Chacal said:
This, IMO, is meta gaming. The existence of a game mechanics is unknown to the characters.
"DR (or in the PC's mind, "can't be harmed by normal weapons, because if they could, their vulnerability wouldn't be so darn special)."
I didn't write it twice because I didn't feel like it, and I have a feeling that no one felt like reading it twice either.
He specified that it was a new campaign and newbie PCs with no previous experience with lycanthropes (or creatures with DR ?).
They had no reason to react on a game mechanics basis.
As for MW (or GMW) loosing value, it might only bother me if a sorcerer planned to select it as a known spell.
it's still useful for/against sundering attempts, and gives some bonuses.
Hey, they were informed of a possible weakness. As I said before, I think almost anyone with knowledge of Magic Weapon would know that, chief among it's benefits, is the ability to put the hurt on stuff that normally can only be hurt by specific materials. Thus, not meta-gaming. You're just going to have to disagree. Imagine that.
If I can't hurt my enemy using my weapon, even after casting Magic Weapon on it, having it sundered would be the least of my worries and I certainly wouldn't waste a slot on a spell for the express purpose of avoiding a sunder.
I disagree about " a PC should know every implications of its spell use", and I'd never consider that every time a 1st lvl cleric learns "bless" he's given a notice with "- Usefull against rakshasa" for instance. The sames goes for not having the knowledge "MW helps beating any DR that can be beaten with special materials".
I never said that a PC should know EVERY "implication" of its spell use. If the PC isn't familiar with Rakshasas, he certainly won't have learned of them from Bless. Although, he may have a hunch that if the creature is evil, Bless can only help his situation. That's not meta-gaiming, that's what we call common sense. Besides you're talking about a specific and rather rare creature, while I am talking about DR, which many creatures have. You're comparing apples to durian fruit.
(And when I say DR let it be clear that from a PC's point of view that means anything that can't be hurt through normal means. For all of the meta-gaming gestapo members out there.)
That's MY opinion. Opinions are, after all, what the original request was for.
The DM deserves to have fun and the players should respect the work he/she's put into the campaign by not trying to derail things. The DM should understand though, that the small amount of authority they've been given is not a license to play iron-fisted dictator. There should be mutual respect. I work hard on my campaign, but that doesn't make me their lord and master, my every whim a command. I'm just a glorified poker dealer. I decide what cards go where, but that's no reason to treat my friends like they're there to serve me.
BTW, I didn't post the second quote in your post.
Yeah, that was me cutting and pasting tags after over 24 hours of continuous conciousness. It's been fixed.