Funny I've read a ton of these, but until last week they've never come up in game. Your NPC client invites you in and lays out the assignment very clearly--then asks in that meaningful GM prompt voice "...so do you ask any questions?"
Now I know there's a whole two page cheat-sheet of super helpful secret info he's got there. I've read them when prepping adventures...but on the other side of the screen? Everything seemed pretty clear and cut and dried. So I didn't have a clue what to ask--I just went with "Nope."
He kind of twitched, that kind of twitch a DM twitches when you're breaking the gaming code of "things all players must do". Like when you refuse to spend two prestige on a Wand of Cure Light Wounds, or suggest the party rest in the middle of a session, or when you try to use a blunt weapon on a zombie. Yeah, that twitch. I've been getting that a lot lately.
But seriously, what was I supposed to do? It was like playing Q&A Battleship and I had no idea where his ships were hidden.
How do you guys deal with this? Are there standard questions you always ask? Am I missing something?
When I played in a game with a lot of pre-mission client talking stages (Eberron game where we owned an Adventuring Company), the main concern was to have what exactly the guy wanted done, how many obstacles (ie things that needed a good killing) we should expect, and the pay. Especially the pay. None of that "you will be greatly rewarded" crap. Up front, what items are you offering for our services and how much money?
I think the DM actually had to throw away an adventure he wrote up because he the NPC offering it expected us to travel half way across the continent (Eberron with the Lightning Rail or Sky Ship passage so it's not like it would be THAT long) for a vague pay. We eventually got him to tell us what he was going to give us for our troubles and then told him to come back when he could afford us.
This is a case where the GM probably failed to set the expectations properly or is assuming a certain level of background knowledge of the campaign on the players' part. If the GM is trying to run a campaign with a significant component of investigative work and information gathering on the PCs' part (and possibly some double-dealing from the NPC patron), but the players are geared toward a more straightforward type of campaign, then the GM failed to set expectations properly. If the GM is assuming a certain level of background knowledge, liberal use of Knowledge checks to act as "memory joggers" for the types of questions to ask is probably warranted.
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Somehow those PFS mission briefings tend to bring boring feeling to the players. I usually tend to ignore bunch of it also, but remember the important parts of the mission and to be honest, those Venture Captain briefings often have poor presentation.
There is some common stuff which is always okay. Spending 2 PP for wand of CLW is good choice, because you contribute to the group.
Everyone can roll Knowledge(Religion) up to DC 10, so 1 person is enough get total of 5 or 6 to realize it's a zombie, it's immune to slashing. They are common stuff to know.
The gaming code is more of a moral code and I doubt any GM would object against you for any of it.
Games tend to be blunt when people don't roleplay much or at least tell a joke or two. I usually GM seriously but with humor on side always ready to jump in.
I am going to assume that you weren't the only player at the table. If NONE of the players were triggered to be involved then it really does go back to the GM presentation.
If your character would have said "nope" then I see nothing wrong with it.
Different game system, but in Shadowrun, my dwarf rat shaman seldom ever had any questions for the Mr. Johnson. But afterwards, would criticize and cajole the rest of the party about not getting enough info and their needing to do a lot more legwork/investigation in the future.
Greg
OmG! So correct!
Greg
Dot.
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I think there could actually be standard question lists for a lot of these things - professionals (hopefully) have them. For example, we were playing a Missing Person type of case, and it was only when we faced a zombie in a cave miles and miles from the home of our client, that we realized we never asked for a description of the missing person (it was indeed the zombie). I felt really stupid at that moment for forgetting such an obvious and important question.
I have no idea what your GM was looking for, but in that situation I just try to play my character. Since my characters vary greatly in motivation, interest, intelligence and wisdom, that means the response a GM would get from "OK, so that's what we're dealing with here, do you have any questions?" would range between "Yeah, do you have any booze?" all the way to "I'd like to go over that part in the middle where you described the danger as 'possibly deadly' and get a bit more detail there..."
In my last and only major 4e campaign my character was a half-orc with a grudge and no place else to go, so when the GM finished his long description of the situation and asked we had any questions, my character's only response was "yeah, can you wake me up when it's time to go? I'll be sleeping here on the couch."
Most DMs can tell you that the gaming world we see in our minds - the people, the places, mood and feel, the pacing of action - does not transfer the same into the minds of the players. They are different people. I try to write for one or more of the players - the ones willing to meet me halfway in the effort. That way those of them will be drawn into the adventure. Yes, it does favor some players over others, but I am not good enough a DM to draw the entire table into the adventure by my efforts alone.
Are we talking PFS, AP, Module, or Homebrew? Or some combination of the last three?
I guess here's the details for the game we were in. It's a Society module so I'll spoiler it and try to be vague.
...Okay so what questions do you ask? *expectant look*
What are we looking at facing if we need to use force?
What is the rewards?
Should we expect resistance?
To name a few I might ask just for S&G.
Here's what came to mind for me:
- "If it comes down to it, how bad do you really want those notes? Are they just an excuse to humiliate this guy? If he does have dangerous underworld contacts, is this guys life more or less important then the notes should it come to that?"
- "What kind of illicit stuff are we talking? When you say underworld do you mean thieves guild types, and if so how dangerous are they considered? Do you have any reason to suspect they will be an issue for us?"
- "How much are you offering us to do this?"
I take offense to the Thieves' Guild comment...
But those are good questions...
Generally, it you get "The Twitch," ask the DM if you can make an INT or WIS check to see if there are any questions your CHARACTER would know to ask even if you, the PLAYER, can't think of them. A little, meta-gamey perhaps, but it can't hurt to ask.
Specifically:
* How close are these ties? As in, does he know a guy running numbers, or is he wenching with a capo?
* How much is "all the funds?" A 100 jeeps? 10,000 jeeps?
* What's this illicit stuff? Are we going to be stepping on the City Watch's toes as their Vice Squad is conducting a sting?
* What exactly are in these sealed documents?
* What should we expect these samples and notes to be?
* Make him look like a loser as in embarrassed or found guilty of high teason and drawn & quartered?
* Who are the major authority figures in this town? Mayor, harbormaster, Captain of the Guard, Head of the Thieves Guild.
* Does he know the Society is aware of his disreputable activities? In essence, while he may not know the we are coming, does he expect someone to be coming?
* Does he have any staff/henchmen/minions/cohorts?
* Does he have any distinctive items (magical or otherwise)?
* How irritated is the Society going to be if things turn ugly and we have to put him down for a dirt nap?
Okay yeah these are really good questions. This actually helps quite a bit.
I guess the thing isn't so much coming up with questions--which would be more of a character thing, and I'm good at that. It's that I'm looking at this as a module, and I know there's hidden information, extra quests, or even free stuff they say to hand out if the PCs ask. I know from having read prepped a few modules in the past that some of the adventures get really hard, or aren't even doable unless you ask the right questions up front (Hollow's Last Hope for example). That said, when I'm running it I try to make sure any relevant information gets mentioned--whether or not the PCs bring it up, so it's never been a problem. Our new DM isn't like that though--he runs everything pretty much verbatim, so I get kind of wigged out that there's a key question we need to ask or we kabosh the whole thing. I was wondering if folks had a scheme for getting through these Q&As without missing something crucial.
That said maybe if I just get my Sherlock Holmes hat on instead and start probing each part of the NPC's spiel, that maybe that IS the best way to unlock all the answers given in the module.
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* What are the guy's capabilities? Is he a dumb jock, or a paranoid thief with extremely high Sense Motive, or does he use detection spells on everything? That might be important to making good plans...
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Anyway, I do think there are "standard questions" you could have for things like this. For example, in criminal investigation, looking for people with Means, Motive and Opportunity really does help along your thinking. If someone asks you to investigate a break-in, it's good to ask if anything valuable was stolen (or NOT stolen). It's also good to ask if the person has enemies or rivals, who could have had access etc.
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I don't think I've ever played a scenario (and I've played a lot) where the players absolutely had to ask one of those questions. They're helpful, but not critical. It's usually just a matter of asking the VC to elaborate on things they've said.
* Do you know anything else about (that person/place you mentioned)
* What do you mean by (that task you just set us to do but wasn't really that specific)?
* Is there anything else we should know about (that magic thing you're talking about)
* Why would (that person) want to (do that thing) anyway?
If you don't have any questions that you think will raise your chances of survival or help your investigation, move along.