D&D General Being a PC in an adventure you've already GMed

[Blue]

Let the DM know, and don't play a leader-type or an information gathering specialist (some rogue, some faces, divination expert, etc.)

Leave all of the major decisions up to other people, including the information they use to base those decisions on. Focus more on playing a fun, memorable character. You can be tactical (as long as it's not about things you shouldn't know, like vulnerabilities, resistances, or hidden hazards).

And always remember that the DM is also a hobbyist at the table who deserves enjoyment, so don't do anything that would steal that.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Could just play an oracular character. Then it isn’t weird when you know what’s going on and no one else does.

 

[Li Shenron]

Hello

I have recently been given the opportunity to join a 5e game where we will be playing a campaign I'm very familiar with (Dungeons of Drakenheim). The reason why I'm so familiar with it is because I'm running that campaign - we are in session 16!

This issue is not 5e specific (nor Dungeons of Drakenheim specific either), but I am sure I'm not the first who's encountered such a challenge, and I would like to hear how others have managed it...

thanks!

Simply be a good sportsperson... take a backseat while the rest of the players try to figure out the plot and solve the mysteries. Maybe if you want to tie-in with the roleplay, then choose to play a character that is absent-minded or very focused on the here-and-now of things. At the same time, I would not assume that the DM is playing the adventure as-written, and hasn't for example customized monsters and locations!

 

[Lanefan]

My answer is a bit more extreme than many here: advise the DM you've already DMed the module and ask him to run a different one. If he won't, or for some reason can't, then for the sake of the fun of all involved (including you!) sit this one out.

We do this all the time, though it's usually the other way around: the DM asks ahead of time whether anyone has already been through module X and if a "yes" comes back, module X is ditched* in favour of module Y.

* - or we're told it's been ditched, sometimes the DM will instead just modify the hell out of it to make it new for all.

 

[Bedrockgames]

Hello

I have recently been given the opportunity to join a 5e game where we will be playing a campaign I'm very familiar with (Dungeons of Drakenheim). The reason why I'm so familiar with it is because I'm running that campaign - we are in session 16!

This issue is not 5e specific (nor Dungeons of Drakenheim specific either), but I am sure I'm not the first who's encountered such a challenge, and I would like to hear how others have managed it...

thanks!

I would basically play dumb the whole time. If you use your out of character knowledge for this adventure, it would effectively be like the GM telling them the best choices at different points in the module. You might explain your concern to the GM and work out a system (I've run people through the same scenario for play testing and one method we sometimes use is letting a person who has been through the material before make some kind of Intelligence check----whatever that is in the system you are using) to use make smart choices during the module). When I am a player in something I've played through before, I usually play a dumb fighter who is just there to hit things.

 

[Blue]

Could just play an oracular character. Then it isn’t weird when you know what’s going on and no one else does.

As another player I'd hate that. "Let me get this straight. Another player knows all the secrets of the module, and their character is allowed to know and act on them by picking an in-game justification, while the rest of us are playing it as normal?"

At that point I wouldn't trust the player not to metagame even if it didn't get approved and would ask them to sit out this module, or for the DM to run something different.

 

[Campbell]

Honestly I would just pass on this. There's really no fair way to both meaningfully contribute to success and not ruin the experience. If I was another player in that game I would not appreciate either having someone who already knew the answers to the test or could not contribute to the team.

As an addendum if we are trying to be inclusive as a community can we please knock off all this big dumb fighter jock stereotype stuff. Some of us either are or have been athletes. It's not cool.

 

[billd91]

Hello

I have recently been given the opportunity to join a 5e game where we will be playing a campaign I'm very familiar with (Dungeons of Drakenheim). The reason why I'm so familiar with it is because I'm running that campaign - we are in session 16!

I have never done this for a campaign I’m currently running, but I’ve definitely played in adventures that I’ve previously run. As long as the DM knows and you let the other PCs lead on major decisions, it’s probably no big deal.

 

[Ancalagon]

My answer is a bit more extreme than many here: advise the DM you've already DMed the module and ask him to run a different one. If he won't, or for some reason can't, then for the sake of the fun of all involved (including you!) sit this one out.

We do this all the time, though it's usually the other way around: the DM asks ahead of time whether anyone has already been through module X and if a "yes" comes back, module X is ditched* in favour of module Y.

* - or we're told it's been ditched, sometimes the DM will instead just modify the hell out of it to make it new for all.

This is not a module, it's a campaign

 

[Lanefan]

This is not a module, it's a campaign

As in, a published AP? If yes, were it me I'd be looking for another group, or starting my own, while that AP was being played.