Do you warn your PCs before they do something stupid?

[der_kluge]

Originally posted by Hand of Evil:You kill players? Wow, you are an Evil DM!

Johnathan

Hand of Evil has definitely taken his game to the next level. He probably plays in the sewers downtown, too.

 

[der_kluge]

I will usually remind the players about character knowledge that the player might have forgotten, or didn't readily know.

Like, "well, your character would know that mixing those two potions together is probably not a good idea." Or something like that.

 

[Gentlegamer]

Good in theory, but sometimes you just gotta say "Dude, your (18 INT) character is smart enough to know that isn't going to work!" Especially if you've explained the consequences of the act several times and the player still insists on arguing with you. (Which is the height of Stupid Player behavior.)[/b]

Yes, but "Sense Foolishness" is a Wisdom based skill.

 

[Keeper of Secrets]

It depends. If it is something that is likely to wreck the whole campaign, then yes I will warn them. If it is something that is going to ruin their day or get the other players/characters to yell at them then no. I like to see lots of players/characters policing each other so I don't have to.

 

[Tetsubo]

I'll give the players ONE warning. After that I just pay out the rope and wait for them to hang themselves...

The characters get hung, not the players.

Though that might have solved a few issues in the past...

Nah, too much hassle...

 

[Gentlegamer]

Oh, and my answer is "let the dice fall where they may."

 

[dreaded_beast]

First off, that's a poor use of the word "or", as you can do both. Giving a warning does not prevent the PCs from doing what they want.

Thanks for the grammar lesson teach! You don't have to bea know-it-all about it.

I didn't mean for the question to be taken to that extent, but if that's the way you wanna look at it, go for it. But I do agree with what you said, giving a warning does not prevent a PC from doing what they want.

 

[Darth K'Trava]

We've usually not gotten the warning when we're about to do something stupid or player forgot something stupidly simple the character would know... I think DMs like hatching sideline plots based off these stupid actions (usually they didn't end in party or PC death).

Although I had one DM who kept giving hints to a player playing a paladin in his game. Player ignored/refused to acknowledge the hints and kept to his POV abt his paladin. If he'd have kept playing (time constraints made him drop out), I betcha I'd have seen the first paladin fall due to being STUPID and not following his deity's edicts and acting in a chaotic/barbaric manner. :\

That and the guy loves to metagame.

 

[Viktyr Gehrig]

I recently had a player try to activate an ejector seat to get a Githyanki off his ship. In space.

If I thought that it made a lick of sense for a deep-space freighter to have ejection seats in the first place, I would have warned him.

 

[Grand_Director]

Personally, I find the idea that we shouldn't make value judgements ("that's not a good idea") to be offensive. Political Correctness run amok. Be honest with yourself and with others. If it's not a good idea, then tell them that!

It has nothing to do with PC. It has everything to do with being impartial running a game. I have no problem hanging out afterward and telling my players what I think they did that was stupid. But when we are playing the game it is up to the players to run their characters without my intrusions.