Cheesy In-game things that make you want to scream.

[delericho]

I'm A Good Guy Please Retrieve This Evil Artifact For Me Surprise I'm Really Evil.

Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!

 

[Psion]

Corrolary: Epic poems, songs, and stanzas created by non-human races that inexplicably rhyme when translated from their own language into English.

That one used to bug me, until an English Lit class in which I read an English translation of Tartuffe that was actually quite poetic. I see some "wiggle room" there that it's a poetic translation.

 

[Sound of Azure]

That one used to bug me, until an English Lit class in which I read an English translation of Tartuffe that was actually quite poetic. I see some "wiggle room" there that it's a poetic translation.

Ah, true enough. I kind of rationalise it that way too, especially when I'm feeding the "inner poet" gremlin that lives in my brain.

 

[lukelightning]

One language per race.

Riddles and puzzles that depend on English word and sentence structure, despite the fact most such games clearly do not take place in modern English speaking countries.

Meh. I could do without realistic language complexity. I think it makes the game slow down.

 

[Torm]

Riddles and puzzles that depend on English word and sentence structure, despite the fact most such games clearly do not take place in modern English speaking countries.

Maybe I'm too generous, but I've always assumed in these situations that the characters were only working through something similar to what the players have been presented with - and that what the players are presented with is meant to be an equivalent effort.

Corrolary: Epic poems, songs, and stanzas created by non-human races that inexplicably rhyme when translated from their own language into English.

With the effort of a very dedicated poet or lyricist doing the translating with a pretty thorough thesaurus, I can see this. But the translator would probably be as renowned as the original author, and thus would probably be revealed in a decent Bardic Lore check or similar regarding the piece, and an effort like this would certainly be uncommon - so MOST of the time, you should be correct that this is cheesy.

And now, my own addition to the cheese. After much research and a great deal of party effort:
"I'm sorry, but your princess (or magic item or whatever) is in another castle."

 

[Goldmoon]

In a Second edition campaign once, our party was surrounded by trolls and running low on torches. My cleric casts the spell "Tree" turning into a large oak so the other PC's can climb up and escape. Once everyone is in the cleric/tree the DM decides it would be realistic if the trolls pick up the torches we dropped and attempt to use them to burn down the cleric/tree. I was pretty upset over this ruling to say the least.

 

[Trickstergod]

Meh. I could do without realistic language complexity. I think it makes the game slow down.

Especially when you stop and consider that the language is bound to have some sort of equivalent and even if one form of language doesn't (common often being a trade language, after all), one or more other languages are bound to.

 

[lukelightning]

Corrolary: Epic poems, songs, and stanzas created by non-human races that inexplicably rhyme when translated from their own language into English.

I do the opposite; I tell the players "The legendary prophecy says the Daughter of the Dragon will rise in the North in the year when the moon conjoins with the sun...but it rhymes in whatever language you guys speak."

 

[rgard]

One language per race.

Riddles and puzzles that depend on English word and sentence structure, despite the fact most such games clearly do not take place in modern English speaking countries.

Yes, my players are still stumped with the riddle done in proto indo-european. Been 6 years real time now.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Thanks,
Rich

Edit: corrected grammar.

 

[Psion]

Especially when you stop and consider that the language is bound to have some sort of equivalent and even if one form of language doesn't (common often being a trade language, after all), one or more other languages are bound to.

Sure there might be an equivalent. But it doesn't resemble an equivalent as written. I, too, use the "trade tongue" explanation, but that's not enough. What are two giant or orc tribes that have not contacted one another for centuries able to converse? It just doesn't make any sense to me.