D&D 5E Need help subtly letting the player know they've dropped the ball

[GHammy26]

Hi Guys,

After a long hiatus over winter (moving into new house + Christmas getting in the way) my group is finally getting back together again at the end of this month. To prepare for it I've been relistening to the recordings of the past sessions (yes... we record them...) and I've noticed they have made a huge mistake before setting off on their mission to which I need your help deciding what to do with them. I've asked you guys in the past to which I was not disappointed with the ideas given (http://www.enworld.org/forum/showth...help-with-a-captured-villains-humorous-escape)

Where they went wrong:

The players are doing a heavily modified version of "Hoard of the Dragon Queen" and are just about to raid the Prisoner Camp to find Leosin (by just I mean we stopped the last session as they were about to enter the tents). Now, they know his name but didn't ask what he looked like so are essentially going in blind...

What can you guys suggest I do to mess with them or let them know they dropped the ball?

My initial idea was to do the whole 'I am Spartacus' thing with all of the other prisoners if they start asking aloud for Leosin but thought it was a bit lame...

Anyway, any ideas?

Thanks
G

 

[akr71]

Is Leosin still a prisoner? If so, they shouldn't need any help - go free the prisoners, but you are especially looking for an elven monk named Leosin.

 

[GHammy26]

Is Leosin still a prisoner? If so, they shouldn't need any help - go free the prisoners, but you are especially looking for an elven monk named Leosin.

They don't know he is elven or a monk. The Lord literally said I need you to find Leosin as he was taken and they just said 'OK - we follow the raiders tracks' they didn't ask for any more information than that.

They are also a really 'literal' goal orientated group, so will probably only search for Leosin leaving the other prisoners behind in the process. The party leader is rather uncaring so will probably convince the others that the prisoners will slow their escape or something...

 

[Awesome Adam]

I know they dropped the ball for not asking any questions, but the King himself should have spoken up, when they tried to walk away without asking those questions.

King: I want you to rescue Leosin
Party: Okay (and attemtps to walk out)
King: Don't you want to know who Leosin is, or what he looks like ? Do you know the man ?

 

[Gilladian]

As DM you have to decide if harassing them this way would really be fun, too. If my pcs didn't ask such a basic question, I'd just assume they knew it. Don't worry about how, just let the game move forwards. If you feel, on the other hand, that the lesson is an important one, and they will enjoy the challenge, then by all means, having the prisoners lie to protect each other sounds like the way to go. If they fail to demonstrate even basic kindness, as in freeing the other prisoners, then they reap those results.

 

[iserith]

At the start of next session, just recap the previous session by saying something like, "You're looking for the elven monk Leosin at the behest of Lord So-and-So."

 

[BoldItalic]

1) Leosin is being interrogated and his captors are shouting at him and using his name.

2) He is on his own, tied up in whichever tent they first enter.

3) The first prisoners they release say "Leosin? You mean the elf monk? He's tied to a post somewhere outside."

 

[General Duf]

Roll with it. They free the prisoners only to realize the one the need isn't with them. They need to re-infiltrate the base and find the right one. I had my party bump into a few drunk Cultists ("HAIL TIAMAT!") and they might have some more info with some questions.

Personally, I always take joy in watching the party flounder through their own fault. To encourage them to think beyond immediate aims, I will often disclose they missed something in the previous session by their inaction (IE a +1 bow, gold, etc) with the understanding that they can't go back and look for it.

 

[GHammy26]

I know they dropped the ball for not asking any questions, but the King himself should have spoken up, when they tried to walk away without asking those questions.

King: I want you to rescue Leosin
Party: Okay (and attemtps to walk out)
King: Don't you want to know who Leosin is, or what he looks like ? Do you know the man ?

Yeah, I did state this as they left... I relistened to this part of the adventure today and was amazed at how they ignored the hint. Saying that I only realised they had dropped said ball today so I guess it wasn't super obvious...

As DM you have to decide if harassing them this way would really be fun, too. If my pcs didn't ask such a basic question, I'd just assume they knew it. Don't worry about how, just let the game move forwards. If you feel, on the other hand, that the lesson is an important one, and they will enjoy the challenge, then by all means, having the prisoners lie to protect each other sounds like the way to go. If they fail to demonstrate even basic kindness, as in freeing the other prisoners, then they reap those results.

They seem to play in a way where they leave themselves open to mistakes and laugh when the consequences come back to bite them in the ass. The start of the campaign I had them meeting in a small village where there was a werewolf problem. I had it as a sort of 'who dunnit' adventure with a timeline of 3 in game days before the werewolf attacked
. A lot of stuff occurred on the first night due to one of them (playing to his characters Int score of 7) deciding to destroy the villages meat supply to starve the werewolf out. The next [in game] day they were requisitioned to go hunting for food instead of their actual task. They found this hilarious for some reason as well as having the alliteration "Barry the Butcher Bringing Big Boar Bacon Back from the Babbling Brook with the Broken Bow" to remember this strange side quest... they are a strange group...

At the start of next session, just recap the previous session by saying something like, "You're looking for the elven monk Leosin at the behest of Lord So-and-So."

I was thinking this but i think they'd enjoy just dealing with the problem they've given themselves...

 

[akr71]

At the start of next session, just recap the previous session by saying something like, "You're looking for the elven monk Leosin at the behest of Lord So-and-So."

Again, [MENTION=97077]iserith[/MENTION] comes through with a pearl of wisdom.

However, there is a chance that they get captured and tied up with Leosin, who provides a knife which allows escape (as per the book). One would assume that he would introduce himself before providing the knife...

If you feel they need a lesson in planning, tactics, compassion or all three you could increase the chance they get captured. Or do nothing and see how they handle the fact they are going in blind. They might take a moment to ask a few more questions next time...