Doug McCrae
Legend
I like to think I'm not quite as evil as the totalitarian government in Orwell's 1984!thought police

I like to think I'm not quite as evil as the totalitarian government in Orwell's 1984!thought police
I like to think I'm not quite as evil as the totalitarian government in Orwell's 1984!![]()
I guess you missed the memo, but your actions were in clear violation of the rules. Meta-gaming is explicitly illegal in 5E.
The same section also also suggests that the DM modify the campaign to fit the party’s particular power.
“You can curb metagame thinking by setting up situations that will be difficult for the characters and that might require negotiation or retreat to survive.” - DMG 235
I don't disagree at all, but there are players and DMs who are adament against it. It's one of the things I determine in session 0, how much metagaming does the table want.
Thanks for the direction. I did go back and check this morning and for the record it does specifically call out ‘player knowledge’ as the example which you have quoted above.
The same section also also suggests that the DM modify the campaign to fit the party’s particular power.
“You can curb metagame thinking by setting up situations that will be difficult for the characters and that might require negotiation or retreat to survive.” - DMG 235
^ This.
As a DM I do not concern myself with why the players make a particular decision. In fact, I often remind them that they ARE allowed to think as players too, because this is a game after all. It is up to them whether they go for what their character would do, what they would do, or if they find a happy compromise between the two. I only encourage them to confirm their ideas in-game.
So in other words, metagame to curb metagaming. Brilliant
I'm going to stop there, because I don't want to sound overly critical.
Wow, reading answers in threads this like really illustrates the differences between combative and cooperative gaming styles. For me, I got tired of the Players versus Dungeonmaster style about 20-25 years ago, long before 3.X and 4E got the reputation of being that type of game. I believe the players and DM are telling a story together. Sure, the players have to survive the trials the DM has created for them, and sure, really dumb choices and lots of bad dice rolls can doom them, but I never set out to try to kill the party and I do not play with DMs whose mindset is that either. So to answer the question, you don't go out of your way to try to kill them. Don't save them from their own stupidity, but if they can come up with decent ideas and they do not have suicidal dice, then you find ways to keep them alive. Maybe they have to run away from a fight or maybe they have to rescue captured teammates or maybe you just happen to make something very lucky or very unlikely happen for them, as many books and movies do, but the DM's job is not to kill the PCs, it is to make sure everyone is having fun. And if a DM gets his jollies at the expense of the fun of the players, then that person should probably not be a DM.