I said "No" when I should have said "Yes".

[Korgoth]

It really is too bad, but live and learn. You'll know better for next time.

Keep in mind that, if you allow something that in the future threatens to mess things up, you can always screw the player then! After all, if he wants to take the fungus, he's accepting a certain (fun) risk of the unknown. It can turn into a whole adventure.

"So, it looks like some of the mushroom spores came into contact with potion residue. Have you ever heard of The Sorcerer's Apprentice?"

 

[Simplicity]

Screw this say yes thing. There is almost nothing worse than the "Harvester" player.

Hey, I killed a monster? Can I harvest its organs and turn them into poison? There's poisonous spikes at the bottom of the pit? Well, I guess I gotta climb down there and get the poison off... Fungus? Is it poisonous fungus? Can I harvest this poisonous gas in a bottle? That scummy water... If I put it on my weapon, would it be poisonous?

I had a harvester once. And I tried saying yes. Heck, I couldn't avoid letting him harvest poison from giant scorpions... I smacked that urge down with extreme prejudice.

I say almost nothing worse. Because I once had a player who got the ingredients for gunpowder and then just proceeded to make the stuff. No explanation for why his character would know how to make it. Him, I *did* put down immediately.

 

[justanobody]

I think the point is moreso that by saying no, he effectively squashed the player's attempt at creativity, whereas saying yes and letting him try wouldn't likely have unbalanced the game any.

I'm actually likely going to be running this encounter tonight, so thanks for making me think about that possible situation.

99% of the time you do want to let players attempt anything, but those times that the room looks empty, and it really is, you kind of want to prevent the players from wasting time. So if there is really nothing to be gained from taking this fungus then I would just let it be included in the dungeoneering check that it has no use except where it grows just to prevent time wasting.

As the harvester idea. Even though most games I play or DM in they are full of harvesters and had a player one time keep asking why my character was picking up just about everything along the way....Well, he made use of just about all of it as they progressed and to the aid of the party many times.

Maybe it is a throwback to times when you had to collect spell components and poison/potion components....

If a player can only be creative around this fungus, then they may need to try other things more often.

The main question would be how did it effect the overall game, as there are sure to be other places that a player cannot try something. If the game progressed and didn't come to an abrupt halt, then no loss. I guess knowing more about the spicific "properties" and reason for wanting to pick some would possibly change things, but it doesn't seem that big a deal in this case.

 

[DEFCON 1]

Well now that the Adventurer's Vault has rules on Alchemy and being an alchemist... you should be able to use/adapt them for poisons as well as needed. And the rules for it should all be balanced, assuming the alchemy rules are.

 

[GlaziusF]

Hey, I killed a monster? Can I harvest its organs and turn them into poison? There's poisonous spikes at the bottom of the pit? Well, I guess I gotta climb down there and get the poison off... Fungus? Is it poisonous fungus? Can I harvest this poisonous gas in a bottle? That scummy water... If I put it on my weapon, would it be poisonous?

"Sure! But I kinda want to keep treasure parity, so any poison you 'harvest' is going to be accounted for when I'm populating the loot pile, and I'll make sure and let the other players know what your poison is worth. In the interest of fairness, of course."

 

[jdrakeh]

99% of the time you do want to let players attempt anything, but those times that the room looks empty, and it really is, you kind of want to prevent the players from wasting time.

Or you can put something there for the players to find. I mean, man, this is exactly what random tables were designed for.

 

[justanobody]

Or you can put something there for the players to find. I mean, man, this is exactly what random tables were designed for.

Back then, yeah, but 4th seems so confined. I sometimes feel like putting too much pressure could break its coherence.

I find that a single copper piece laying in the corner of the room does nothing to stop players from looking over every room for that one copper piece that they expect to be there. ARRGH!

Also it is just that some times you have to usher the players along to something else better. Even the empty room itself CAN be a treasure now in 4th since it may offer an extended rest. Well it could before also, but you needed more time daily with wizards to prepare things than just 6 hours of sleep.

 

[Hypersmurf]

I had a harvester once. And I tried saying yes.

In my case, it was green slime. "It doesn't dissolve stone, right? So we could collect some in a ceramic jar..."

I later decided that in future, green slime kept in a ceramic jar would go inert after an hour or two.

-Hyp.

 

[jdrakeh]

Back then, yeah, but 4th seems so confined. I sometimes feel like putting too much pressure could break its coherence.

I find that a single copper piece laying in the corner of the room does nothing to stop players from looking over every room for that one copper piece that they expect to be there. ARRGH!

Try leaving something worthwhile in a room (nobody cares about a single copper piece). Gets 'em every time. And just so you don't feel like you're giving things away, you can throw in a secret door, trap, or other non-monetary hidden thing every now and again. None of this will 'break' 4e (or any other edition of D&D). I've been doing it for years. You get to move the game along and your players won't perceive it as a heavy-handed attempt to do so. Good point about empty rooms and 4e, though.

 

[justanobody]

Try leaving something worthwhile in a room (nobody cares about a single copper piece). Gets 'em every time. And just so you don't feel like you're giving things away, you can throw in a secret door, trap, or other non-monetary hidden thing every now and again. None of this will 'break' 4e (or any other edition of D&D). I've been doing it for years. You get to move the game along and your players won't perceive it as a heavy-handed attempt to do so. Good point about empty rooms and 4e, though.

If it isn't nailed down, my players will take it. They took a shack as a treasure once. Would have taken the outhouse too if it wasn't recently "in use".

One time the players got tired of searching the same rooms over and over, so they stole the doors off rooms that they had already been to.

They did make a raft with the doors later, but it was a bit distressing when they like to carry everything they need to make an instant barricade so they can search for loot BEFORE fighting the baddies trying to get into the room....