sammytheman666 @ sammytheman666 @ttrpg.network

Posts

17

Comments

488

Joined

2 yr. ago

Tiberius wanted to call his daddy the king for an army against bad guys to resolve the situation in a few shakes. The daddy, aka the DM, said politely to fuck off.

This was in Critical Roll.

Welp, what happens when your players have a side quest to do, for example finding a young girl, and go straight to the guards ? Not A guard, I mean the whole department of the guards. What then ?

Try "druid escape scene" with the movie on youtube and check that out. Its an amazing camera shot with wild shapes

I'm listening :)

Depends to what you are comparing to. Sure, in old times they offered up bounties seriously to people around, and pest control is a thing. But half of most quests in early level would normally be dealt with with the equivalent of the cops and the army before they ever reach up to the public to ask for help.

When you put a bounty in the public, you are also saying : we can't be bothered to do it ourselves, so yeah, if you do it we'll give you money. That's your image that is tarnished if you are supposed to be powerful and dangerous.

Another problem of a lawless land that employs bounty hunters ? There's not a lot of cops or guards to deal with your players too. It's the opposite situation of the silver dragon under disguise : not ENOUGH consequences to the players.

In the old west, sure there were bounties, but there were also posses ? When the sheriff, the only representation of the law, gathered people to deal with a bigger problem. Now THAT could work in a game : I'm a guard but I'm also the only guard around cause we're lost as fuck and I need help please. That would totally work.

See, I think that even asking for help induces things in your world. And if you can make them fit into your narrative it's cheff kiss good planifications. But sometimes, you just need guards to be incompetent and to bullshit a reason as to why for an adventure to even exist.

Because now it's more a problem of having to prep reasons for the authorities NOT to deal with the problem at hand, everytime. It can be tiredsome to prepare for the DM. Hence the guards-are-incompetent unwritten contract between players and GM : we don't go ask for help everytime because it's a game and we're the ones having fun.

Remember the time Tiberius wanted to call for an army to deal with another player's backstory ? Yeah like that.

I cannot believe this comment right here, someone somewhere said : yeah fuck this, downvote.

Well I mean then you are a corrupt guard, willing to send other do your job for a pay you yourself provide.

If its from the guards as a whole then they suck in general. Imagine a cop paying a young adult to deal with a rabbit dog. That doesnt make sense does it ? Or paying someone to go into a dark alleyway as there are rumors of people disappearing ?

The guards-are-incompetent is the nicest paradox name. It could also be named guards-are-lazy-cowards or also guards-are-corrupted but this then changes the context of the quests, no ? Which is why being incompetent remains the best worst kind of guards IMO.

Yeah shes back !

I will allow it. But don't push it. or I'll equip a futur boss with it later down the road... mouhahahahaha

This is both a fucking great idea to counter Murderhoboism, but it's also hilarious and hot as hell. If I ever get a situation where this would fit, I shall do it.

Hot take : this idea isn't a good choice.

And here is why. If you are using ingame tactics to discourage murderhoboing, then there is a chance to learn and not be a rotten core of a player. So, there is a chance to learn it ingame from it. Otherwise it's a waste of time and you should ask them to join a table that they would fit if such exists.

Now, if you're teaching something and use the good old dragon in human form once they start to push around, you better be doing it in a place that would fit before they even attempt it.

Because if you don't, then you teach them that at any point, anywhere, there could be a dragon under disguise.

Hilarious as fuck for veteran players to play around with, as such ideas go. But teaching them this means that at any point there could be an overpowered, wise and objectively good morals anywhere.

Besides the huge problems this causes since it's the guards-are-not-competent paradox of games but on steroids (if guards would be competent, then most adventures wouldn't exist, especially at early levels), it also means that they are nothing and have no chance into moving the adventure one way or another. It would be like fighting a hurricane with a bug squasher.

Which is why, my personnal 2 cents is to have something that keeps your players in check but that could be part of the scenario. Kill an isolated merchand ? He has time to use Sending to a guard he knows well. Tries to be an ass to a waitress ? Get throwned out. Resists ? Local guard being called up.

If you make it realist and part of your world as it should be, you will then be teaching a solid lesson and keep your world coherent and consequence-FULL.

If you have read this until here, first thank you, and second I know this meme is mostly a running joke about improvised murderhobo-type players, but as someone that actually used it a few times you have to be careful when using disguised entities when doing it for reals. It's the scenarist equivalent of juggling dynamite.

Lol, I never made the link between them.

But yeah.

Lets say its just jpegs and narration, but I picked the cutest kobold kid I could find (my players are kobolds) and placed her near an undead mindflayer.

Sadly my players couldnt be fast enough. Althought to be fair I did used wall of force... mouhahahahaha

Hmmmm. This would be a weird addition to the game. Since they are monsters themselves XD

The legends say... that the more depressive a DM is, the happier the player gets. He must be very happy XD

Since he is there, I always bring more monsters out. He can delete one first turn no problemo and cannot be ever seen.

The key to that is not going there ever.

My 120 years old Liche : Interesting...

I sent the sheet to my player that is playing a Harrengon and is the most deadly character of a team that includes a moon druid, a wizard and a warlock.

Surprisingly, he found it too cute for his character XD

I said since he's always sneaking and nobody ever sees him it's not like how he looked mattered to his enemies anyway XD

Thirst intensifies

A cockring that shoots magic missiles. They are white of course. That or a hell of a stap on

Something involving a dragon's dick personnally