| Author |
 Topic  |
|
|
Sightless
Senior Scribe
USA
608 Posts |
 Posted - 12 Oct 2012 : 03:51:15
|
Once upon a time I played with a certain DM, who after a few sessions said, "Jon," Jon is a shortening of my actual name, but he prefered this,"I'd like you to play a certain kind of character." Since I'd been essentially playing nothing but NPCs to help out, I said sure, then he said, "This character is going to die about halfway through, so don't get too attached."
Now, I tell you this little story, as the time, the whole idea of playing a character that knew they were going to die, didn't bother me; however, when I mention this story to others, they often respond with something to the affect of "how could he do that to you?" So I'm curious, has your DM ever asked you to do something as a character, or have you ever asked, as the DM, something of a player that others seemed to think was strange, or down right bad?
Oh, by the way, it worked out well for our group, the players got attached to the character, and his sudden, but heroic death, caught everyone off guard, and helped bring home to the party exactly how bad the situation was that they were in. So, with all that said,
Let's hear it.
|
We choose to live a lie, when we see with, & not through the eye.
Every decision, no matter the evidence, is a leap of faith; if it were not, then it wouldn't be a choice at all. |
|
|
Erik Scott de Bie
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
4598 Posts |
Posted - 12 Oct 2012 : 05:09:24
|
I consult with my players all the time before I have crazy things happen to them that are IMO nonetheless extremely awesome for the story. I never kill a PC permanently without consulting with the player first to make sure the death is appropriate and interesting.
There are also lots of things I ask of players (or vice versa) that are strange or unexpected, so I wouldn't want to do them as surprises. Just last week I asked one of my players if he wanted to pursue a story wherein his character has an outrageous/scandalous affair with a NPC he really SHOULD NOT be with, and he was all gungho. It's important to have buy-in from the player in these situations.
Cheers |
Erik Scott de Bie
'Tis easier to destroy than to create.
Author of a number of Realms novels (GHOSTWALKER, DEPTHS OF MADNESS, and the SHADOWBANE series), contributor to the NEVERWINTER CAMPAIGN GUIDE and SHADOWFELL: GLOOMWROUGHT AND BEYOND, Twitch DM of the Dungeon Scrawlers, currently playing "The Westgate Irregulars" |
 |
|
|
Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
1814 Posts |
Posted - 12 Oct 2012 : 05:13:08
|
| I have had PCrs replaced by impostors (like doppelgangers) or psychically enslaved without their comrades' knowledge to be ticking time bombs within the party. The players running those characters have been happy to go along with the gag. |
|
|
|
Kentinal
Great Reader
4686 Posts |
Posted - 12 Oct 2012 : 05:37:10
|
I would get another DM, DM plays all NPCs.
A DM can have private discussions with a player about certain actions, the thief picking other PC pockets for example. A DM never had in any version to play ask a player to play an NPC that would be killed when DM decided it was time. |
"Small beings can have small wisdom," the dragon said. "And small wise beings are better than small fools. Listen: Wisdom is caring for afterwards."
"Caring for afterwards ...? Ker repeated this without understanding.
"After action, afterwards," the dragon said. "Choose the afterwards first, then the action. Fools choose action first."
"Judgement" copyright 2003 by Elizabeth Moon |
|
|
|
Kentinal
Great Reader
4686 Posts |
Posted - 12 Oct 2012 : 05:39:14
|
| ((*makes note* FR authors are Evil. )) |
"Small beings can have small wisdom," the dragon said. "And small wise beings are better than small fools. Listen: Wisdom is caring for afterwards."
"Caring for afterwards ...? Ker repeated this without understanding.
"After action, afterwards," the dragon said. "Choose the afterwards first, then the action. Fools choose action first."
"Judgement" copyright 2003 by Elizabeth Moon |
|
|
|
Sightless
Senior Scribe
USA
608 Posts |
Posted - 11 May 2013 : 12:45:53
|
Well Kentinal
I was a special case, I didn't know enough at the time to play overally affectively, at least before I found the SRD, and so was at a disadvantage. So, I wouldn't have made the best player, and definitely not a DM. Still, my DM knew I was interested in the game, and was willing to follow his llead on matters, which made me perfect for his needs. I added flavor to the game and increased everyone's enjoyment, while getting a kick out of matters at the same time. |
We choose to live a lie, when we see with, & not through the eye.
Every decision, no matter the evidence, is a leap of faith; if it were not, then it wouldn't be a choice at all. |
|
|
|
Aulduron
Learned Scribe
USA
343 Posts |
Posted - 11 May 2013 : 16:11:36
|
quote:
DM plays all NPCs.
Not always. The DM knows everything about the players. They know which spells and magic items they have. They know their usual strategies...etc. Sometimes it's best to have a guest play certain NPCs.
For example, someone sitting in watching can be, in game terms, an NPC who is scrying on them. Now when the the showdown comes this NPC only knows about them what they've seen recently.
Players rarely trust new characters played by the DM. |
"Those with talent become wizards, Those without talent spend their lives praying for it"
-Procopio Septus |
|
|
|
Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36782 Posts |
Posted - 12 May 2013 : 05:03:38
|
| I like what this DM did. As long as the player agrees and knows what's in store, and it makes for a good game, it's all good to me. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen!  |
|
|
|
Volathar
Acolyte
Turkey
15 Posts |
Posted - 28 May 2013 : 10:32:36
|
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
I like what this DM did. As long as the player agrees and knows what's in store, and it makes for a good game, it's all good to me.
I totally agree. I even think that if he didn't warn you beforehand, it'd have been way greater. It'd also be great, if your character didn't die (bad DM rolls or etc.) and your DM would be forced to create other situations where you would =)
Another thing is; I generally think that making the players immortal is not how we're supposed to play this game. It slowly makes the game dull & players start acting like they don't care about their actions, because they know they won't die.
Also; players need to be "unreliable" in some ways. For example; kill an NPC (if your party is evil-aligned of course), who has been in your party for a long time (we did this one). This is a good way to shock your DM, maybe pick another NPC for your party & therefore effecting the scenerio, even if it'd just be a slight affect =) |
|
|
|
sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11704 Posts |
Posted - 28 May 2013 : 15:02:50
|
| I had a player that I knew would be moving. He'd always tried to play his character as a somewhat dark individual in a campaign where the party was involved during the rise and subsequent fall of the Witch King Zhengyi (they were playing in areas where the heroes of bloodstone pass weren't involved). So, I had him get killed (it was agreed this would happen) and he agreed to play the NPC soldiers travelling with the party (I think that's how we handled it) for the rest of the night to help the party. The next week he also showed up to play, but little did the party know he was there to help me by playing his old PC as a vampire sent against the party. |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
|
|
|
Sightless
Senior Scribe
USA
608 Posts |
Posted - 28 May 2013 : 15:20:48
|
(1). We didn't roll my death, the DM said he rolled it earlier. My death was based in part on how well the party did, and if they didn't take the hint to get out of dodge at a certain point. If they didn't take the hint after I died, then the gloves would come off and the party would have probably not made it back out.
(2). Since the DM was going to kill me arbatrarily, not by a roll or a situation, which has happened to everyone in our group at some point or another, he went ahead and informed me.
(3). As for shooking my DM, I did that once by figuring out a way to bipass several levels of traps in a dungen and kill the man bad guy, hidden traps are just as good for the player as they are for the DM, and he had to scramble to figure something out. That was also the same game he, my DM, accidently killed an NPC spy, by a random encounter. He even told us so, at the end of the evening.
Oh BTW, liked the vampire thing, will tell that one to my DM, maybe he'll use it. quote:
Originally posted by Volathar
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
I like what this DM did. As long as the player agrees and knows what's in store, and it makes for a good game, it's all good to me.
I totally agree. I even think that if he didn't warn you beforehand, it'd have been way greater. It'd also be great, if your character didn't die (bad DM rolls or etc.) and your DM would be forced to create other situations where you would =)
Another thing is; I generally think that making the players immortal is not how we're supposed to play this game. It slowly makes the game dull & players start acting like they don't care about their actions, because they know they won't die.
Also; players need to be "unreliable" in some ways. For example; kill an NPC (if your party is evil-aligned of course), who has been in your party for a long time (we did this one). This is a good way to shock your DM, maybe pick another NPC for your party & therefore effecting the scenerio, even if it'd just be a slight affect =)
|
We choose to live a lie, when we see with, & not through the eye.
Every decision, no matter the evidence, is a leap of faith; if it were not, then it wouldn't be a choice at all. |
|
|
|
Emma Drake
Learned Scribe
USA
206 Posts |
Posted - 04 Jun 2013 : 16:46:28
|
quote:
Originally posted by Kentinal
I would get another DM, DM plays all NPCs.
Can't say that I agree with you on this one. |
"I am always here, all about you. You are never truly alone. I flow wherever life flows, wherever winds blow and water runs and the sun and moon chase each other, for there is magic in all things."
- Mystra (Ed Greenwood, Silverfall) |
|
|
|
Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
7974 Posts |
Posted - 05 Jun 2013 : 00:03:38
|
I find that DMs who take their role as entertainers receive more cooperation from their players; the players are generally confident that it's all for the best, they like being entertained, and they (typically) are rewarded one way or another for any undue suffering their PCs endure. PCs who play competitively are often happy to procure "special" clandestine arrangements with their DM as long as it all somehow results in gaining an advantage over their peers or forces these peers to deal with disadvantages and punitive retributions. DMs who play antagonistically can be counted upon to make everybody suffer at some point, and playing along with the gag means that you're either the target of a DM who plays favourites (which other players will be quick to notice) or that you're setting yourself up for something unpleasant and inescapable.
So the real question is what purpose does this polymorph into NPC mechanism serve? Does it propel a plot or does it just give somebody on either side of the table some emotional satisfaction for playing bully? |
[/Ayrik] |
|
|
|
Sightless
Senior Scribe
USA
608 Posts |
Posted - 05 Jun 2013 : 01:05:04
|
Well in my case, Paul, who is usually the DM, although his wife does it from time to time, has always used me to advance the plot. In virtually every instence, my participation was purely to advance the plot, no one was hurt, and the players got some good entertainment out of it. Did it shake things up a bit, sure. The players started thinking smarter than they had in the past, they were able to realize that they needed to think things out more, than simply expecting to make it through unscaved. That was part of the goal of killing me, the second goal, was and this is one of the main reasons I bought into it, was that several players were playing there characters as “it’s ugly, it’s a monster,” mentality, one of them wanted to move there character beyond that, but needed an in game reason for their character to do so. My character’s death helped facilatate that. I got what I wanted out of it, dieing gallantly to by the party those precious moments to flee, the party got it’s desired dose of dramatics, and the player in question got his reason to send their character in a new direction.
The one moment, that can be arguably not of the reasons above, was when a new player killed me, I was playing as an NPC, of sorts, and even though I was only at zero hit points, the DM said I was dead. This death became an important campaign arch in of itself, which the party pretty much enjoyed, even though half of them played their characters as getting absolutely furious when they found out about it, in Game. Folks all new at the time, that I was pretty much a DM’s aid. Folks pretty much know that still. Even though I’m more likely to play my own characters now, I am always ready to step into whatever role/ character the DM needs at any given moment. This is pretty much an understanding with me, whoever is Dming at the time, and with the party as a whole. My DM doesn’t play favorites with anyone. He killed his wife’s favorite character in a boss fight, by rolling lucky, or unlucky, and we then had to run another campaign just to bring her back. Am I the guy that is more likely to get killed, yes, but that’s often just the luck of the dice, and the fact that for a long time, I was often guilty of making “under powered “ characters, when I started making characters. To date, everyone at our group has lost a character, at least once. Sometimes they’ve been dramatic game moments, and sometimes they’ve been D&D’s funnest failures. Now, while some folks might disagree with me on this, I’ve enjoyed being my DM’s go to man, whether’s to bring different life to an NPC, to make an event happen, or to help step in and make something happen; and wouldn’t for any reason change a thing.
Oh, BTW, the incident in question with the player killing me, the character believed me to be evil and thought I was going to take a certain tome to a group of the Cult of the Dragon. I was in fact playing a Harper informent, and both groups were vary much trying to find out what happened to me. Several other players were secretly allied to that organization, and the player, along with the characer, was unaware of this.
|
We choose to live a lie, when we see with, & not through the eye.
Every decision, no matter the evidence, is a leap of faith; if it were not, then it wouldn't be a choice at all. |
|
|
|
Dinnin
Seeker
Australia
53 Posts |
Posted - 11 Oct 2013 : 05:20:41
|
I happened to recently find an ornate looking signalling horn which was kinda cool, all from this chest that worked you to death, luckily it wasn't me that was cursed by it i just saw it on the ground. SO being the ever inquisitive Paladin i went over and picked up said horn. Thinking hey what can happen with this so i blew it..... to which the DM inquires if i really did and if i knew what i was doing. That right there was a dead give away that i probably shouldn't be doing this but hey we needed some fun in the party which im always up for creating. We are playing Next as well at the moment and i blew in it, everyone kind of stopped what they were doing to look at me when i got asked to roll a percentile. My character was fine by all accounts a nice loud noise issued from it with out trouble, however my fellow party members started to notice something almost straight away. The horn was one that made my CG Paladin still be CG but he now didn't care, and was selfish, and only out for himself and to do right by him. Safe to say I adapted pretty quickly but the PC's didnt like it. And for the moment im still cursed like that until they find a way to remove the curse. My character has no idea though..
I wasnt specifically asked no, but i knew as much when he questioned me. I have a great DM again and im always up for the Challenge |
"Use yer heads! A barnyard goose tastes better 'an a wild one cause it don't use its muscles. The same oughta hold true for a giant's brains!"
Bruenor Battlehammer |
|
|
| |
Topic |
|
|
|
So a DM asked me once
