D&D 5E Roleplaying in D&D 5E: It’s How You Play the Game

[AbdulAlhazred]

Yeah, I try to avoid those sort of meta-currencies like the plague and this is a good example of why: it causes glaring character inconsistencies in the fiction.

Suddenly the party's usually-clumsy tank is running up the wall like one of the warriors in Crouching Tiger...which is fine if it's a) explainable in the fiction (in this case probably via a series of spells starting with Spider Climb) and b) repeatable on demand via the same in-fiction explanation (in this case, casting the same string of spells again would give the same result).

Well, in my game, that would mean the player expended resources to even HAVE that practice available to them to use. My conceit is that EVERYTHING is magical, in some fashion. So I don't have a problem with the idea that the fighter's 'climb like a spider' practice is powered by 'magic', its a magical world. I don't see the problem with 'currency' here. Yes, if you simply have some omnipotent currency that lets you depict any arbitrary thing you want to do as some sort of incredible feat, that MIGHT, depending on the genre and tone, be problematic. In this case power points are simply a way of rationing things so that players are more likely to focus on what makes their particular character sizzle. The player chose the practice, and then they chose to burn a point on this specific use of it. They could also probably use it in other cases, without the PP expenditure, but that would just be exchanging one check for another, though presumably one the character has bigger bonuses with, so potentially good tactics.

 

[Maxperson]

This is not so much a question of how they resolve it (there are many, many options) or how I would run it. It's a question of you would run it at your table.

I just set up dilemmas like your warehouse and then leave it the players to figure out. How I would run it would depend on their proposed solution. It might auto succeed, auto fail, or there might be rolls/combat involved.

Without a specific solution offered like the one I came up with and the silence/knock combo, I have nothing to adjudicate.

 

[Fenris-77]

Play your character, it's that simple. You made it, so play it. If your fighter has INT 6 because you want to min-max and look like John Wick in hand to hand, maybe take a back seat on the clever plans. This isn't so much telling people how to play as it is telling people not to dump stats they personally, as players, possess in some quantity, with the idea that they'll just RP their way past their stats.

 

[Bill Zebub]

Yes, seriously.

Play your character, not someone else's. (players offering uninvited suggestions to other players is one of the biggest sources of out-of-character arguments around here, and it's taken decades of smackdown-hammering to get people to bloody well stop doing it)

Huh. With my friends we throw out suggestions all the time and nobody ever gets upset about it.

And, yes, playing your character is a fine thing. But so is playing the game: figuring out challenges, solving puzzles, devising novel ways to overcome challenges. God save me from a game where the roleplaying is so sacred that it overrides everything else.

 

[Fenris-77]

Hmm, you get that there's a line there though, right? Players avoiding dump stats via RPing and 'suggestions' is a old as time and just as tired.

 

[Bill Zebub]

Play your character, it's that simple. You made it, so play it. If your fighter has INT 6 because you want to min-max and look like John Wick in hand to hand, maybe take a back seat on the clever plans. This isn't so much telling people how to play as it is telling people not to dump stats they personally, as players, possess in some quantity, with the idea that they'll just RP their way past their stats.

First, I think this is a super uptight way to play.

But even so, what happens if your not-so-clever friend is playing the high-int puzzle solver? How do they roleplay that? Constantly roll dice, and if they roll high the DM hands them the answer, while you keep silent about your solution?

Why not give the player a cool idea that you don’t think your character would come up with, and they could roleplay that it was their character’s idea?

 

[Bill Zebub]

Hmm, you get that there's a line there though, right? Players avoiding dump stats via RPing and 'suggestions' is a old as time and just as tired.

I just don’t interpret stats the way you do. 6 Int means -2 to Int rolls. That’s plenty of penalty.

 

[Fenris-77]

First, I think this is a super uptight way to play.

But even so, what happens if your not-so-clever friend is playing the high-int puzzle solver? How do they roleplay that? Constantly roll dice, and if they roll high the DM hands them the answer, while you keep silent about your solution?

Why not give the player a cool idea that you don’t think your character would come up with, and they could roleplay that it was their character’s idea?

Second I don't care what you think about the way I play. It's not a contest. I'm also not saying you can't help people.

Third, if your low-INT friend wants to play a high-INT puzzle solver you have your work cut for you. What matters though is that we're only responsible for ourselves. So, if you want to play a character that's more (or less) intelligent than you are or more (or less) Charismatic that's perfectly ok. However, if you're the 'idea guy' in the group, or the smooth talker in the group and you're currently playing a low-INT or low CHA fighter but still taking the lead on the idea or smooth talking side, you're being a little disingenuous.

 

[Fenris-77]

I just don’t interpret stats the way you do. 6 Int means -2 to Int rolls. That’s plenty of penalty.

Blargh. Stats aren't just a penalty or bonus, but I'm not trying to force you to agree.

 

[Maxperson]

Ah, this is helpful to be able to compare and contrast.


How I would run the Casting knock scenario at our table (using the same player responses with some notes):

DM: "What do you do?"
Bob: "We've decided that Fizbin will go to the back and cast knock to open the back door."
(note: at our table, it's up to the players to know what their spells do. I'm not going to advise them one way or another - unless it is something that had no chance of being cast, in which case I'd let them declare some other action)
DM: (to Fizbin) "The back of the warehouse is a back alley strewn with debris and with limited lines of sight. The light is dim making the door impossible to see from more than 20 feet away."
Bob: "Sounds good. I try to find some cover behind the debris and cast the spell."
DM: (to Fizbin) "The debris includes a bale of something that smells of mildew and rot."
DM: (to rest of party): "Out front, a thunderous boom can be heard from the back of the warehouse and the guard snorts and wakes up, looking around with alarm. He pulls a stone of his pocket and speaks into it after standing up."
(we avoid the player's question here by describing the thing which is automatically seen)
Sue: "I think Zara has seen something like this before in the days when they were a spy, but can't be sure."
DM: (to Zara) "Give me an Intelligence check with advantage because of your background. The DC is 15. On a success, I'll tell you exactly what it is. On a failure, I'll tell you what it might be but the guard is going to catch sight of something in Zara's direction. Still up for it?"
Sue: "Sure. I'm applying my History proficiency (rolling dice) 16!"
DM: (to Zara) "This is a sending stone, often given to guards in this district, especially those associated to The Spiders, a notorious criminal organization".

This is how I would do it.

How I would run the Casting knock scenario at our table (using the same player responses with some notes):

DM: "What do you do?"
Tom(player of Ristlin the Elven Wizard): "I will go to the back of the building and cast knock on the back door, ready to run if the guard comes around the corner."
(note: at my table if the players don't think of something obvious like the loud sound of knock and they've used it a lot, I will remind the wizard. If it's a fairly new spell I will call for an intelligence check with a DC of probably 10 since it's a 2nd level spell. Wizards are highly intelligent and players are not only not that smart, but are distracted by other things at the table that they are planning.)
DM: (to Ristlin) "The back of the warehouse is a back alley strewn with debris and with limited lines of sight. The light is dim making the door impossible to see from more than 20 feet away."
Tom: "With my darkvision I can see the door from farther away(my players love elves and dwarves). I try to find some cover as far away as I can and still be within range of the knock spell."
DM: (to Ristlin) "The debris is a bale of something that smells of mildew and rot about 40 feet away."
DM: (to rest of party): "A thunderous boom can be heard from the back of the warehouse and the guard snorts and wakes up, looking around with alarm. He draws his weapon and squints out into the darkness."
(Note: Magic and magic items are rare in my game, so the guard would not have a sending stone. Since the magic is rare and the guard was started awake, he might not know the direction of the bang or what it represents. I'd decide the chances of his knowing and being aware enough, perhaps 20%. Then I'd roll a D20 and if I get a 4 or less, the guard would rush towards the back of the building. If not, he would draw his weapon and guard his station. I rolled and got a 7, so he stays put.)
Dick(player of Splint the dwarven cleric): "We were prepared for this possibility. I cast silence around him so that he can't give any further alarm"
(Note: Spellcasting is clearly intoned, so the guard got a perception check to hear the casting but rolled a 4. He would also get a roll to notice the abnormal silence, but again I rolled low. Some guard this guy is.)
DM: (to Splint) "The guard still peers out into the darkness, showing no indication that he heard the spell or notices the silence that is upon him. "
Harry(player of Glurm the Elven Knight): "I rush in with my mace covered in cloth to muffle the sound and strike in a nonlethal manner. I want to knock him out quickly."
(Note: I require the players to choose non-lethal attacks before the swing, not after the creature hits 0. And they have a -2 penalty, because it's hard to strike with that kind of care in combat.)
DM: (to Ristlin): "You wait, but do not hear the guard coming around the corner towards you. Nor do you hear anything from the front of the building. The door before you is unlocked. What do you do?"

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