I. Pools are evil...
We see, at the fringe of our torchlight, a pool in a chamber.
Me: "I don't like rooms with pools in them; they can hide something big! Is anyone crazy enough to want to investigate this?"
II. If it looks like anything like a dragon assume it's a dragon...
Several deaths later, "yep...that serpentine, six-legged reptile was indeed a dragon!" At least the only non-henchman dead character belonged to the player that wanted to check out the pool...
III. Meta-gaming can always be justified
The DM was dangling a plot hook involving an island; Me: "Islands are trouble; there's always something dangerous on them. Small islands are worse as there's a higher ratio of danger to real estate."
The DM: "Hey...enough with the meta-gaming!"
Me: "My character just paid attention to the legends of Ulysses and Sinbad...he KNOW'S islands are BAD NEWS!"
Monday, September 13, 2010
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Metagaming gets a bad rap. If everyone played "in character" all the time, 99% of PCs would retire after their first big score, and the other 1% would have been smart enough not to go in the dungeon in the first place.
ReplyDeleteWe were playing the other night and the PCs came to a pool, one of my long time players looked up and said, "Hey,I'm not crossing that, bodies of water are never safe."
ReplyDeleteI let them SWIM across with no problem. The Vomit Golum was hiding in the ruins on the other side. It's important to keep them guessing.
More like:
ReplyDeleteThe DM: "Hey...enough with the avoiding every adventure hook!"
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAnother example from session. I put the new words in brackets:
ReplyDeleteThe DM:"(You can see what looks to be a pillared temple cut into the mountainside across the bay from the village you're in.)"
Blair:"(Temples cut into mountainside)s are trouble; there's always something dangerous (i)n them. (Cave temple)s are worse as there's (so much) real estate (in there)."
The DM: "Hey...enough with the avoiding every adventure hook!"
Blair: "My character just paid attention to the legends of Ulysses and Sinbad...he KNOW'S (temple)s are BAD NEWS!"
My favorite pool is from the 2nd edition Forgotten Realms box set. There is a rope that leads into an underwater cave. The players typically assume that it is there to guide them through, and thus a good thing. They dive in, swim along the rope, and then it reaches a dead end. The dead end is well past the mid-point of most people's breath holding capacity.
ReplyDeleteClever trap, I thought.