Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Roleplaying Fear Traps in Battle
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="MNblockhead" data-source="post: 8070369" data-attributes="member: 6796661"><p>Question for other GMs, in response to a character failing their save on, say, a fearsome presence ability of some monsters, would you describe the nature of the fear for the players to react to, or is it the player's prerogative to determine how they role-play their character's fear?</p><p></p><p>Generally, I would say the later. I think it is bad form for a GM to tell players how to play their characters or, in effect, playing their characters for them by describing what they feel. But with failed saves against fear effects, might it be forgivable for the GM to describe the feeling? After all, fear is often losing control. What better way of simulating that loss of control than by GM describing the effect on the character?</p><p></p><p>Also, in my experience, most players don't roleplay it without some prompting, which turns many supposedly fearsome encounters into lackluster resolution of mechanics. "You character is afraid, you must take your full movement away from the dragon until you make your save." Contradicting the exhortations most frequently given to DMs in discussions on ENWorld to not tell players how their characters feel, I find when I describe the sense of dread and panic the character fears, players seem to enjoy the encounter better, have something to improvise off of, making them more likely to role-play the fear. I've never had anyone complain.</p><p></p><p>What are your thoughts about "fear" effects being an exception to the rule that DMs shouldn't tell players what their characters feel or do?</p><p></p><p>And, if it is an exception, what do you think about rolling a 4-sided dice when players fail a wisdom save on a fear effect, where:</p><p></p><p>1. Panic - must use full movement to run away from the source of the fear each turn</p><p></p><p>2. Retirement - creature is incapacitated until the start of its next turn</p><p></p><p>3. Dreamer - same as frightened condition</p><p></p><p>4. Broken Record - This one is more difficult. I was thinking that the character can only take the same action it took the prior turn until it makes its save. But for many battles that really won't be much different than what characters would do anyway. Though I could see it really screwing characters in some situations, especially casters. It would be fun to see how this plays out in actuality.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="MNblockhead, post: 8070369, member: 6796661"] Question for other GMs, in response to a character failing their save on, say, a fearsome presence ability of some monsters, would you describe the nature of the fear for the players to react to, or is it the player's prerogative to determine how they role-play their character's fear? Generally, I would say the later. I think it is bad form for a GM to tell players how to play their characters or, in effect, playing their characters for them by describing what they feel. But with failed saves against fear effects, might it be forgivable for the GM to describe the feeling? After all, fear is often losing control. What better way of simulating that loss of control than by GM describing the effect on the character? Also, in my experience, most players don't roleplay it without some prompting, which turns many supposedly fearsome encounters into lackluster resolution of mechanics. "You character is afraid, you must take your full movement away from the dragon until you make your save." Contradicting the exhortations most frequently given to DMs in discussions on ENWorld to not tell players how their characters feel, I find when I describe the sense of dread and panic the character fears, players seem to enjoy the encounter better, have something to improvise off of, making them more likely to role-play the fear. I've never had anyone complain. What are your thoughts about "fear" effects being an exception to the rule that DMs shouldn't tell players what their characters feel or do? And, if it is an exception, what do you think about rolling a 4-sided dice when players fail a wisdom save on a fear effect, where: 1. Panic - must use full movement to run away from the source of the fear each turn 2. Retirement - creature is incapacitated until the start of its next turn 3. Dreamer - same as frightened condition 4. Broken Record - This one is more difficult. I was thinking that the character can only take the same action it took the prior turn until it makes its save. But for many battles that really won't be much different than what characters would do anyway. Though I could see it really screwing characters in some situations, especially casters. It would be fun to see how this plays out in actuality. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Roleplaying Fear Traps in Battle
Top