Is this metagaming?

[PrinceZane]

After a party is enhanced due to generous casters (bull's str, prayer, bless, etc) the PCs stats improve. Yay! Now lets say the fighter swings at the NPC and misses, but would've hit with the spell's effects. If he calculates his total "to hit" and I, as DM, say "misses", can he in turn change it because he forgot to add it, or can the party go "Did you remember to add (spell effects)?" Basically, is it up to the player to remember the stats that have changed, or can he get a little help if he absent mindedly forgets?

Zane

 

[Lasher Dragon]

We usually allow someone to add it in if they remember it within 1 or 2 people's turns, but only once per session. After that, if you don't remember your modified stats, it's your fault.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

He can get a little help, especially in the case that it's a fairly recent and short-term enhancement.

In fact, at my gaming group, my wife plays an Elven Barbarian / Bard. When she's singing her Inspire Courage song, she makes of point of saying, "Add me!" whenever anyone rolls for attack or damage, just as a reminder. We laugh, and kick more butt.

 

[Rystil Arden]

After a party is enhanced due to generous casters (bull's str, prayer, bless, etc) the PCs stats improve. Yay! Now lets say the fighter swings at the NPC and misses, but would've hit with the spell's effects. If he calculates his total "to hit" and I, as DM, say "misses", can he in turn change it because he forgot to add it, or can the party go "Did you remember to add (spell effects)?" Basically, is it up to the player to remember the stats that have changed, or can he get a little help if he absent mindedly forgets?

Zane

Getting a reminder of your bonuses is not metagaming, its gaming. Metagaming generally refers to using out-of-game knowledge of game rules or information in game, often to gain an advantage. When you use in-game information in-game, like reminding the player of the fact that the fighter has a buff spell up, in an appropriate setting, that's just playing the game, just like you let the players look at their character sheets to determine their Hide check bonus, rather than forcing them to restate it and all its appropriate bonuses from memory in order to get the bonus

 

[PrinceZane]

Generally, I've let them get by with it. But if an NPC accidently forgets that it gets bite AND claws in it's full round, they jump to the defense that it's "too late". Finally decided a little 'eye for an eye' action. I like the once per session thing, I think that's what I'm gonna do. 'preciate it!

 

[Darkness]

A player's forgetfulness doesn't negate any in-game effects. If someone constantly forgets their modifiers, make them write them down from now on.

 

[Henry]

What we usually do is to add note cards or makeshift placards on the table, with the relevant bonuses to remind people if they forget. Once, when my group kept forgetting the bless spell one of the clerics provided, I took a note page, and put "BLESS, ERS!" on the page in huge letters and put it on the table top in front of the DM screen. No one forgot the bonus for the rest of the combat.

For the most part, I certainly allow friendly reminders, because it helps simulate the "reality" of the game; after all, the bless doesn't magically vanish if people forget it's there.

 

[loki44]

I agree with Rystil. Your example is not metagaming. IMO not allowing an honestly forgotten modifier to be added, especially a temporary one, if the mistake is caught right away, is a bit harsh. We're all human (I think). Having to remember so many odd modifiers in 3.5 is one of the things that detracts from game (IMO, of course).

 

[Kalendraf]

The party I DM for includes 2 bards, a cleric and a druid, all of which cast various buff spells on the party. In addition, several of the party's lesser items can do some 1-per-day buffs. It can be a chore to track them, so generally each player writes down all the modifiers they have in effect for their character each battle and then modify their numbers accordingly. Even then, some missing mods turn up.

Damage mods can get factored in at almost any point w/o much trouble. "Oh, shoot, forgot the bard is level 8 now. Let's see I've hit 4 times in the last 2 rounds, so add 4 more damage from the song." I don't have a problem with that at all.

But any attacks that missed we usually don't go back an modify unless we can verify the modifier would have made a difference. Sometimes the player will comment OOC something like "Darn, I missed by 1", and then if we find a modifier that they forgot a turn later, I may be generous and let them roll the damage for that attack, but that's pretty rare.

On the other hand, I am rather generous with saving throws. If someone failed a nasty one, then learns later on they'd forgot a modifier, I'll often give them the benefit, though it depends somewhat on what has happened in the meantime.

 

[xrpsuzi]

We had one guy who is not very good at math and he's forgetful with the temp bonuses. We joke that one day we will get him an abacus.

At our table, it's up to us to remember. We roll attacks and damage, we add everything up, and tell the GM. If we remember any last minute things before he moves on to the next initiative, then we can keep the changes. Otherwise it's lost.