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<blockquote data-quote="Ranes" data-source="post: 539447" data-attributes="member: 4826"><p>Friadoc, good point - not that I'm an authority on subjects that have been addressed before but this issue always crosses my mind whenever I begin a new campaign. And that's what I've just done in the last couple of weeks.</p><p></p><p>Like you, I want even veteran players to experience something of that uncertainty they felt when they first played, assuming they're creating first level characters. I go along with the idea that the the more common monster races would be fairly well known to the greater populace but I don't want the players to be put in the position where they're having to roleplay ignorance of a less common creature their characters are encountering for the first time. I employ the following techniques whenever possible.</p><p></p><p>I try my utmost to avoid mentioning the creature by any other name than a colloquial one that might be employed by ignorant NPCs and even then only use that name when it is obviously applicable.</p><p></p><p>Taking is much care as possible not to over- (or under-) balance the creature, I often modify it in some small way from the default version in the MM or whatever the source is (assuming I haven't designed it from scratch, of course).</p><p></p><p>I consider carefully the lighting, visibility and acoustic aspects of the environment in which the creature is encountered and use whatever I can to affect my description of the encounter to the players.</p><p></p><p>I have found that keeping these factors in mind during encounters can have the most satisfactory effect, even when I'm placing in the players' path something with which they would otherwise be familiar, mechanically speaking.</p><p></p><p>The obfuscation cannot last for longer than a round or two at most but it gives me quite a buzz when I see the penny finally drop. My players have always seemed to appreciate my efforts too.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Ranes, post: 539447, member: 4826"] Friadoc, good point - not that I'm an authority on subjects that have been addressed before but this issue always crosses my mind whenever I begin a new campaign. And that's what I've just done in the last couple of weeks. Like you, I want even veteran players to experience something of that uncertainty they felt when they first played, assuming they're creating first level characters. I go along with the idea that the the more common monster races would be fairly well known to the greater populace but I don't want the players to be put in the position where they're having to roleplay ignorance of a less common creature their characters are encountering for the first time. I employ the following techniques whenever possible. I try my utmost to avoid mentioning the creature by any other name than a colloquial one that might be employed by ignorant NPCs and even then only use that name when it is obviously applicable. Taking is much care as possible not to over- (or under-) balance the creature, I often modify it in some small way from the default version in the MM or whatever the source is (assuming I haven't designed it from scratch, of course). I consider carefully the lighting, visibility and acoustic aspects of the environment in which the creature is encountered and use whatever I can to affect my description of the encounter to the players. I have found that keeping these factors in mind during encounters can have the most satisfactory effect, even when I'm placing in the players' path something with which they would otherwise be familiar, mechanically speaking. The obfuscation cannot last for longer than a round or two at most but it gives me quite a buzz when I see the penny finally drop. My players have always seemed to appreciate my efforts too. [/QUOTE]
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