Here I'm once again, dear role-players! How are you doing today?
Today's subject is "My GM Made me Paranoid!".
Tell me, what are the precautions you always take because of a past event or two, even if the chance of it happening again is nearly zero?
Hee's some of my personal examples:
- If you check any of my builds you'll see I don't care much about buying really powerful weapons. But I'l have my first +1 sword ASAP! Just because years ago, the 1st enemy my 1st level party faced was a freaking ghost!
- You only have to be ambushed by vampires once before you decide to carry 2 or 3 scrolls of Daylight. Even in campaigns with no undeads. I don't care if I might carry them the whole campaign, I'll have at least 2 of those scrolls. And it works for shadow demons too.
- Lost my favorite weapon to a Rust Monster once. Now I cary losts of silversheen weapons, even when I reach levels where I can afford +3 weapons and rust monsters are no threat at all.
- Adaptable bows. Ever since Ultimate Equipment I carry bows with the Adaptable enhancement at all times, even if I'm not a Barbarian or dedicated archer. Have a ghost drain your Str once and you'll do the same!!!
There are probably others, but I can't remember right now.
So tell me, fellow adventurers! In what ways has your current or past GMs traumatized you and/or your characters???
Give me some good stories, so I may add your paranoias to my own! ^^
I once lost a character to a giant ooze monster that fell down from the roof of a cavern. This led to me saying "I check the ceiling" when I entered a slimy cave with my next character.
I was then accused of meta-gaming because that wasn't something this character would have learned. (And yes, there was another ooze monster up there...)
Which raises the question, can you improve as a player without cheating?
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I once lost a character to a giant ooze monster that fell down from the roof of a cavern. This led to me saying "I check the ceiling" when I entered a slimy cave with my next character.
I was then accused of meta-gaming because that wasn't something this character would have learned. (And yes, there was another ooze monster up there...)
Which raises the question, can you improve as a player without cheating?
I am currently playing a perception based character who is, by nature, paranoid.Yea, he checks ceilings, behind doors and under beds. In his own home. No meta gaming involved.
As for compensation. I once played a 2nd edition game where the GM ruled everything had 90% magic resistance after I toasted his BBEG. I still carry mostly spells that ignore SR on my wizards.
I once lost a character to a giant ooze monster that fell down from the roof of a cavern. This led to me saying "I check the ceiling" when I entered a slimy cave with my next character.
I was then accused of meta-gaming because that wasn't something this character would have learned. (And yes, there was another ooze monster up there...)
Which raises the question, can you improve as a player without cheating?
Player knowledge vs. PC knowledge. Depends on what the GM is focusing on
I once lost a character to a giant ooze monster that fell down from the roof of a cavern. This led to me saying "I check the ceiling" when I entered a slimy cave with my next character.
I was then accused of meta-gaming because that wasn't something this character would have learned. (And yes, there was another ooze monster up there...)
Which raises the question, can you improve as a player without cheating?
Hey, checking the ceiling is a good idea for every adventurer ever! As you late character learned. ^^
Would your DM say you were metagaming if you had said the same before your character died?I don't know in what edition this happened, but a "I check the room" + Perception roll should already cover ceilings, walls, floor and whatver else there is.
Anyway, thank you. Now every time I enter a new room I'll add a "including the ceiling" whenever I say "I check the room".
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Hey, checking the ceiling is a good idea for every adventurer ever! As you late character learned. ^^
There used to be an old school term for this because of an adventure that had a big cat perched on a ledge right above a door that the players would walk through. I am totally spacing on the exact wording for it, but I used to have a player who whenever he was scouting in a dungeon he would point out that he was 'checking for leopards'.
To get back on topic a bit, my other real method of paranoia comes whenever I play a caster. I love to be a bit obsessive with getting and making scrolls that could be used in any sort of situation no matter how unlikely. I -love- the cyphermages.
Playing in a very urban campaign we broke into a shop that was known for bringing really exotic and unusual goods through it, entering the warehouse we came across a dire-ape with a collar around his throat. The DM looked rather pleased with himself knowing it was going to catch us off guard and then I pointed out that I cast charm animal. He blinked at me and asked how I had that prepped and I pointed out it was one of the scrolls I bought since he gave me free reign in finding first level spells.
Nothing better than being a scroll boy scout.
Oh, I got another one! When an enemy is down, stab him again! Use a reach weapon too! And Lunge, if you have it!
Unless you want them alive for some reason, always make sure they are dead! ALWAYS!
And have at least two watchers up during night time! Animal Companions and the like do not count as a different person. It has to be two PCs!
I construct all my characters defensively from the get-go, so most stunts DM's try don't work on my PC.
Plus, when I play a Wizard, I tend to irritate the heck out of the DM by using spells like Grease, Color Spray, and Sleep paired up with a dagger.
Overall, I try to make sure I have a potion of Invisibility, lots of lantern oil, a Cure Moderate potion, and a few flasks of Alchemist's Fire on me at all times. And if playing a warrior of some sort, always spending the extra to get a big bludgeoning silver melee weapon, and to have my masterworked main weapon made of either cold iron or adamantine. Ensure you have at least ONE missile weapon even if you suck at it. That gets done WELL before I go for a +1 anything.
Always take first or last watch if wearing medium or heavy armor, so you are ready if all heck breaks loose. Compensate for lack of a shield with feats like dodge etc.
Honestly I just never did that much dungeon hacking. There was never any ONE encounter that scarred me since they were always so diverse, varied and random.
I will say there's ONE thing that still gets me: pools of crystal clear water. I had a 2e game where we were desperately stranded in the wilds, my character made a phenomenal skill check and found "a pool of crystal clear water, suitable for drinking" near a cave. We checked said cave - no baddies (that we could see) or signs, so I knelt down for that first, satisfying, drink...
Up out of "crystal clear" water (the GM said I could see the bottom) comes a xvart (we didn't know what they were so to us it was a "blue guy") that had been hiding there. Where he was hiding; I have no idea. Anyway I'm INSTANTLY prone, helpless, and drowning...I'm a wizard. The rest of the party is bum-rushed by the creatures who'd been hiding in the cave. Apparently they held dominion over the water and felt we were going to take it, so they went into a MURDEROUS RAGE which would not be slaked util we were all crucified. FYI; that was a dark game world...
Anyway, ever since I tend to do things like tossing stones into water, checking for breathing tubes, or fishing around the water's edges with a branch or pole. I suppose that one DID scar me after all.
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Here I'm once again, dear role-players! How are you doing today?
Today's subject is "My GM Made me Paranoid!".
Tell me, what are the precautions you always take because of a past event or two, even if the chance of it happening again is nearly zero?
Almost everything I do is because I've been the GM inciting paranoia and karma is a punk (heheh). Most of the tricks and tips in my Adventuring Guidebook (which you can find on my blog) are born from not having a good method of dealing with stuff. It's why I value things like potions, alchemist fires, flasks of holy water, etc.
So tell me, fellow adventurers! In what ways has your current or past GMs traumatized you and/or your characters???
Give me some good stories, so I may add your paranoias to my own! ^^
Most of my traumatics were actually with me in the GM chair inflicting the trauma (naughty I know). Most any of my adventures involving kobolds, goblins, shadows, or humanoids could probably qualify. I had a group who swore to always carry some light grappling weapons after a session where some burrowing worms (variant giant centipedes) grappled PCs and then burrowed under the ground with them (like Graboids man!). Many of my players keep spare weapons 'cause they know that my NPCs will break things like swords, staffs, holy symbols, and spell pouches if the opportunity presents itself and looks nice. After getting torn apart by goblins and their 1d4 shortbows with dirty arrows, many players have taken to really appreciating things like soft cover and concealment a lot more. After falling into a pit and set on fire, at least one Barbarian is much slower to rush into a situation that seems a little "too easy". After dealing with a succubus who wasn't even out to get the party, I've seen a lot of paranoia over the chance that she might be around (which involved things like see invisibility and protection from evil a lot).
I'm a bad person. :P
I remember running a horror-themed adventure once for some newer players where they were exploring an abandoned town. I'd randomly have them roll some perception checks, roll some dice behind the screen, and then say they didn't see anything. The one time there actually were a few shadow demons, they didn't see them =P
I'm kind of a jerk...
Oh wait, I forgot.
I was running Expedition to Ravenloft a few summers back, and in the first major encounter, they found an insane cleric who cast Circle of Death on them. Killed half the party, and then they had the nerve to complain to me.
Hey, I WARNED them many times over the past few experience levels to take Iron Will, but did THEY listen? Oh no, they had to blow me off and go their own way. Idiots. I don't give out advice, especially repeated advice, lightly!
When you have a DM that likes undead and demons, like me, ALWAYS up your Fortitude and Will saves even if you think you are invulnerable because of your high Wisdom or Constitution! Level drainers and instant death spells abound with undead.
Hey Ashiel, try using hordes of kobolds armed with measly shortbows, all firing at the same PC. Doesn't matter how high their AC, they are gonna be pincushioned. Odds are, out of 20-30 kobolds, at least several are gonna roll natural 20's.... Then have them hide or reposition themselves on a field at night. You get to turn your mighty PC party into porcupines.
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Hey Ashiel, try using hordes of kobolds armed with measly shortbows, all firing at the same PC. Doesn't matter how high their AC, they are gonna be pincushioned. Odds are, out of 20-30 kobolds, at least several are gonna roll natural 20's.... Then have them hide or reposition themselves on a field at night. You get to turn your mighty PC party into porcupines.
I've done stuff like that before. The catch is making sure not to overdo it. Each kobold is about 100 XP. So "hordes" of kobolds can still be pretty high up on the CR scale. Besides, I doubt it would take a horde of kobolds. Kobold are NPC-classed which means they get 260 gp worth of equipment. Most kobolds are gonna be sporting some light armor, a crossbow, some ammo, and some alchemical weapons. Having about 6 kobolds with Point Blank Shot (a CR 2 encounter) lob alchemist fires at the party results in 6d6+6 damage to their main target, another 6d6 on the following round, and another 6 splash damage to everyone else. If you're lucky, they'll split the flasks between you.
I once lost a character to a giant ooze monster that fell down from the roof of a cavern. This led to me saying "I check the ceiling" when I entered a slimy cave with my next character.
I was then accused of meta-gaming because that wasn't something this character would have learned. (And yes, there was another ooze monster up there...)
Which raises the question, can you improve as a player without cheating?
a character can be careful about what falls from the ceiling without having heard the specific tale of your character... back in AD&D1 enough adventurers had horror stories about piercers and green slime dropping from the ceiling for any would be adventurer to be careful about what's above as well as what's below, or in front or back of him.
EDIT, oh, and nice thread necromancy, I reacted before I saw the dates.
My very first Pathfinder game, the party runs into a cliff. The barbarian takes our smallest member (a halfling rogue) and tosses him up. The rogue is immediately set upon by a horde of gremlins and dies. No one has any Cold Iron weapons so the rest of us only just manage to defeat them. Ever since then, I make sure to have a Cold Iron weapon whether it's my main or my backup. I also make sure to get either a kunai or a dagger as backup to cover the basic damage types and a ranged weapon.
Later on, my own character dies after I try to climb through a window to get at the opponent. I learned that if you would have to make an Acrobatics or similar check to avoid an AoO to get into melee, then don't try to get into melee. Just stay back and shoot the guy with an arrow.
Every divine caster I make has at least three holy symbols. One around his neck, one on his belt, one tucked away in his pack. Optionally, I'll make sure extra holy symbols are worked into his shield or weapon, and/or give him the divine birthmark (or whatever it's called) trait.