D&D 5E I Failed My Kobayashi Maru Scenario

[I'm A Banana]

Am I the only one thats OK with this outcome? I dont think he made a mistake, with new or veteran players. And none of that "its the DMs game nonsense" I know the boys liked the kobold.

Life in D&D is harsh. The gods are fickle and fate is a b....

It's a style thing. Not everyone is into the cruel fate vibe in their game. Ultimately, the question is, what is fun for everyone? Live things typically bring more interesting and hilarious scenarios than dead things.

 

[Nebulous]

Bring him back as a zombie, have him start hunting the boys one by one. Start running a much different kind of game.

"Snik know what yoo did lastest summerzes!"

OMG.

 

[Stalker0]

I say bring em back to life through story in the game.

Not for your boys...but for me!

I too have come to love Snik from this brief summary and demand to have him returned to the world!

 

[Nebulous]

How would you guys have handled it? Let them keep him until he was able to escape? Make him a pet or mascot? Have him killed when the PCs get into combat?

You handled it fine in the moment, but it would be really cool if you brought him back somehow. Or, as someone else mentioned, he has a brother come looking for him. Or, someone ELSE mentioned, he's a revenant undead bend on their unholy destruction across land, sea and air.

 

[Lhorgrim]

Thanks for the replies everybody. You've given me some great ideas on how to move on from here.

I think I learned from my mishandling of the situation. 11 year old boys see the game differently than I do, and I'm going to try to keep that in mind as I run it for them.

They saw the kobold as a mascot, even though I was playing him as an unwilling captive. I didn't recognize that they were signaling where they wanted to go with the game. I just saw them missing the threat indicators I was role playing. I guess I had gotten stuck in an instructor mode instead of facilitator. In my mind, the kobold was going to keep trying to escape his captors until he succeeded or he died trying. It certainly would have made for a more memorable game if I had picked up on the player's signals and let them handle Snik the way they wanted.

We didn't have time after the last game, but I think I'm going to set aside some time at the next session for the boys to give me feedback on what they liked most and what they liked least. I'll use that info to try to keep the game fun for everybody.

 

[Nebulous]

We didn't have time after the last game, but I think I'm going to set aside some time at the next session for the boys to give me feedback on what they liked most and what they liked least. I'll use that info to try to keep the game fun for everybody.

Careful there, your campaign might become "Let's Rehabilitate Kobold Clans and Start a Charity" kind of an adventure

 

[dream66_]

They saw the kobold as a mascot, even though I was playing him as an unwilling captive. I didn't recognize that they were signaling where they wanted to go with the game. I just saw them missing the threat indicators I was role playing. I guess I had gotten stuck in an instructor mode instead of facilitator. In my mind, the kobold was going to keep trying to escape his captors until he succeeded or he died trying. It certainly would have made for a more memorable game if I had picked up on the player's signals and let them handle Snik the way they wanted.

I'm all for shaping the game to what the players want, but I'm not comfortable with encouraging 11 year old's to treat an intelligent captive as a pet or mascot. If Snik was following as an ally that's very different than pet, so if you do bring Snik back or some replacement please be careful that just cuz they want it doesn't make it right.

 

[AngryOgre]

Am I the only one thats OK with this outcome? I dont think he made a mistake, with new or veteran players. And none of that "its the DMs game nonsense" I know the boys liked the kobold.

Life in D&D is harsh. The gods are fickle and fate is a b....

Sure the DM made a call and the boys tried to prevent it. Even the dice gods tried to prevent it.

The DM learned his lesson, and the players learned theirs. They never bound the kobold too well, its escaped a bunch of times. How cruel is it to make something your slave? Why is everyone ok with indentured servitude? If the kobold was helpful and playful, then things might be different.

The boys are 11ish and the game will go on, with or without the kobold. The next time they capture a foe, and want to "keep it as a pet" they will learn harsher and crueler lessons about life than this.

In fact if they keep talking about it, their next adventure, one of the boys will be captured, and forced to be a slave to some lizardfolk. Even if they treat him well, lets see how well he likes it. Only then will Snik's death have a truly profound impact... true freedom.

Because if I had been subjected to that kind of thing when I was 11 I would have dropped d&d so fast. It's called a touch stone, the players made the kobold a touchstone, and it may be ok for you and your group to kill touchstones through fiat but it sounds like they really liked it.

 

[Astrosicebear]

Because if I had been subjected to that kind of thing when I was 11 I would have dropped d&d so fast. It's called a touch stone, the players made the kobold a touchstone, and it may be ok for you and your group to kill touchstones through fiat but it sounds like they really liked it.

I understand the whole touchstone approach, but I agree with the OP's original choice here. He was DMing for his son and friends who were essentially dressing up a dog and dragging it around on a leash as a prize. Very uncomfortable, no matter their fondness for the creature. He chose to remove it from the game.

D&D is a reflection of life as much as you want to make it, or as much as an escape as you want it to be. I've had my stepson ask me why the race of black people were evil? Why the "jock looking and macho talking dwarves" picked on the "effeminate and nerdy elves"? And this was just from him reading the PHB. Kids pick up on stereotypes quickly, its an easy way for them to compartmentalize information. I make sure in my games with kids to never delve lightly into morally questionable behaviors, like stock racism, or slavery. And like the OP... if i felt things getting awkward, out goes the culprit.

 

[trentonjoe]

If you're worried about treating a person like a thing, then have the thing starting acting like a person. D&D is a great way to teach interpersonal skills with kids.