dancingsatyr's page

If we get more Orc and Giant minis out of this then I am one happy DM (GM whatever we have to call ourselves anymore). I'm very curious to see how the series builds up a character to be a Giantslayer!

As the title says: How often does your DM get surprised or thrown by something you do? I seem always be the one to throw off what the DM's plan off the tracks and usually it's from doing something pretty reasonable from the character's point of view. Here's a few examples:

In an old ADnD game there were free wizards (illegal) and school wizards or whatever and I witnessed a free wizard being dragged away screaming something to the effect of "Free wizards forever!". What did I do? I just stood there inconspicuously and watched him get dragged off. The DM expected me to go save him and I'm like...uhh why? Why would I help some random guy I don't even know and attack the authorities and paint myself a target? It would be the equivalent of the police dragging off some pothead and I'm like Wait! I smoke pot! And attack them to defend him. Doesn't make sense. Either way, to not mess up the game we went back after him.

WFRP: we're traveling down a river and get waived down and go to a town that gives us free drinks..which are poisoned, but the towns people say they're desperate because there's a witch so once we kill her they'll give us the antidote. I'm a troll slayer ready to start killing people but I oblige for the time being and we kill the witch and her people. We go back to town and they say we didn't get all of them so we have to go back. Uhhhh no. I threaten them. They don't budge. I grab the towns leader's husband and I cut off some fingers for the antidote. They're more compliant now. After that I'm like lets get out of here and the town leader tells me we're sentencing them to death if we don't help them....shoulda thought of that before poisoning us. PEACE! lol the GM had more planned for us to do but we left so he had to improvise.

Or last game I did for WFRP there's a brawl in a bar between dockers and fisherman and I know one of the dockers. I ask, am I good friends with this guy and the DM says he's an acquaintance. I'm a rogue so I'm like lol ok and jump over the bar and sit and drink the...

The DM took great pains to describe a nice tavern scene complete with a gleaming Greataxe on the wall. The barkeep dragged his son upstairs to beat him from some "poorly performed duty", the rest of the party went upstairs to stop him. Playing the rogue, I asked if anyone was left in the taproom. He said no, so while my comrades in arms liberated the boy I liberated the axe and fled to our meeting spot outside town. Goblins attacked us, and I climbed a tree to wait it out ( I did try to help) Then as I was trying to go back to town for back up, the DM said I had to try to rescue my team mates ( as in by myself ). I said that was exactly what I was going to do... with help. He asked me out of game to take over a dwarf captured in the goblin warren, so for the flow of his game I did, while my rogue sold the axe in the next town and tried to hire help. My rogue never returned, as the DM asked us to build new characters and start again. I picked a Dwarven fighter this time, just to keep the peace.

Here's an example that's been coming up a lot in my games.

Rogue: I listen at the door.
GM: Make a Perception check.
Rogue: 24.
GM: You hear nothing on the other side.

Everything is fine. Players open the door. But...

Rogue: I listen at the door.
GM: Make a Perception check.
Rogue: Uh-oh... 7.
GM: You hear nothing on the other side.
Monk: Watch out. I listen at the door.

So, the monk listens at the door only when the rogue rolls badly. And if the Monk rolls badly, then the next character steps up and makes a roll. Repeat, until someone gets a good roll or we run out of PCs.

I try to hint at it.

GM: Rogue, you just listened at the door and heard nothing. The Monk doesn't trust you and you are a little bit insulted.
Rogue: Whatever, he's helping me.
GM: He didn't help you before...

This is just one of the many things that happens. A player flubs a roll and another player runs up to try and get a better roll.

I don't know. Maybe this is a minor issue that annoys me a bit and I should just let it go and expect everyone to make a Perception check at every door, every time.

My players have always rolled at the same time. Highest roll hears noise/monster/impending doom. I would think everyone would try because, really, who trusts the rogue that much anyway? :)

You know, they have been playing awhile. I might just take the crutch of NPC away this time and see how it goes. Traditionally my friends/players haven't been very ambitious with most leads ( though they do suprise me at times ). Either way should be entertaining, though, if all else fails I like the halfling archeologist angle. That would be interesting. Thanks guys!