal. He is out for blood against the assassin, and he'll be damned if he'll let some random adventurers that he just met take that away from him. Normally, that might lead to a fight, but if Charm Person comes into play, I think it's appropriate that he's resistant to it in some way. Call it a Paladin's devotion in the fluff, but what mechanic do I use? Better saves? Fey Ancestry effect? Straight-up immune? How does that affect his challenge rating? Mostly I want to just use my powers as a GM to say, "No. You can't charm him," but I feel weird about that. I want to let them think they just had bad luck. At that point, maybe I should just fudge the dice roll. "Wisdom saving throw? *rolls a 2* What's your DC? Only 13? He's unaffected by the spell." It's tricking my players, but in a way, all I'm doing is changing the chance of success from small to zero.
I could add more foes, but they would all be under his command, since he's the only one following his own agenda. If he calls off his hypothetical lackeys, they would just stop fighting.
Any suggestions? Anybody else had problems with mind-affecting spells, like Charm Person, Suggestion, and Dominate?