D&D General How would you handle this encounter?

[Oofta]

I wanted to share a slightly edited/abbreviated/simplified/paraphrased version of a recent encounter. I'm curious how other people would have run this or similar scenarios. I know I don't own the thread, but I was curious to see if we could just discuss a simple example or provide other brief glimpses into actual game play.

The group is in a particularly dangerous corner of the world and Rae's PC has been separated from the group after bravely retreating. She stumbles on a small cottage with an old woman outside. After some brief introductions Rae is invited inside and served tea by the old woman, Granny.

The scene starts with Rae's PC sitting at the table. I've added my thoughts in brackets.

DM: in my best old woman voice* "Here you go honey, you look like you've had a tough day. Have some tea."​

Rae: "Do I see her pouring both cups?"​

DM: "Yep, she set the cups on the table in plain sight and poured both at the same time."​

[No check, the tea was poured out in the open in plain sight.]​

Rae: "I want to smell the tea, can I tell if it's okay?"​

DM: "Sure. You hold the cup up to your nose and take a deep whiff. Give me a perception check."​

Rae: rolling dice "Ugh. That's only an 8."​

DM: "It smells like mint tea."​

[Rae said what she was doing (smelling the tea) and I asked for a perception check. I don't allow re-rolls for things like this unless something changes. If for some reason she hadn't wanted to take a deep whiff she could have stopped me right there. She could have also described it in more detail, but she didn't]​

Rae: "Can I get a medicine check?"​

DM: "You think you'd have to take a small sip. You can probably spit it out if your tongue tingles or goes numb."​

Rae: "Okay, I get a 15 this time."​

[She then asked for a medicine check. Because it wasn't clear what she was doing, I let her know she'd have to take a sip of the tea before proceeding and a general idea of the risk. She was also doing something different than just smelling or getting another perception check.]​

DM: "It's good, you detect nothing unusual. Granny looks at you, sipping her own tea and says 'Oh, deary it's just tea. If I wanted to kill you, you'd already be dead' with a wink."​

[Rae didn't mention anything about being subtle, Granny didn't need to make a check to see what Rae was doing.]​

The scene continues. My point to this is that to me this was a very natural conversation. It didn't really matter whether whether the tea was poisoned or not, Rae was paranoid and the skill checks just reflected the actions her PC was taking. It also added a sense of uncertainty and tension for Rae that she would not have had if I had not called for or allowed checks. It was fun. If Rae had pestered me with checks (she doesn't) we may have to have a chat, but that's never been an issue in any of my games.

This is just a simple example of the start of a fun little encounter. Can you run through this scenario with your style of play? Or give an example of something similar and how you handled it?

*Side note: I know not everyone is into acting, but when I do this I try to imitate an old woman. Hunch over, squint, high creaky voice, maybe have a shaky hand wave the PC into the cottage and so on. People learn by doing, so I've gotten better at it over the years. I hope.

 

[Nebulous]

Haha, this is pretty much the same reaction from my players when anyone is EVER cordial and nice to them. Last time it was Bag of Nails in Tomb, and yeah, he poisoned the tabaxi.

 

[Swarmkeeper]

DM: Granny sets two tea cups, one with a sun design and one with a moon design, out on the table at which you sit. She then fills two sachets with dried ingredients from a translucent jar. She brings the kettle over to the table and pours steaming hot water over the sachets which she had previously placed into each tea cup. In my best old woman voice: "Here you go honey, you look like you've had a tough day. Have some tea."
Rae: My PC smells the tea to see if there are any strange odors. [not sure what type of character Rae is playing here, but if they are proficient with an herbalism kit or posioner's kit, she might append this goal and approach with "that I recognize from my study of herbs/poisons/whatever"]
DM: Smells like strong mint tea. Granny breaths in the tea steam, too, a bit deeper than you did and comments "isn't the wintermint essence so calming?"
Rae: "Yes, quite." My PC takes the tiniest of sips to see if I notice any adverse reaction on my tongue.
DM: It's quite tingly, but in a refreshing, ultra-minty kind of way. Granny looks at you, sipping her own tea and says, "Oh, deary it's just tea. If I wanted to kill you, you'd already be dead," giving you a knowing wink. "Would you like any honey, honey, in your tea?"

[there are all kinds of possible permutations here: the tea is poisoned/drugged/enchanted but the poison/drug/enchantment can(not) be detected by smell and/or taste and/or sight and/or magic. and more. Let's say there is poison present in the tea cup that is a sleeping draught that can only be detected by taste or magic here's what might change]

...
Rae: "Yes, quite." My PC takes the tiniest of sips to see if I notice any adverse reaction on my tongue.
DM: It's quite tingly. Roll a Wisdom check, DC 15, feel free to add a pertinent proficiency. If you succeed I'll let you know if there is anything funny going on in the cup. If you fail, it won't be easy to tell and even the small amount you tasted might require a saving throw.
Rae: I'll add my proficiency in Medicine. 17 - Phew!
DM: Great! There is definitely something funny going on in the tea - almost like a Bedtime tea on steroids. Granny's eyes sparkle with pride and, from the look on her face, it seems you've passed some kind of test...
...
or
Rae: I'll add my proficiency in Medicine. 14 - oops!
DM: Something is not quite right. Your eyes start to blur. Make a Constitution Save, DC 18.
Rae: Ugh 7.
DM: You see two Grannys with crooked smiles stand up and their voice is low and slow but unintelligible. The last thing you notice before you lose consciousness is the moon (or is it two or three moons) on your tea cup as your head hits the table and all goes black. And... back to the rest of the party!
Rae: The moon cup! Dangit Granny!
...

 

[DND_Reborn]

Me to Rae:

You go inside and the old woman pours you both some tea. It tastes good and you feel a bit better.
(Rolls d8 and gets a 5). You gain 5 hp back.
Rae: I ask her how she's survived out here by herself?
and so on...

Unless there is significance to something, we don't spend a lot of time on such things.

 

[Oofta]

Haha, this is pretty much the same reaction from my players when anyone is EVER cordial and nice to them. Last time it was Bag of Nails in Tomb, and yeah, he poisoned the tabaxi.

In all fairness, the map did indicate "Here there be monsters", and from her perspective it had been 100% accurate up to that point.

 

[Oofta]

Me to Rae:

You go inside and the old woman pours you both some tea. It tastes good and you feel a bit better.
(Rolls d8 and gets a 5). You gain 5 hp back.
Rae: I ask her how she's survived out here by herself?
and so on...

Unless there is significance to something, we don't spend a lot of time on such things.

Rae: "How have you survived out here this long?"​

Granny replies "That's a long story, sit down and we'll have some tea while we chat".​

Was part of the story I skipped over.

 

[DND_Reborn]

Rae: "How have you survived out here this long?"​

Granny replies "That's a long story, sit down and we'll have some tea while we chat".​

Was part of the story I skipped over.

Ah, in that case it would probably go like this:

Rae: I sit down, but I don't know if I can trust her. Can I roll Insight to see if I feel she means me harm?
DM: Sure, go ahead. Roll with Wisdom and add proficiency for Insight if you have it.
Rae: I got a 18 total.
DM: Yeah, she seems friendly and trustworthy. She pours the tea.
Rae: Ok, if I think I can trust her I drink it.
DM: It tastes slightly minty. (I roll) You feel its warmth calming you and recover 5 hit points.
Rae: Cool. I ask her how she's survived out here by herself.
and so on...

 

[Charlaquin]

I wanted to share a slightly edited/abbreviated/simplified/paraphrased version of a recent encounter. I'm curious how other people would have run this or similar scenarios. I know I don't own the thread, but I was curious to see if we could just discuss a simple example or provide other brief glimpses into actual game play.

The group is in a particularly dangerous corner of the world and Rae's PC has been separated from the group after bravely retreating. She stumbles on a small cottage with an old woman outside. After some brief introductions Rae is invited inside and served tea by the old woman, Granny.

The scene starts with Rae's PC sitting at the table. I've added my thoughts in brackets.

DM: in my best old woman voice* "Here you go honey, you look like you've had a tough day. Have some tea."​

Rae: "Do I see her pouring both cups?"​

DM: "Yep, she set the cups on the table in plain sight and poured both at the same time."​

[No check, the tea was poured out in the open in plain sight.]​

Rae: "I want to smell the tea, can I tell if it's okay?"​

DM: "Sure. You hold the cup up to your nose and take a deep whiff. Give me a perception check."​

Rae: rolling dice "Ugh. That's only an 8."​

DM: "It smells like mint tea."​

[Rae said what she was doing (smelling the tea) and I asked for a perception check. I don't allow re-rolls for things like this unless something changes. If for some reason she hadn't wanted to take a deep whiff she could have stopped me right there. She could have also described it in more detail, but she didn't]​

Rae: "Can I get a medicine check?"​

DM: "You think you'd have to take a small sip. You can probably spit it out if your tongue tingles or goes numb."​

Rae: "Okay, I get a 15 this time."​

[She then asked for a medicine check. Because it wasn't clear what she was doing, I let her know she'd have to take a sip of the tea before proceeding and a general idea of the risk. She was also doing something different than just smelling or getting another perception check.]​

DM: "It's good, you detect nothing unusual. Granny looks at you, sipping her own tea and says 'Oh, deary it's just tea. If I wanted to kill you, you'd already be dead' with a wink."​

[Rae didn't mention anything about being subtle, Granny didn't need to make a check to see what Rae was doing.]​

The scene continues. My point to this is that to me this was a very natural conversation. It didn't really matter whether whether the tea was poisoned or not, Rae was paranoid and the skill checks just reflected the actions her PC was taking. It also added a sense of uncertainty and tension for Rae that she would not have had if I had not called for or allowed checks. It was fun. If Rae had pestered me with checks (she doesn't) we may have to have a chat, but that's never been an issue in any of my games.

This is just a simple example of the start of a fun little encounter. Can you run through this scenario with your style of play? Or give an example of something similar and how you handled it?

*Side note: I know not everyone is into acting, but when I do this I try to imitate an old woman. Hunch over, squint, high creaky voice, maybe have a shaky hand wave the PC into the cottage and so on. People learn by doing, so I've gotten better at it over the years. I hope.

Nice! Sounds like a fun scene. Unsurprisingly, I would have run it differently, but the most important thing is that you and your player had a good time and created a memorable story.

Since you asked, if I had been the DM, I wouldn’t have asked for a Perception check when Rae said she wanted to smell the tea. From her comment “I want to smell the tea, can I tell if it’s ok?” I can easily surmise that her goal is to find out if there is anything wrong with the tea and her approach is to smell it. Since there is nothing wrong with the tea, there is no way this approach will achieve her goal, so I would simply skip the next two lines and go straight to “it smells like mint tea.”

Now, Rae might take this to mean that, since there was no check called for, there is nothing wrong with the tea. However, that would be a dangerous assumption, since it is equally possible that there is something wrong with it, but that it can’t be detected by scent. Especially if Rae suspects poison, most (good) poisons are odorless in lethal doses. So it makes sense that she might want to follow this up, just like she did in your game.

When Rae asks to make a Medicine check, I can guess that she probably still wants to know if the tea is poisoned or otherwise “off,” and that she thinks her Proficiency in Medicine would help her achieve that goal. But I can’t surmise what her character is doing to try to determine that, so I would ask her to clarify.

At that point, she might suggest taking a small sip and spitting it out if it tastes “off,” or she might say that she’s trying to draw on her training in Medicine to try to recall any deadly poisons that are odorless, tasteless, and dissolve instantly in liquid (heh). Or she might suggest something else entirely. At this point it becomes very difficult to say what I would do without knowing what Rae would do.

Another possibility is that Rae struggles to come up with an approach that might employ her training in Medicine and help her determine if the tea is poisoned. If I were getting the sense that this was the case, I might step in with that narration, “Granny looks at you, sipping her own tea and says 'Oh, deary it's just tea. If I wanted to kill you, you'd already be dead' with a wink,” to keep the flow of the game going and hopefully reassure Rae, rather than risk the pace breaking down as Rae tries to finagle an approach.

 

[Beleriphon]

The group is in a particularly dangerous corner of the world and Rae's PC has been separated from the group after bravely retreating. She stumbles on a small cottage with an old woman outside. After some brief introductions Rae is invited inside and served tea by the old woman, Granny.

.....

*Side note: I know not everyone is into acting, but when I do this I try to imitate an old woman. Hunch over, squint, high creaky voice, maybe have a shaky hand wave the PC into the cottage and so on. People learn by doing, so I've gotten better at it over the years. I hope.

Even if you haven't gotten better, its worth the effort. Even if its just to get a laugh from the group over your terrible "old lady" voice. One thing I recommend is try standing up and walking in a few circles around the table while talking using different types of footsteps. Big ones like you're wearing boots three sizes too big for an ogre, tiny little ones for Granny.

One how to play it out here's how I would handle it:

DM: <Granny's intro>
Player: She's too nice, I want to figure out if she's going to poison the tea.
DM: Cool. Want to do anything in particular?
Player: I'm not sure, I don't want to have play a game of The Sicilian. Maybe it smells weird?
DM: Alright, lets use Widsom (Perception) and see what happens.
Player: Ooof, and 8.
DM: Rae doesn't smell anything other than mint tea.
Player: Still don't like this, can I taste it a bit and see if that helps?
DM: Sure, still going to be Wisdom. Any proficiency you think might help?
Player: Maybe medicine? I figure I should be able to figure it out if it tastes off, or feels tingly.
DM: I like it, Wisdom (Medicine) it is.
Player: 15, way better!
DM: All Rae can taste is mint tea. Granny gives you an odd look, "Deary, if I wanted to kill you I wouldn't have asked you in."
<play continue>

The one big difference between my way and yours Oofta is that I'm putting the narration of character action into the player's hands at every stage. So they tell me what they think their character is doing, if they don't know or can't figure it out I'll usually give them some suggestions, or ask a few probing questions to get them thinking. I don't want to narrate their actions, just the results. I mean that literally I don't want to have to narrate the character actions, that should be up to the players to provide to the group.

 

[Oofta]

I do admit I like to imbue campaigns with a certain sense of paranoia at times depending on the campaign. Other games have mechanical ways of doing that which are lacking in D&D. That's my reason for the checks even though the tea was not poisoned. The crumpets on the other hand...

The other thing though, is that sometimes I think we lose sight of the fact that we do this because we want to have fun telling stories and playing a game. But each person has to find their own voice and their own style. I think that's something I forget myself at times (or don't make it clear).