How to tell your players...

[Tinker Gnome]

Okay, how do you tell your players about something, without actually telling them. Like for instance, if a Dragon used a spell to make itslef appear as another type of dragon. Then the PCs go to its lair expecting, and havinf prepared for one type, but it is actually another. Then as soon as they find out, they cry foul because they saw it before, and it was cleraly another type. I have not done this to them, but my PCs have done things like this before.

 

[Newbie]

maybe drop a small hit on the first encounter then when they see it again they go

"ohhhh" thats why it lives in a swamp

or my fire didnt harm it, now i see

or it was standing in a cave full of ice, that makes sense

That way it looks like you planed it without making it look like you did it just to be a jerk

 

[Pseudonym]

Okay, how do you tell your players about something, without actually telling them. Like for instance, if a Dragon used a spell to make itslef appear as another type of dragon. Then the PCs go to its lair expecting, and havinf prepared for one type, but it is actually another. Then as soon as they find out, they cry foul because they saw it before, and it was cleraly another type. I have not done this to them, but my PCs have done things like this before.

I'd say don't tell them. If for example the PCs prepare to do battle with a red dragon, and charge in with frost weapons and fire resistance only to get gassed by an illusion casting green dragon, then consider that a lesson learned on the PCs part.

If they cry foul, exclaiming that red dragons don't breathe clouds of poisonous gas, then perhaps at least one of them will pause to consider that all in not what it appears. Perhaps it'll be a valuable object lesson on the subject of player vs. character knowledge if they get all metagamey on you.

 

[Parlan]

Okay, how do you tell your players about something, without actually telling them. Like for instance, if a Dragon used a spell to make itslef appear as another type of dragon. Then the PCs go to its lair expecting, and havinf prepared for one type, but it is actually another. Then as soon as they find out, they cry foul because they saw it before, and it was cleraly another type. I have not done this to them, but my PCs have done things like this before.

If that s the type of campaign you re running, you might want to tell your players up front and OOC

“I try to play my NPCs as their stats indicate and like they want to live. A smart dragon would quickly figure out that its survival rate increases when would be dragon slayers think it s of a different type. Please plan accordingly.”

Or you could give it all in-game.

“As you approach the red dragon s lair you notice that several trees look like they have been singed by great heat…”

Base the amount of hints you give them on how hard you want it to be for your PCs to figure out the dragon s secret.

It sounds like your players just arent thinking this way at all (I never do either) so you could also just plan on their failure: have the dragon smack the crap out of them but let them struggle back to town. There, a retired dragon slayer can let them in on the ole` white-dragon-is-actually-a-red-trick, or whatever.

Do that though and the PCs will DEFINITELY be coming back for revenge!

I still think you should have a chat with your players if they whinge though. If they say “Hey it LOOKED white!” reply with

“And your 19 Int Wizard doesn’t know like 8,000 spells that can do that?”
“And your 19 Wis Cleric never heard the expression ‘look before you leap?’”
“And your level 10 Rogue never heard of ‘casing a joint?’”

Then throw in the crap about smart monsters with a survival instinct.

Just expect them to do a LOT more research for the next couple of encounters..