Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
That player in the back of the room
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Pauper" data-source="post: 6863030" data-attributes="member: 17607"><p>Here's my problem with that -- an unskilled DM can make it seem as though he's simply 'got it out' for a PC**, when the reality is that the adventure is specifying a given tactic.</p><p></p><p>** - The idea that attacking a character who's player is reluctant to participate in combat will convince the player to more actively participate explicitly uses this as an assumption -- it assumes the player will realize that the only reason the enemies are targeting his character is that the DM is trying to 'punish' him for not participating. Given the number of alternate explanations mentioned in this thread for why doing this is a 'valid tactic', I think it's fair to say that the player might well not realize that being hunted down while hiding is a direct result of his hiding, and that the DM is either following specific advice in the module, or is simply hunting down the PC because the DM is a jerk.</p><p></p><p>Case in point, a recent session of DDEX 2-3, The Drowned Tower, where my relatively low AC cleric/wizard was repeatedly targeted by the most powerful enemies in the encounter. Even the other players at the table were convinced I'd done something to offend the DM, to the point where the DM was forced to reveal after the encounter was over that the module directed the enemies to attack specific opponents.</p><p></p><p>[sblock]And, reviewing the module myself, I discovered that the DM simply misinterpreted the suggested tactics, interpreting "the berserker<s> prefer to attack spellcasters while the bandit captain engages any healers" as "the berserker<s> exclusively attack clerics while the bandit captain prefers to attack any healers".[/sblock]</s></s></p><p><s><s></s></s></p><p><s><s>Ultimately, the DMs goal is not to make sure that every PC gets attacked, but to provide a fun challenge for the entire party. (The ALDMG even explicitly says that following the adventure text word-for-word is significantly less important than providing a fun experience.) There will definitely be times when doing the former prevents the DM from doing the latter, thus I wouldn't consider the former to be good advice.</s></s></p><p><s><s></s></s></p><p><s><s>--</s></s></p><p><s><s>Pauper</s></s></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Pauper, post: 6863030, member: 17607"] Here's my problem with that -- an unskilled DM can make it seem as though he's simply 'got it out' for a PC**, when the reality is that the adventure is specifying a given tactic. ** - The idea that attacking a character who's player is reluctant to participate in combat will convince the player to more actively participate explicitly uses this as an assumption -- it assumes the player will realize that the only reason the enemies are targeting his character is that the DM is trying to 'punish' him for not participating. Given the number of alternate explanations mentioned in this thread for why doing this is a 'valid tactic', I think it's fair to say that the player might well not realize that being hunted down while hiding is a direct result of his hiding, and that the DM is either following specific advice in the module, or is simply hunting down the PC because the DM is a jerk. Case in point, a recent session of DDEX 2-3, The Drowned Tower, where my relatively low AC cleric/wizard was repeatedly targeted by the most powerful enemies in the encounter. Even the other players at the table were convinced I'd done something to offend the DM, to the point where the DM was forced to reveal after the encounter was over that the module directed the enemies to attack specific opponents. [sblock]And, reviewing the module myself, I discovered that the DM simply misinterpreted the suggested tactics, interpreting "the berserker[s] prefer to attack spellcasters while the bandit captain engages any healers" as "the berserker[s] exclusively attack clerics while the bandit captain prefers to attack any healers".[/sblock] Ultimately, the DMs goal is not to make sure that every PC gets attacked, but to provide a fun challenge for the entire party. (The ALDMG even explicitly says that following the adventure text word-for-word is significantly less important than providing a fun experience.) There will definitely be times when doing the former prevents the DM from doing the latter, thus I wouldn't consider the former to be good advice. -- Pauper[/s][/s] [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
That player in the back of the room
Top