Yeah, my problem with the whole "twisting a wish" thing is that it depends entirely on the dynamic the GM has with the players. I make clear to my players that there are "wishes" and "greater wishes". The first kind are when you're asking for anything the wish spell specifically says you can ask for. The second kind are when you're asking anything beyond that level of power. I warn them to be cautious of greater wishes.
However, I tend to grant wishes according to the spirit of their intent, within reason. Otherwise, it becomes a game of "Nyah nyah, you didn't spot the loophole!"
Examples, and how I'd deal with them:
- Character wishes the entire party home instantly. Totally fine, the spell specifically says it can do this sort of thing.
- Character wishes for immortality. That's a greater wish, but it's not actually that big a deal in the scheme of game mechanics for most campaigns. Okay, you will not die of old age. You no longer age or take aging penalties. You spent a wish on it. No problem.
- Character wishes for "the wisdom necessary to help me defeat X". Okay, the intent's reasonably clear. Either +1 Wis, as a standard stat increase from Wish, or some combination of speak with deity / legend lore effects to give them enough insight to have a reasonable chance at X.
- Character wishes dangerously/foolishly, like "I wish I didn't have to worry about these things". Unless you have an evil djinni listening, there's a difference between offhand comments and genuine wishes. People using wish know that their words can and will change the world. If the character really did mean that as a genuine wish, then the resolution depends on who's granting it, and could get nasty.
- Character wishes for a dozen wishes. Smack the player.
In the specific case of a benevolent being mishearing or misinterpreting a wish, I suggest using it exclusively as a plot device or as an amusing adventure where the PCs get offered wishes then have to deal with their unfortunate misinterpretations. Don't use it to randomly pull the rug out from under the players when they were genuinely making serious wishes, because that would not only be frustrating, but also mean.
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Yeah, my problem with the whole "twisting a wish" thing is that it depends entirely on the dynamic the GM has with the players. I make clear to my players that there are "wishes" and "greater wishes". The first kind are when you're asking for anything the wish spell specifically says you can ask for. The second kind are when you're asking anything beyond that level of power. I warn them to be cautious of greater wishes.
However, I tend to grant wishes according to the spirit of their intent, within reason. Otherwise, it becomes a game of "Nyah nyah, you didn't spot the loophole!"
In the specific case of a benevolent being mishearing or misinterpreting a wish, I suggest using it exclusively as a plot device or as an amusing adventure where the PCs get offered wishes then have to deal with their unfortunate misinterpretations. Don't use...
+1 on that.
I would like to that that if you are going to do this then you need to set it up so the players can buy a clue before they make a wish.
DM: An old looking jinii is sitting on a chair and holding a book upside down.
PC1: Hello good sir!
DM: He holds his hand up to his ear and says "Mellow Wood Fir? Yes I would like some nice wood fir incense."
PC2: What book is he reading.
DM: He is holding the book upside down but the title is "Learn to Read an Ironic Guide"
PC1: "No. HELLOOOOO." I wave my arm in greeting.
A little obvious but it gets the point across that he is illiterate and deaf.
I wish for infinite wishes and beat the game.
I wish for infinite wishes and beat the game.
Solution: Beat the player. Physically.
If the character's willing to burn their wealth for wishes, that seems fine to me.
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There is also the idea that the being is so new to this plane of existence that it has no clue about certain things we take for granted. for example, An immortal being being exposed to mortals for the first time might not understand the concept of death and the wishes it grants could have very ugly side effects...
I wish for infinite wishes and beat the game.Solution: Beat the player. Physically.
I wish for it not to happen. full attack stopped.
A player of mine once wished that his character became the new Dungeon Master.
When I told him he was metagaming and he couldn't do that he responded that he is the the DM now and he calls the shots.
Needless to say I no longer play with this person.
I wish the GM wasn't such a jerk about wishes.
I wish for it not to happen. full attack stopped.I wish for infinite wishes and beat the game.Solution: Beat the player. Physically.
I wish that every time you make a wish you suffer excruciating pain.
I wish that every time you make a wish you suffer excruciating pain.I wish for it not to happen. full attack stopped.I wish for infinite wishes and beat the game.Solution: Beat the player. Physically.
I counter wish!
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A player of mine once wished that his character became the new Dungeon Master.
When I told him he was metagaming and he couldn't do that he responded that he is the the DM now and he calls the shots.
Needless to say I no longer play with this person.
"Wish granted. You're the GM. Here's the module. I'll go roll up a character. All you have to do is create balanced encounters that have a purpose in the overall plot and are generally tough enough without being a TPK, while writing and running engaging NPC, tracking character abilities so that the encounters are always interesting for four or five differently tricked-out PCs. Meanwhile, I'll be over here, playing a PC whose sole goal is to kill your carefully crafted NPCs and pull apart your lovingly built encounters at every turn. You'll also need to mentally track initiative, NPC hit points, NPC abilities, plot elements, game rules (which you should know inside and out) and player types. You know all the player types, right? Here's your dice, the eight pages of notes that I wrote for this session and a dry erase marker. You can afford all of the books, minis and maps, right? Because your wish didn't include the funds for the gear that the GM brings. Now, get reading, because I can't wait to play my half-troll master summoner."
Having written that, I need to go write thank-you notes to all my players for appreciating the work I do. I don't resent a minute of it, but that wish really made me think about it all, y'know?
#1: "i wish that everything i touch would turn to gold." classic, poorly thought through wish.
#2: "I wish i was famous." there are so many ways to be famous that this is asking to be screwed around with, particularly as many of the easiest ways to become famous are in fact ways to become infamous. genuine fame being misatributed to you is potentually just as bad, particularly when the real dragonslaying hero rocks up.
#3: "I wish that (insert name here) didn't die." ok, so now they're back to life complete with mortal wounds, or still diseased, or whatever condition caused their death in the first place (technically, if possible then time would be altered so that they never died in the first place, though they may only be clinging to life with their fingernails when you get them back). you're removing the dead condition, but only the most lenient of wish-granters would interperate that wish as a wish to restore them to life and heal them. of course if you have a cleric with heal on-hand to deal with the damage then this wish can still work.
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The old AD&D books were quite clear on what happened if a character wished for more wishes. The character would be trapped in a time loop, repeating his wish.
I have always feared wishes, knowing (when I was in high school) that many GMs took unholy delight in "monkey's paw" wishes. The fear persists, although there is probably no reason for it now.
I was in a dungeon once and inadvertently summoned a paladin with a wish. I did not know that the pearl in the ring contained a wish spell. I could have wished for something better, I suppose, but it could have been a lot worse.
I feel as though the same part of the DM soul that compels them to try to make paladins fall compels them to screw up wishes. What's more, players know that almost instinctively, and as a result, in my experience, very rarely stray outside the listed wish effects. (I'm actually fairly surprised by the lengths DMs in this thread are willing to go; "you get an overly literal interpretation of your wish - oops" is one thing. "The genie that heard your otherwise reasonably worded wish was drunk or hard of hearing. You get this instead" is another thing entirely, and just seems really unfair.
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Fun solution to the more wishes wish, bring back a number of villains/evil outsiders equal to the number of wishes made. When the PC asks why they are all here the wish granter says "You asked for "x" more wishes and I have given them, unfortunately you didn't say to whom. A wish is a powerful thing and not something to be left unused and called upon more then is given, may this teach you the danger of unleashing the infinite potential of wishes left unused." Sounds really mean but I think one of my players would laugh at the irony of giving their enemies a free port straight too them/free wish because they couldn't do with prescribed number of wishes.
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Actually I have a decent way to deal with players that wish for more wishes and rarely have repeat offenders. I introduce:
The wishing stones - minor artifact
A wishing stone will grant a random number of wishes to the owner. While in the possession of a wishing stone the holder cannot make any wish for his own benefit or those he know and gains 2 negative levels. Also the any wish he makes on behalf of a stranger must be such that it comes as a boon to the recipient. Like a cursed item you cannot drop, leave or otherwise give away a wishing stone until it has fulfilled it's quota of wishes at which point it simply disappears off to it's next recipient.
These stones where made by Estril and given to her greatest and most selfless follower. These followers where given a choice. To be able to grant miracles for their fellows without end in exchange for toiling for the rest of their lives under a yoke service to their fellows or continue on as they where It is said that the stones each fled from their owners as they uttered a selfish wish for their own aggrandizement. They now travel from owner to owner reliving their failed purpose and binding those who are in possession of them closer to the ideal that they where supposed to uphold with their first master.
I had my players talking to a CR 20 demon woman named Shabalba in the underground city below Persepolis. She grants wishes in exchange for decades off the end of your life.
The first thing one player wished for was more wishes, to which she replied, "this is business and I am not your djinn thrall. Do not disrespect me again."
I imagine she has a lot of immortals who come visit her.
I imagine she has a lot of immortals who come visit her.
Immortals don't have any mortality to trade.
I imagine she has a lot of immortals who come visit her.Immortals don't have any mortality to trade.
I would argue that they have infinite mortalitty to trade, but its' a moot point because she wasn't trading mortality. She was trading "decades off the end of your life." That is something they have in abundance. Because they will die eventually. It may be Eons from now, but everything must end at some point. Perhaps that will be only when everything else ends, but Entropy cannot be staved forever. ;-)
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Squashing "wishing for more wishes" is really simple:
Djinn: "Salaam! I will grant you one wish!!"
PC: "Can I wish for more wishes?"
Djinn: "Certainly, little master!! You may wish for as many wishes as you like!"
PC: "Infinite Wishes?"
Djinn: "If you so desire!"
PC: "Well, I don't want to be greedy. I'll just wish for 100 more wishes!"
Djinn: "Inshallah! It is done!"
PC: "Now I wish for a million gold pieces!! Eternal life!! Unlimited sex appeal!!"
Djinn: "Those all sound like pleasant things to wish for, my friend!"
PC: "So when do I get them??"
Djinn: "You can have all the wishes you want, my friend, but as I said at the beginning - I will only grant the first ONE!"
Where everybody gets in trouble is when some smart-alec player wishes for 100 more Djinn. :P
If I were DMing a group who happened upon a being granting wishes, I'd handle it based on their requests. For example, if the wishes are rooted to what the spell is intended for, I'd be ok with it. If it goes above and beyond, then it would depend on the intent of the wish.
If the wish is power, but within reason, then granted, possibly roll to see if there is a negative side effect or not.
If the wish is unreasonable, then they get negative side affects and a loosely interpreted response to their request. "I want to be Immortal!" Turned into an undead vampire with blood thirst, etc.
If they wish for more wishes:
PC: "I want infinite wishes!"
Genie: "As you wish..."
DM: You black out and wake up at the Genie's feet. He looks down at you with a smile.
PC: "What happened?"
Genie: "You got your wish. Infinite wishes lead you nearly to your doom. As a final wish, you asked to revoke all wishes and forget everything that transpired. Have a good life." *disappears*
OR
Genie grants infinite wishes by making that character a Genie, forced into servitude for eternity.
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I once read an article in an old issue of Dragon magazine where the topic was low-int characters making wishes.
There's two things I remember. One, was the gist of the article was "eschew the non-optimized efficiency of lawyer-approved wishes, and instead wish for fun things." Because, when you wish for fun things, the DM needn't think of ways to screw your wish up. Indeed, he'll have all his fun simply granting the wish!
Two, was one of the examples. I'm not sure it was ever actually done, and if so, whether it counts as an epic wish, or a bad wish.
Example wish situation: The party has just finally defeated a dragon. Following the epic battle, the bloodied and battered heroes take stock of their wounds and the treasure won. The low-int character uses his wish: "Wow, that was epic! I wish we could fight that dragon AGAIN!"
