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Hi all and thanks in advance for your help.
I really enjoy making interesting NPCs for my games. Moreover, I like to create situations where certain players will shine, occassionally, this means other players don't do as well. In these situations, i have a few players who always stop to ask me how enemies do the things they do.
For example, one of my players is playing a barbian and he was in a boxing match with an NPC with Crane Wing and Crane ripost. These feats allowed the NPC to deflect one attack per round and make an AoO afterward provided that the NPC was fighting defensively.
Each time the NPC's turn came up I described his action as something akin to, "The man takes a defensive stance and waves you in: daring you to strike."
After being blocked and counter attacked twice, the player came whining to me about that not being possible per the rules, but admitted in the same sentence that he did not know all the rules.
Obviously, I don;t want to seem like I'm making things up, but neither do I want to hand over my notes whenever a player cries foul.
This is not the first time this has happened.
How far should I let my players question my NPC's and monsters?
Owner - Johnny Scott Comics and Games
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Hi Darksmokepuncher!
Your question is a bit more complex that it appears. Honestly, it depends on the player and his/her attitude toward the question. If they are honestly ignorant of a specific rule, I would definitely show him how the NPC is doing what he's doing - in your case, show him the feats. This will allow the PC to better understand the rules, and help him/her with character concepts and combinations he/she may not have known existed. This can really help grow the game with a new player.
However, if the player is a chronic complainer and wants to know how something was done so they can metagame and "beat" the game, I may provide a more cryptic response. Maybe giving some information on the source book where the feats came from, or providing clues as to the origin of the NPC's ability. This way, he/she won't feel snubbed, but will have to do the legwork her/himself if he/she wants to find out how it was done within the rules.
In any case, I would never refuse to provide some kind of response to a player with a rules question. As a GM, I have a responsibility to provide information to my players when asked, and all of us have a responsibility to play within the rules. Refusing to answer can very easily turn a player off of a game by making them feel ignorant, or in some cases, insecure, which could lead to losing a potentially good player at your game table.
Tell him it's legal, and you'll show him how when the fight is over. His character has no idea why the guy's so good.
My suggestion would be to inform the players that it is completely legal, and the information is provided within the published materials.
If you're feeling generous, you could even tell them which source book to look in. If you are really concerned about keeping things under wraps, don't. More than likely, they'll find out soon enough, it just depends on when.
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If the player is truly ignorant, i would show him the feats AFTER the session.
If the player is a whiner, i would simply respond that i made that npc and that he is not privy to my notes, and if he doesn't like it, he can pack and leave. Nobody left yet, and i have cured two cases of chronic whining.
Hi all and thanks in advance for your help.
I really enjoy making interesting NPCs for my games. Moreover, I like to create situations where certain players will shine, occassionally, this means other players don't do as well. In these situations, i have a few players who always stop to ask me how enemies do the things they do.
For example, one of my players is playing a barbian and he was in a boxing match with an NPC with Crane Wing and Crane ripost. These feats allowed the NPC to deflect one attack per round and make an AoO afterward provided that the NPC was fighting defensively.
Each time the NPC's turn came up I described his action as something akin to, "The man takes a defensive stance and waves you in: daring you to strike."
After being blocked and counter attacked twice, the player came whining to me about that not being possible per the rules, but admitted in the same sentence that he did not know all the rules.
Obviously, I don;t want to seem like I'm making things up, but neither do I want to hand over my notes whenever a player cries foul.
This is not the first time this has happened.
How far should I let my players question my NPC's and monsters?
I would explain to the players that everything I do is legal by the rules, if I were a GM that would always play by the book, which I am. After the fight I don't letting PC's know how I did ______, but I won't tell them during the fight.
RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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Speaking as a player, if I were in the situation described, I'd probably be satisfied with something like "He spent X feats on a feat chain that lets him do this." This lets me know that resources were spent to attain these capabilities, thus reassuring me that we're on reasonably equal footing (as opposed to the enemy having as many feats/abilities as me PLUS this extra stuff). At that point, as long as I'm confident in the GM's ability to handle complex stuff like that and not accidentally buff up an unfamiliar enemy, I'm going to feel fine about it.
Right, always do it AFTER the session. Otherwise, it's just an unnecessary interruption. IMOIf the player is truly ignorant, i would show him the feats AFTER the session.
Or, if it's some kind of arena thing, he can ask the guy himself in character after the fight.
Otherwise, it's some crazy kung fu $^#*!
As a DM, it's good to re enforce that core rules are being followed throughout your game and NPC creation. Though on some level, the abilities of NPC's need not conform to the player creation rules per say. As long as you're not creating absurdly powerful NPC's that are not fun to deal with...
I've often re-skinned NPC's or given them unique ablities or "tweaks" that are explained by their background or are unique to my campaign world. This adds layers of mystery too some NPC's and monsters that might be kind of generic or transparent otherwise.
Though, in most of these cases I have no problem giving my players a general feeling of how the NPC's may have been altered, or at least preparing them to deal with something slightly different.
On a related note. If you have the time, I think its always nice to point out interesting feat chains or ability combinations both that You as the DM use and that you may generally know about. Trying to keep that kind of information to yourself is counterproductive in the long run.
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Ok. Thanks guys.
I ended up handling it before I asked the question here, just wanted to see if I was on the right track.
I did not tell the player during the fight. I told the player that the material came from UC and he puted but accepted the ruling.
After the game he wanted more info because "To my memory of the rules, what you did requires readied actions." At this point, I showed him the NPCs feats and the player was satisfied.
I guess my question really was: How do I keep this from becoming a question the GM fest. I feel like if I give in too many times, I'll get questioned on everything.
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Ok. Thanks guys.
I ended up handling it before I asked the question here, just wanted to see if I was on the right track.
I did not tell the player during the fight. I told the player that the material came from UC and he puted but accepted the ruling.
After the game he wanted more info because "To my memory of the rules, what you did requires readied actions." At this point, I showed him the NPCs feats and the player was satisfied.
I guess my question really was: How do I keep this from becoming a question the GM fest. I feel like if I give in too many times, I'll get questioned on everything.
Simple. You're the GM. You don't have to explain yourself to players. Anything you show them is because of your goodwill. Or if you want to brag about some monsters that you made.
If you feel that players should be able to question your rulings, don't be surprised or vexed when they do.
Understand that for some players the build is as much fun as the game, so they want to see behind the curtain. For something like this, if we are done with the character, and they will never encount him again, I would share. This came up recently with an npc who is hunting the party. I made them research the fighting style in character, which required them to find a martial artist to talk to.
Ok. Thanks guys.
I ended up handling it before I asked the question here, just wanted to see if I was on the right track.
I did not tell the player during the fight. I told the player that the material came from UC and he puted but accepted the ruling.
After the game he wanted more info because "To my memory of the rules, what you did requires readied actions." At this point, I showed him the NPCs feats and the player was satisfied.
I guess my question really was: How do I keep this from becoming a question the GM fest. I feel like if I give in too many times, I'll get questioned on everything.
Unless you have made rules errors in the past I don't know why he is questioning you. If you have made errors then I would assure him that any errors resulting in a party member's death/mission failure will be handled fairly.
Either way I would tell him that he will not get an answer at the table. I would also make him start to do his own research. It may just be a sign of laziness also.It is not your job to fill him in on every rule he does not know about. He should be willing to put in time to look it up. If he just can't find it then you can help him, if you want to that is.
Problem one: Player admits he doesn't know all the rules.
Player ASKS about the rules...
Solution... TELL him about how this happened.
I'm with the people who would not stop an encounter in the middle to explain the rules. Just tell him it's legal and all will be explained later.
I would never advocate shutting down his curiousity. Any time a player wishes to know the rules better it's a GOOD thing. It may get him interested in a monk... may not, but knowledge is always good!
Considering it's a style in the newest book for a lesser liked class, I'm not surprised he doesn't know that style. As a player I tend to only focus on what the new books do for MY characterrs... or characters I plan to make ;)
STILL know nothing about the cavaliers.... >.<
But yeah, while the screen is up... it's game time, don't derail it. AFTER the game is over, show him how he got schooled. Nobody wants to roll a nat 20 and just be told with a chuckle... NOPE didn't work!!! Bwahahahahah