I've been playing pathfinder as a player for about a year and a half now and I feel I'm fairly familiar with the rules. So when a couple of my friends showed an interest in the game but weren't available on Saturday for PFS, I figured I could GM a home game for them. I have tried GMing before (to disastrous results, turns out you really do need to understand the rules to GM), so I had a little of an idea what I was getting into and I was certain I needed an Adventure Path rather than trying to make up a story as we went along (that was part of the problem with my first attempt to GM). I gave my players some options and they chose Reign of Winter. I'm kinda of regretting this now.
Reign of Winter Spoiler:
Reign of Winter starts out with a string of combats as you journey into this forest trying to find a kidnapped noble woman and the reason for all the snow in the middle of summer. The first half of these (not including the talking stag, they loved the talking stag) are kinda boring and don't have a lot of RP value to them, they are just stuff to fight.
The problem is with an Oracle/Bard (when he gets to second level) who we have nicknamed the Pacifist because he starts every combat with a diplomacy check. He told me at the end of our last session that he doesn't enjoy combat because it feels more realistic then combat in a video game, like Final Fantasy. I didn't really think it was that realistic, but it's hard for me to tell as the GM. The other two players don't seem to have a problem with it, but they are more experienced and their characters are designed for combat.
If I let the Pacifist talk his way out of fights, that will leave the other two players without much to do (and won't work very well with the story line) and there's only so much he can do with his +10 Diplomacy check. On the other hand, if I just move on and hope the story begins to interest him, he'll still be pretty bored through the dungeon crawls I'm sure are all through the AP. Besides, it's been 6 sessions and we are maybe a quarter of the way through the first book. Is that normal? If we are going that slow, can the story interest him? I just don't have the confidence, experience or time to adjust the AP to have less dungeon crawl and more RP. What can I do?
Ouch. Pacifism in ROW? This kid is going to be VERY dissipointed in the 3 other books with a focus on War. This being said, all is not lost.
Combat and pacifism: sometimes there is nothing for it but to fight. However, not every fight needs to be to the death. Alot of enemies in ROW are pretty evil, but many minions are just "doing their jobs". Going nonlethal and THEN talking to the bad guys may work. To that enxld you may want to introduce a merciful weapon or a wand of slow or hold person so the other players have the option of giving the chatty PC someone to talk to.
Passive Resistence: Sometimes the PC who dosn't like to fight has to, but that dosn't mean they have to be useless. Hollywood movies are full of fights punctuated with witty banter and brave speeches. Maybe you might want to streach a rule here for the fun and decide the PC can still make diplomacy/bluff/intimidate checks every round as a move instead of a standard, allowing them to still talk to their enemies even while defending themselvez, but this only works so long as they do defensive actions or nonlethal actions.
I know Ultimite Intriuge has dozens of rulez for this situation as well.
Well, remember that diplomacy isn't something that can be done in a single round. I'll often allow for a quick diplomacy check to convince them to hold their blades to give you enough time for a full diplomacy check, but obviously the rest of the party has to agree with it. Diplomacy has its limits, and convincing them to parley while your buddies beat on them isn't going to work short of actual mind affecting magic. That being said, the bigger issue seems to be the balance of the spotlight, and the style of the game.
To be honest, in my opinion Pathfinder is a combat oriented game. The majority of each book details intricate systems to map out combat in epic high-fantasy manner. If your player doesn't like how combat works in this system it is very much possible that Pathfinder isn't for him. On the other hand, if he doesn't mind combat but prefers diplomacy and RP, that is a different story. There is always the issue of striking the balance between everyone's spotlight. If the rest of the party is happy to have him along as the resident diplomat, he just has to understand that many time diplomacy will break down into fights. As long as he is periodically rewarded for taking what can be a very risky route of asking questions BEFORE shooting he may be content with this. Just remember, he is one of 3 players, and he shouldn't expect more than his fair share of the spotlight.
Full disclosure: I have not played in Reign of Winter, but I have played and GM'd a few AP modules and can certainly say, there will always be dungeon crawl sections and there will be good roleplay sections. You as GM always have the option to handwave certain encounters or RP sections in order to make sure the group in enjoying themselves. For example, I am currently GMing Iron Gods, and occasionally have been running the group through a dungeon crawl section where the party is presented with roughly the same encounter for the 3rd time. There is a certain point where if I can tell that the party is getting bored with smashing the same 4 monsters that I may simply call for a few saving throws or attack rolls, come up with a rough assessment of how much damage or what conditions they probably racked up, and simply narrate the fight. Sometimes we'll be in town for a long while and the building to building searches for info can get a little tedious and I'll simply narrate where they went and what they found to move the plot forward. Sometimes on the other hand the party is so interested in the city that rather than a simple Gather Information check I'll RP the NPCs they speak to. Just do your best to play to the parts that interest your party and handwave parts that begin to bore them. Make sure that all players get their fair share of the spotlight each session (if possible) and that everyone is OK with the flow.
And my final rule of GMing. It's not GM vs Players. You are all playing the game together and hopefully should ALL be having fun, including the GM. Do what you can to make prep and bookkeeping less of a chore for you, because the more fun the GM has, the more fun the players will have.
Once he realizes the stakes, and that a coup has essentially broken out, inform him some people may not want to talk first.
However, realize there's a LOT of places his words will be the best thing that could happen, and adjust accordingly. Have him invest in sense motive and tell him when people are very aggressive.
I don't see much of a problem not wanting to murder hobo. He's not scared of combat just doesn't want it to be the only option.
Make more puzzle traps instead of random monsters and you may all have a lot more fun. Just takes some minor tweaking.
So, the main problem you're going to have is two players obviously built for and want combat.
They probably don't want to RP their way out of combats. Beyond that, the BBEGs being what they are they usually aren't going to step down, move out of the way, or stop what they're doing (regardless of how good the diplomacy check is). You can talk you way out of some situations, but some are going to be a fight no matter what.
You're pacifist players seems to be categorically opposed to combat, and if that is the case you probably ought to chat more with that player to reset their expectations. Pathfinder is mostly a game of combat, it has the most rules dedicated to it. I'm not saying that you can't RP and use diplomacy, but Pathfinder grew out of game that was based on a miniatures war game.
I also want to understand a bit better here. Your pacifist player doesn't like Pathfinder's combat because it's too realistic? That just doesn't make sense to me.
The real question is whether the PLAYER themself is a pacifist, or if that's just how they built the character... It doesn't sound like it, given the "other games" comment, so he might enjoy the game more if he either a) rolled up a new toon, b) revamped his toon a little, or c) stopped being a stuck-up, whiny b&!%#. Tabletops aren't video games. It might just not be his cuppa tea.
I don't really understand how the combat could be too realistic. He seemed to have trouble expressing the problem and I think he was trying to be careful not to offend me. It could be that having his only combat options as healing allies or throwing a dagger is making it boring. I'm just not sure what he meant. I'm not very descriptive with the combat, I don't talk about blood and gore, and I just don't think it's that violent.
I'll try giving him some more options in combat like dialog or a wand of hold person and I might try dropping or adjusting some of the upcoming encounters to keep the story moving and interesting.
We've been friends for about 18 years and I guess it's kinda bothering me that one of my best friends doesn't think pathfinder is as AWESOME as I do. Guess I'll just have to accept it.
I'm not really sure why he thinks that realistic combat is a bad thing. Is it because it feels too violent or some such?
But yes - as DebugAMP says above, you can't use diplomacy in a single round.
This is a solid point, diplomacy takes 1 minute (10 rounds) of interaction to use.
Enemies that are set on causing harm aren't going to hear you out for that. Bandits that are more interested in your gold than killing you might listen though.
"Sir, we are heroes of some renown in this region. We have slain many terrible creatures in our quests. You can leave us unscathed and we will ignore you and go about our business, we have important things to do. But if you try to take by force what is our, you will find that yourselves either arrested or dead. Your choice."
The thieves goal isn't to kill the party, it's to steal from them. Presented this opportunity, and assuming the thieve knows enough of local events he may indeed agree that it is worth risking his neck. However, the assassin down the road who is trying to kill the party, no amount of diplomacy or intimidation is likely to get him to stop.
I'll try giving him some more options in combat like dialog or a wand of hold person and I might try dropping or adjusting some of the upcoming encounters to keep the story moving and interesting.
I will say - either a pure oracle or a pure bard can go pretty much pure buffing by level 4 or so rather than heal/attack. Depending upon their mystery, even at 1st level an oracle can debuff instead of attack/heal.
(Note: He probably shouldn't go bard/oracle - casters should generally go one class straight.)
Reign of Winter is a great AP, you don't have to regret it. I'm running it for my players at the moment. I do add and change a few things here and there, to adjust the game a bit more to my players and their characters. I would advice you to do the same.
Since it seems like he wants to have a chat with some of the enemies before battle, you probably should let him. A lot of the enemies aren't humanoids while still being sentient, have them strike odd and uncomfortable conversations with the PCs. Don't make the enemies draw their weapons as soon as possible. But you shouldn't necessarily always let him persuade them to not attack.
You should probably hurry the story along (lead them with the tracks in the snow quickly on) untill you get to the weirder Fey enemies, where you can re-create the stag encounter with different quirks.
Diplomacy only improves a person's attitude by at best two steps. Hostile to indifferent. What that means is monsters are still going to attack and kill you it just isn't personal now. The skill is being abused here into stopping combat from happening all the time and it really shouldn't. Ran through part of Wrath of the righteous. In it, it talked about the use of Diplomacy so a player specialized in the skill. We managed to get two Vrock Demons to join our cause as well as the allies listed that we could. It didn't stop or even change most of the encounters we faced. Monsters including NPC bad guys still attacked us and tried to kill us. We gave our diplomat the chance to talk but in the end we still fought most times. In some cases the monster allowed our diplomat to talk simply looking for an opening to attack us anyway.
So as far as the Pacifist I'd recommend he stay a single class. Focus on buffing if he is dead set against fighting. Pick defensive and containing spells letting the other PCs handle the fighting. While I hate the class Bard sounds like the class for him. Combat should be happening a lot more then it is. In a dungeon crawl most monsters are not going to listen to anything the diplomat says instead focusing on killing the PCs. If he is unhappy about this then he should stick to video games.
I'm a big fan of Pathfinder, but there are certain character concepts or campaign styles that certainly are a better fit for different systems. If it's just a matter of how 'cinematic' an encounter is, maybe you should consider taking a short break and running a higher level pregen scenario like one of the Serpent's scenarios and see if it's just a matter of power levels. If so, take a bit of time to really analyze their characters. Even level 1-2 adventurers will find themselves performing acts that are on par with Olympic athletes, so if that is the environment he is looking for in the game, make sure you play to it. A fringe example: A level 1 human barbarian who took the feats 'fleet' and 'run' has a move speed of 45 ft and can make a x5 move, so a straight line movement of 225 ft in 6 seconds, or an average speed of 37.5 ft/s for around a full minute straight. Usain Bolt ran the 100m in 9.58 s, giving an average speed of 34.246 ft/s. If he's really looking for a break from realism, make sure he understands just how badass they are actually being from the get-go and know that it only goes up from there.
I think I'll have to talk to him and get a better feel for what's bothering him. He doesn't have a lot of experience and his options in combat have been very limited. His spells have mostly been eaten up by endure elements, but they should reach level two next session which should help a little. I'll see if he feels better about buffing than throwing daggers. Or maybe doing non lethal, ect. They are in the Lodge right now and, if I remember right, the encounters after the lodge are much more interesting. If he's still not having fun, then we'll have to rethink doing this AP (which is sad, cause I think it's an awesome AP.)
I dunno if it's a good idea to scrap a game you're running because ONE person is dissatisfied because of his own choices. If everyone else is having fun, that's unfair to them.
Honestly, a true pacifist is a complete non-starter in any AP. Even if everyone in the party disagrees with it, this game very much expects violence to be engaged at SOME point to solve your problems. If he's planing to play an "indirect killer" by buffing allies and debuffing enemies, but never spilling blood himself, that's one thing. But refusing to aid in combat at all just isn't going to work since encounters are usually designed for a party of 4 all working together, particularly at low optimization levels.
It's not so much scrapping a game because one person is dissatisfied as I'm not sure I want to run an AP with two players and I'm not willing to drag someone through a game they are not enjoying.
So my guess would be that the difference making this seem too violent is that the player is presented with actual freedom and options on how to react to things, rather than "oh the battle animation is starting nothing to do but fight it out I guess"?
I could see how the freedom of choice might make you feel like you're perpetrating violence, unlike in a system where it's super obvious there is no possible other choice, because that's just how it's built. Good luck with the game!
Like I said though, you'll have the same problem in any AP. Eventually, they'll have to fight SOMEONE just to advance the plot. And you said you don't have the time to heavily modify things...that's why you're running an AP in the first place, after all. So if it's the character that's an issue, it's the character that needs to be changed, not the AP.
Likewise if it's an issue with the player, no matter what AP you pick, the problem will persist.
So your options are basically A.) Get the player to change (either his character, or his mind) B.) Drop him C.) Run a homebrew campaign or D.) Stop playing altogether.
You have said you don't want to drop him, so B is out. You don't have time to modify an AP for him, so you DEFINITELY don't have time to homebrew. So C is out. Option D seems like it's no fun for anyone...so A seems the clear winner, here.
As a general rule, I feel like diplomacy may work out... if all the other players take stealth.
A diplomat can also be considered a 'decoy', at least in the Gorum religion. There are reasons why we have the readied action. Such as readying an action to 'shoot anyone that looks at the bard funny'. Just have them hide, and let the bard go out to talk. When things inevitably go south, you just start the battle prepared. If things go well, then you guys just calmly walk out of the bushes. Little tactical advantage lost, and you have a nice RP flavored opening.
Note that this tends to work better with paladins. They are often big goody-goodies, so they may want to use diplomacy depending on the god (I mean... sarenrae would definitely prefer it) so they like to ask "can't we just talk this out?"... and paladins can also take a few hits and swift action heal when the answer is 'no'.
Overall, it is preferred to have a front liner take on such a role, since they often enjoy being close to the enemy. Does this bard use a longspear? Something that would let him punish enemies that try to go after the party members that jumped out of the bushes?
Dungeons and Dragons, and by extension Pathfinder, isn't a game about pacifism. It's about poking monsters with sharp sticks. The further one gets away from that equation, the less D & D it becomes.
Perhaps Call of Cthulhu or some form of GURPS might be more to the player's liking?
Sounds like a difference in playstyles. There are murder hobo groups and there are anti(?) murder hobo groups. Both can be fun but different strokes for different folks. If he doesn't like combat but enjoys rp then the best solution is to add more RP
The complaint about combat being to realistic..... I think we all need clarification there
The complaint about combat being to realistic..... I think we all need clarification there
Might be "not flashy enough" (like action-RPGs such as Diablo and Guild Wars 2) rather than "too gory/violent."
I am sure killing people is fine, but not without at least asking 'are you an insane cultist or greedy bandit? Can we just talk this out?' first. When you offer peace, and they are jerks anyway, then you feel a lot better about murder hoboing them.
Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
It could be a descriptive issue. There's a world of difference between:
"You hit, it dies."
and
"Your dagger flies through the air, puncturing his eyeball with a quiet 'pop', and the blade pierces his skull. Blood trickles from his mouth as he silently screams before toppling to the ground, the stench of a death-relaxed sphincter permeating the room."
The trick is that the GM gets to control this aspect of "realism" by tailoring the description - you can guide the imagery a player "sees" with how you describe events.
First he can do other things in combat but since he is not proficient with a lot of weapons he will have a penalty.
ie he can fight with a 2H Battle Ax but at a penalty since he is not proficient with it.
He also might just be regretting his choice of class as he thought it was going to be one thing and it is another.
Another problem is that it sounds like it is 1st level (IIRC you said you are going to be leveling to second soon), at low levels the spell casters are very weak but the make up for it at higher levels. This may be a good point to let him in on. But I think that if he changes his class it would be better all around for him and the other 2 PC's.
Without knowing exactly what issue the "pacifist" has with combat, it is difficult to recommend a solution. With regard to the realism aspect, could it be that when role playing, you are immersing yourself into the character (and therefore the combat) so maybe it seems more real or personal? With a video game, there is far less immersion, especially if the game is not a first-person shooter. You're just pushing buttons to control a dude on the screen.
I have to agree with previous posters that Pathfinder is a combat-oriented game and I've yet to come across an AP where combat is not the primary means of success through most of the adventure. Even when non-combat appears to the be intended solution, there are usually allowances for the murder-hobo approach (Book 5 of Carrion Crown, I'm looking at you). And all of this makes sense if you consider how many pages of the rule books cover combat situations.
Just because you can't hurt enemies, doesn't mean you can't help your allies. Use nets and such to trap your enemies and make them an easy kill without hurting them yourself. Try some Bluff and Intimidate checks over Diplomacy to see what happens. Maybe get the opponents to stop for a round as a ruse just for your two buddies to break them.
There can be a lot of fun from controlling the battlefield and not actually doing damage.
There is a pacifistic bard in my current campaign who has directly dealt damage on only two occasions, both of which were dire situations which called for his intervention (and one of which involved dealing damage to a nigh undamageable legendary creature via Weird Words). For context, we are nearing the end of the third book in a popular AP, so we've gone through a large number of encounters by now.
Rather than doing damage, his combat role has been to consistently buff the rest of the party, using bardic inspiration and spells. He also used a net through early levels.
On the RP side, he reconciles his pacifistic approach with the inevitability of violence in the campaign by acting as a sort of moral compass for the group (perhaps even more so than the paladin, actually). While we don't always come down on the same side of a debate, he has a respected voice and has helped us see a different perspective on several occasions and altered our approach to dealing with situations.
So I think a player/character can successfully take a pacifist role and still work within the bounds of the game.
Of course, if the player/character discussed by the OP wants to play the game in a way where there won't be any violence at all, I think all parties just need to accept that this is the wrong game to try to make that work. Realistically, the player will either need to accept that conflict is an inevitable part of the game, or retire.
1. Doing ANYTHING in a dungeon can get you killed. This includes doing nothing. Therefore, act. Tis better to die daring awesomely.
2. Never share a hiding spot with someone more foolish than thyself.
3. The easy way is trapped. The hard way is an ambush. The right way is hidden.
4. Levers are placed to be pulled.
5. Evil henchmen are often more potent combatants than their bosses. Be ready.
6. If the wizard dies with an uncast Fireball, he deserved it.
7. There is NEVER enough curative power.
8. Doors without traps lead to doors with them.
9. A fountain in a dungeon is a crapshoot.
10. Never trust a dead end.
11. Kill it first. That's what Raise Dead is for
12. When in a dungeon, NEVER let the DM think you're bored.
13. Whenever possible, do not have the slowest movement rate.
14. Posting a strong rear guard can deter the DM from attacking from the rear. This is not a waste. This is proper. If you don’t get attacked from behind, it was 100% worth it.
15. Always know which skill no one has, and be ready to depend on that skill.
16. When turned to stone, don’t panic. Monsters with petrification abilities come with Stone to Flesh items nine times out of ten.
17. Try to look unimportant, it might be low on ammo. If you’re the paladin, don’t b%@~!, you signed up for this.
18. Murphy was a fighter.
19. You’re playing D&D, not Marvel.
20. If it’s stupid and it works, it isn’t stupid.
21. The first time you drop your guard, the DM will teach you a lesson.
22. So what if you met in a bar 10 minutes ago, and now you’re already hired. Learn about your comrades’ strengths and weaknesses ASAP.
23. A comrade that stutters, hems, or haws trying to pinpoint their weaknesses can add “Doesn’t know when they’re screwed” to the list.
24. A character with no weaknesses isn’t really good at anything either.
25. The thief doesn’t complain when the fighter doesn’t help pick the lock, the fighter shouldn’t complain when the thief doesn’t enter melee.
26. HP and damage potential are independent attributes. Four giants at 3/4 HP do WAY more damage than 3 fully healthy giants. Gang up on bad guys, do not make it a fight from Big Trouble In Little China.
27. Trust your experts. Don’t get mad at the thief if he misses a trap, and he won’t get mad when the demon saves against your spell or the fighter gets mowed down.
28. You don’t need a body for resurrection, so don’t worry about leaving it behind.
29. Someone who ditches a group plan has signed up for whatever happens to them. Pay to have them raised, but don’t risk your neck for them.
30. When someone is getting themselves killed for something you screwed up on, suck it up and risk yours to get them out of it.
31. Never EVER EVER spend an action saying, “Go Team.” Watching for the impending second wave of baddies is a perfectly reasonable way to spend your time.
32. When the cleric says it’s time to stop, it’s time to stop. If the fighter says it’s time to stop, look at the healer for confirmation.
33. Communism and democracy gets a party killed. Situational Meritocracy gets you fortune and glory.
34. What the paladin doesn’t know can’t hurt him.
35. What the thief doesn’t know CAN hurt you.
36. Fighters get first dibs on tactical placement.
37. Never lie during triage.
38. If you decide to rest after you’ve run out of spells, you’re too late.
39. When the fighter yells for you to cast the fireball, listen. When the wizard tells you you’re going to get yourself killed, you listen. When the cleric flees you follow. When the thief gets killed by a trap, go get another thief before continuing.
40. Fighters are a wizard’s second best armor. Clerics are the best.
41. Spells should neither be whored nor hoarded.
42. What good is the reward if you aren’t around to use it?
43. Just because your cover is blown, charging isn’t plan B.
44. You’ll only ruin the game by turning in the thief for contacting the guild.
45. Listen when you’re not in charge, and lead when you are.
46. Portable Hole plus ballista equals success. See #20.
47. Always know which side the hinges are on.
48. ALWAYS listen after tampering with the door.
49. People can miss obvious sights, or shrug off noise, but scent is never missed.
50. The Atreides had a battle language, so should you.
51. Treasure can be used right away.
52. It costs five copper pieces to shoot an exploratory arrow into the darkness, and five hundred thousand copper pieces to get your Troubleshooter raised from the dead.
53. Know who your DM’s favorite D&D writer is and plan accordingly.
54. Female NPCs with names are suspect. Never score on a named NPC.
55. It’s always an inside job. When it’s not, the BBEG is a higher level than you.
56. Nine times out of ten when the DM wants to know your HP total, he’ll pull his punches. When he never asks, he doesn’t care if your character dies, act accordingly.
57. “Rush In and Act Accordingly” only works when you trust your teammates.
58. Dicing for mutually desired items leads to semi-content parties with less than optimal power. Voting to place the items leads to optimally powered, temporarily less than happy members (minus one). Pick one.
59. Always have enough to get your sorry butt raised, and make sure your party-mates know where that stash is.
60. Always know how many charges are left in the wand of curing, even if you’re not the cleric.
61. If the thief introduces himself with an alias, go along with it!
62. Unless you’re a paladin, when the thief introduces YOU with an alias, go along with it.
63. It’s okay to get screwed for not knowing the game setting, but keep your complaints to yourself starting with the second offense.
64. When stocking up, assume every dungeon has a rust monster, a troll, a doppelganger, an incorporeal creature, and SWARMS.
65. It doesn’t matter what edition you’re playing, going down stairs ups the ante.
66. Double doors guard things with more HP than single doors. As a corollary, the square footage of a door is directly proportional to the XP value of the thing behind the door.
67. The player who can name the campaign specific names for various coins gets first dibs on being the bard.
68. Two bards is a waste. I don’t care how different their feat selection is.
69. Two fighters are never a waste, but always use different primary weapons.
70. All other things being equal, enhance your character’s strengths before plugging up your weaknesses.
71. Just because rogues no longer get bonus XP for liberating treasure, and fighters per HD, doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to stop playing that way.
72. Assuming people are basically good is asking for it. People by default are neutral.
73. Read the description for Diplomacy. Nowhere does it describe the powers of Bluff, Charm Person, Suggestion, Savoir-Faire, or Fast-talking. Don’t complain when the DM doesn’t let you get away with it.
74. Dragons are dangerous from the day they hatch.
75. A wizard who resorts to melee does so because that’s how they want people to remember how they died.
76. Assuming that every monster in the dungeon was meant for you to kill it is suicide. Sometimes you’re supposed to run away.
77. The party’s strategist may not be the party’s tactician. Any class can handle these jobs, don’t be cliché about this.
78. Even the A-Team accepted the reward. Take it.
79. Don’t make a pacifist character. It’s D&D. Fighting happens. Pacifism is for NPCs.
80. The time to fall back for healing is never lower than 1/3 power. Don’t wait until you’re almost dead, as it’ll become a cycle; heal, get hit, heal, get hit.
81. It’s only worth missing a round to get healed if you’re going to get healed for more damage than you take in 1 round.
82. If the wizard needs to fall back, it’s because everyone else is dead, or the wizard is executing #75.
83. No matter your class, always have a light slashing weapon ready for use.
84. Captain Kirk used red shirts, so should you.
85. If you can’t sum up your character in a single paragraph, he’s too complicated.
86. Everyone in the party should have a common language beyond simply Common.
87. Know your DM. Learn to tell when he’s throwing you a bone, and run with it.
88. “The natural cavern leads off into darkness” is typically DM-speak for, “This cavern isn’t part of the adventure, but is there in case I want to build on it later. Please don’t go down there, because I’ll have to wing it.”
89. Your cohort is never more valuable than another PC. Your followers are never more important than a comrade’s cohort.
90. It is, in fact, possible to “win” at D&D. A character who is the subject of nostalgic gaming stories long after a campaign has ended has “won” D&D.
91. If your DM uses plastic minis, but slaps down a hand-painted metal mini, treat it with suspicion and caution.
92. If you tell the party to “trust you”, then don’t let them down. If you do let them down, don’t be surprised if they don’t go with it next time you ask.
93. The DM’s love of the campaign world is directly proportionate to the level of motivation he has for a campaign with in it, and inversely proportional to the patience he has for people being ignorant of it.
94. The more proper nouns that appear in your character’s back-story, the more permission you’re giving the DM to mess with it during the campaign.
95. There’s nothing childish about a character whose motivations include power, riches, and fame. In fact, be honest with yourself, at some level isn’t that your own motivation with your character?
96. Multiple wizards in a party are like a sports team (or the X-Men arcade game). You need to “call the ball”. Don’t both of you waste your best spells at the same time. Alternate so as to maintain your level of firepower (See #41).
97. You might think it’s cool to keep your prepared spells a secret until the party sees you cast them, but it’s even cooler if they can plan around your selection. If there are two casters in the party, talk to each other when planning the day’s spells so as to not create a surplus or scarcity of certain effects.
98. If your DM wants to know which party member is carrying the map, the answer is always plural. (And it’s a good bet he’s the kind of dungeon master that will keep track of food, so be ready.)
99. The player that still uses the level titles (e.g. Veteran, Cutpurse, Deacon, etc.) gets first dibs on playing the thief (and trust me, they’ll call it thief not rogue.) They’re by far the most paranoid player in a dungeon, and likely the one most highly trained at recognizing highly probable places for traps.
100. It’s okay to let the DM know you’re bored when in town (See #4). But before you do, make sure you’re armed and ready.
101. If the DM asks you if you say or read something out loud, the answer is always no.
102. If you meet an NPC in a session with a proper name, be courteous and learn it.
103. If the same NPC appears in another adventure, be smart and learn as much as you can about them.
104. If the same NPC appears in another story arc, be wise and prepare to fight him to the death.
105. Don’t name your character after a famous person/character within the game, it’s distracting and will lead to jokes that break the suspension of disbelieve, which in turn will garner you less sympathy from the DM when you mess up.
106. Never cite The Lord of the Rings as justification for an argument for why something should work, and maybe, just maybe, the DM won’t cite Alien for the same reason.
107. Female NPCs exhibit a parabolic relationship with their comeliness score and their importance. If comeliness is 3 or 18, then pay attention to what she says.
108. If there’s a psionic party member, you can be sure there will be psionic baddies.
109. Assume every dungeon has an underground lake and a river of lava. Trust me, it’s better that way.
110. Unless you’re pressed for time, look for its lair, even if it’s a wandering monster.
111. Sometimes treasure is hidden in the stomach, the tauntaun treasure chest must not be overlooked.
112. You know what psych majors learn in college? Stereotypes are usually true.
113. There’s no such thing as an underground lake without a carnivorous creature in it. See #109
114. No it’s not good role-playing to run an evil character in a group with a paladin. It’s asking for angst that D&D is designed to provide escape from.
115. Never argue physics with the DM. It’s not worth the retribution, and you can never win an argument when the rebuttal can justifiably be “Magic!”
116. Plan C should never be “Every man for himself.”
117. Don’t freak out if the party rogue is neutral. Remember #72.
118. Never assume the BBEG is like a James Bond BBEG. Assume you’ll be killed quickly, efficiently and without warning.
119. Before play begins, find out what skill the DM says is relevant to determining success in the Indiana Jones, “gold idol – bag of sand” switch.
120. Never ever complain your way out of character death. It’s unmanly and you’ll embarrass yourself. If you’ve got a solid logical reason, give it. Once.
121. It’s D&D, “Because he’s evil” is always acceptable.
122. Before you draw from that Deck of Many Things, decide your drawing limit and stick to it.
123. If you’re playing 3rd edition, and you find a lone kobold, it’s obviously a high level sorcerer. If someone laughs at you for making that assumption, let them make theirs next time. If you’re playing older editions, that kobold is bait.
124. If you can’t solve the puzzle in 5 minutes of real game time, break it.
125. If attacked by ninjas, remember the power of a ninja is inversely proportionate to the number of ninjas involved in the fight. Ten ninjas are fodder, but a lone ninja will kick your butt. This goes for psionic characters too.
126. Playing a character of the exact opposite of the stereotype is also a stereotype.
127. Unless the DM forbids it, during character creation talk to the other players, otherwise don’t complain when the characters are hopelessly incompatible or everyone’s a fighter.
128. Default template for single file marching order is, in order of front to back, Troubleshooter, fighter, wizard, cleric. Always leave 5' of space between
129. There’s nothing wrong with making requests of the spell-casters for what spells to prepare for the day. Just like there’s nothing wrong with saying “no” to those requests.
130. Always carry a missile weapon. Unless your class prohibits you from using it, use it.
131. Before you do something REALLY stupid, make sure you know the DM’s policy on Atonement.
132. Burned out Ioun Stone + Continual Flame = best torch ever.
133. If you’re a middle level fighting class (cleric, druid, etc.) don’t rush in on round 1. Doing so will annoy the fighters trying to execute #36, and you’ll end up needing to use more curative magic. Round 1 is a buffing and assessment round for you.
134. Monk + Silence = premier anti-caster tactic.
135. Know when to retreat, and know which characters in the party would rather die than do so.
136. Once fireballs are added to the mix, the city watch doesn’t care who started it.
137. Behold the power of the Cantrip: Ghost Sound can save your butt against dumb giants, and Mending can redo the seal on the royal letter you stole.
138. If the reward seems too good to be true, be prepared for a double cross. This doesn’t mean don’t take the contract, it just means be ready to fight the person who gave it to you.
139. Whenever possible, use cover and concealment.
140. Flanking is key. Do it, and don’t let it happen to you. When moving to flank, the melee-tank-anchor should arrive before the sneak-attacker.
141. Decide to be aggressive enough, quickly enough. Better to have overkill than be killed.
142. Unless the details of your class require you to honor last requests, don’t.
143. After having finally slain the BBEG, take the precautions necessary, using whatever books the DM allows, to ensure that he cannot be True Resurrected.
144. When entering combat with a truly dangerous foe, don’t save your most powerful spells for “just in case”. Use them first.
145. Unless you have some kind of trump card, resist any and all urges to do melee battle with anyone on a ledge.
146. If you wipe the floor with the first wave of baddies, assume the next wave is going to be the toughest. The instant you have determined the level of toughness, first hand, of the next wave, be ready with #144.
147. It’s D&D, the moral implications concerning bribery are relevant to the mark, not the PC. Bribery is as valid a tactic as intimidation.
148. Magic items in which the word “of” appears two or more times will invariably become either a plot device or a homing beacon for trouble. Be prepared.
149. Monks will never be as good at melee as fighters or as sneaky as rogues. Monks are a “variable support class” They make excellent wing man melee fighters, and wing man rogues.
150. If you have a familiar, keep it in mind at all times. Otherwise you’ll have no recourse when it’s time to rely on it and the DM says Fido’s still back in town.
151. If you suspect a character has been replaced by a doppelganger, ask them to let you cast sleep on them. If it doesn’t work, they’re either an elf-blooded PC or a doppelganger.
152. If the DM asks if you’re setting watch, the answer is always yes.
153. Whenever reasonable, make the baddies come to you as you rain missile fire on them.
154. If you prepare spells, it’s worth it to have a “default non-adventuring day” list of prepared spells, so when the DM springs the adventure hook on you, you’re not caught with your pants down.
155. You should always know how each person in the party would answer the question, “You’re lost in the desert and the water supply is dwindling, how should you split it?”
156. If the DM forgets to include a penalty you’re suffering from, point it out. If he doesn’t return the favor, then stop. Immediately.
157. Take notes at the table. If you recall the name, race, and nationality of an NPC, it shows the DM that you care about the hours he put in on making the adventure. It may come up in rewarding you later. It’s also good gaming.
158. If your character can’t swim because of encumbrance, then you need a solution that will protect you from drowning. You need this before you approach anything wet.
159. If the DM takes the time to describe a new pattern of floor tiling, do not advance until the troubleshooter gives the go ahead.
160. Everyone in the party should know who the fastest talker is, the best diplomat, and the most intimating member. Don’t use numbers at the table, but know who each is.
161. The order of operations is always Diplomacy, Bluff, then intimidate. Never reverse these.
162. There should never be any excess space in an extra-dimensional storage container. If you’re successful enough to have one, you’re wealthy enough to fill remaining space with food and water (and ammo). As space is needed, ditch the ammo, food, and water.
163. Scouts should always return to the group for planning, never should the group advance to the scout.
164. The place to plan is never close enough that a double move will bring the enemy within their striking distance.
165. If the DM ever needs to vividly describe the specific actions of a trap, you must assume that they are using something more than the DMG for their traps. This brings a requirement of checking for traps immediately after disabling the obvious trap. If you see a "Grimtooth" trap book, GET A THIEF.
166. Choose your attacks wisely. It might seem like a good idea to hit a melee monster with a physically devastating spell, but it likely won’t work. Blast the slow tanks, manipulate the weak willed, and debilitate the weak bodied.
167. The fact that Undectable Alignment is still a Paladin spell should give a clue as to what a Paladin is actually allowed to do. Nowhere does it say that the Code requires you to wear a neon sign that says, “I’m a paladin and I will judge you!”
168. Defense will only protect you, for a time, from defeat. It takes offense to actually conquer a foe.
169. The cheapest item in the PHB is a mundane item with the following abilities: potential circumstance bonus when used for nose plugs or earplugs, works as a timer for anything up to an hour, can check for air currents, can be a minor decoy, can make subtle markings on a wall to indicate exploration progress, and sheds a weak light. It weighs virtually nothing, so even the wizard can carry some. It’s called a “candle.”
170. Just because it’s gone from the game, doesn’t mean there’s no longer a need for bending bars and lifting gates. Make sure you have this covered. It’ll make your DM happy if you know what the best result a party can muster is on taking 20 for a STR check.
171. Always know how you’re going to spend a turn before your name is called to act. It keeps the game smooth, and encourages others to do the same. Your DM will thank you, and you’ll come off as having a more confident character.
172. Never split the party. Just don't do it.
173. If you are paired up. Never leave your wingman. Do Not Leave Your Wingman.
174. Know they escape route.
175. Every party should have a policy on when it's time to make a last stand.
176. If you can pull off an ambush, hold the line until the enemy is within melee range. Shooting a target from far way isn't an ambush.
177. Never ford a river at the ford.
178. When the plan goes wrong, go back to the beginning (or some other clearly designated point.
179. Never return from the dungeon the way you went in. Foolish is the bandit who attacks the party prepped to kill them all and let Heironeous sort them out. Wise is the bandit who attacks the resource depleted, treasure laden party.
180. Attack HVTs first. These are the blasters and characters with Save or Die abilities. (piles of easily fireballed minions not withstanding.)
181. If your character has a schtick, know they rules. Expect to be called upon to show the sourcebook. Have page numbers ready.
182. Thou shall not sunder treasure. If you're playing in an organized game, this does not apply.
183. Do not look down upon mundane equipment. Keep pitons, flour, and empty sacks on hand.
184. It is okay to tease someone at the table. It is not okay to tease them such that their fun is lessened.
185. Read the fluff first, and the crunch second. It's poor gaming to take a class, especially a prestige class based solely on crunch.
186. Pay attention even to trifles. This includes casting times, numbers of targets you can affect.
187. Even if the DM doesn't do it, pay attention to ammo.
188. Roll all your dice at once. Miss chances, attack and damage. This is more efficient. If you miss due to concealment, you can save time on the math.
189. Do NOT roll all of your attacks on a full attack at once. Your 5' step could be life and death. Use it appropriately, redirect your attacks as the situation demands.
190. Know which rules are often misapplied. You don't need to memorize them (though you should) but you do need to know where to find them.
191. Remember, in a no holds barred contest Batman bested Superman.
192. It is okay to think in terms of aggro, DPS, Uber. It is not okay to use these at the table. Ever.
193. Never keep a side mission a secret from your party unless ordered to do so.
194. Know thyself. Inside and out. Be familiar with your abilities, equipment, and spells. Prepare. Use note cards. The player with an entirely different sheet for their raging barbarian knows what's up.
195. Embrace the abstraction. An unexpected plan can surprise the DM forcing him to wing it. You have the advantage. Here is where you reap the rewards from #87 and most definitely #93.
196. Immerse yourself ahead of time. Playing a primitive fighter? Read some Robert Howard. Thief? Read Gord the Rogue. This will give you the language, attitude and aura of the character you're playing. Your newfound adjectives will increase everyone's enjoyment.
197. Beware of symmetrical dungeon levels. These contain Very Bad Things.
198. Beware of almost symmetrical dungeon levels. There's a secret door.
199. When expecting trouble it is not a waste to buff ahead of time. A 10 Round Bless cast 4 rounds too early is still 7 rounds of benefit. Six with the spell, and one where you didn't have to cast it.
200. Knowledge is power. Invest and use knowledge skills. If you have a regular party, spread the wealth. Ignorance is a choice. Don't make it.
I know it's a tongue in cheek 'rule list', but I still really hope no new roleplayer ever reads that, it's full of terrible 'rules' which constrain fun and imagination because the author thinks there is a 'right way' to play an rpg.
On topic, definitely talk to the player, make sure they know you won't be offended and to be honest about exactly what the problem is and why they seem to not be enjoying things, that's the only way you know what you can do to make it so they get into the game more and everyone has fun.
