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Mysteries, Zone of Truth, and Savvy Players?
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<blockquote data-quote="Quickleaf" data-source="post: 8007490" data-attributes="member: 20323"><p>We've started a new campaign, and after their first session my players are set up to investigate a mystery of a stolen auction item. My group is comprised of experienced, clever, genre-savvy players, and everyone has some DMing experience. They're a joy to DM for but also a challenge! <img src="http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/glasses.png" class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt="B-)" title="Glasses B-)" data-shortname="B-)" /></p><p></p><p>One of the players has access to the <a href="https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/zone-of-truth" target="_blank"><em>zone of truth</em></a> spell, and he has the authority/permission to use that spell on multiple suspects (provided it's limited to questions pertaining to the investigation). I thought I had the mystery well designed so that <em>zone of truth </em>wouldn't break it, but now that I have more time to reflect on my players' skill level, I may need to think this through more.</p><p></p><p>In the past, when I've run a mystery for other less experienced players, I was able to use evasive answers and counter-questioning to trip them up with <em>zone of truth. </em>I even managed to confound one experienced player during his first casting of <em>zone of truth </em>(the questioned killer had given the familiar of a spellcaster poison to sprinkle in the drinks of the murdered, claiming it was tea). Those tricks worked because of lack of experience – either generally or with the spell. However, these players are far too experienced to be tripped up so easily.</p><p></p><p>For instance, I'm fully expecting "answer in yes/no format only" or "repeat after me" strategies.</p><p></p><p>Have you successfully run a mystery for experienced genre-savvy players? How did you handle intelligent questioning via <em>zone of truth</em>?</p><p></p><p>EDIT: Adding the spell description of <em>zone of truth </em>for clarity, emphasis mine:</p><p></p><p>[EXCERPT]You create a magical zone that guards against deception in a 15-foot-radius sphere centered on a point of your choice within range. Until the spell ends, a creature that enters the spell's area for the first time on a turn or starts its turn there must make a Charisma saving throw. On a failed save, a creature <strong>can't speak a deliberate lie</strong> while in the radius. You know whether each creature succeeds or fails on its saving throw.</p><p>An affected creature is aware of the spell and can thus avoid answering questions to which it would normally respond with a lie. Such a creature can be evasive in its answers as long as it remains within the boundaries of the truth.[/EXCERPT]</p><p></p><p>EDIT EDIT: Seems like there was some misunderstanding of my intent in posting this question, so I'll share a quote from Gary Gygax (1978) which elucidates my actual intent: <em>“The DM will have to respond to superior play by extending himself or herself to pose bigger and better problems for the party to solve.”</em></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Quickleaf, post: 8007490, member: 20323"] We've started a new campaign, and after their first session my players are set up to investigate a mystery of a stolen auction item. My group is comprised of experienced, clever, genre-savvy players, and everyone has some DMing experience. They're a joy to DM for but also a challenge! B-) One of the players has access to the [URL='https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/zone-of-truth'][I]zone of truth[/I][/URL] spell, and he has the authority/permission to use that spell on multiple suspects (provided it's limited to questions pertaining to the investigation). I thought I had the mystery well designed so that [I]zone of truth [/I]wouldn't break it, but now that I have more time to reflect on my players' skill level, I may need to think this through more. In the past, when I've run a mystery for other less experienced players, I was able to use evasive answers and counter-questioning to trip them up with [I]zone of truth. [/I]I even managed to confound one experienced player during his first casting of [I]zone of truth [/I](the questioned killer had given the familiar of a spellcaster poison to sprinkle in the drinks of the murdered, claiming it was tea). Those tricks worked because of lack of experience – either generally or with the spell. However, these players are far too experienced to be tripped up so easily. For instance, I'm fully expecting "answer in yes/no format only" or "repeat after me" strategies. Have you successfully run a mystery for experienced genre-savvy players? How did you handle intelligent questioning via [I]zone of truth[/I]? EDIT: Adding the spell description of [I]zone of truth [/I]for clarity, emphasis mine: [EXCERPT]You create a magical zone that guards against deception in a 15-foot-radius sphere centered on a point of your choice within range. Until the spell ends, a creature that enters the spell's area for the first time on a turn or starts its turn there must make a Charisma saving throw. On a failed save, a creature [B]can't speak a deliberate lie[/B] while in the radius. You know whether each creature succeeds or fails on its saving throw. An affected creature is aware of the spell and can thus avoid answering questions to which it would normally respond with a lie. Such a creature can be evasive in its answers as long as it remains within the boundaries of the truth.[/EXCERPT] EDIT EDIT: Seems like there was some misunderstanding of my intent in posting this question, so I'll share a quote from Gary Gygax (1978) which elucidates my actual intent: [I]“The DM will have to respond to superior play by extending himself or herself to pose bigger and better problems for the party to solve.”[/I] [/QUOTE]
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