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<blockquote data-quote="Reynard" data-source="post: 3976759" data-attributes="member: 467">Has the party ever encountered one? How common are they?Here's a question: did the PCs start at 1st level?&nbsp; If so, then they know what exists by what they have fought.&nbsp; If not, I suggest giving them a level check vs a DC of 10+creatures CR to determine if they have encountered it before.The best solution, though, is to give the players some clues and let them figure it out.&nbsp; And don't get too down on them for metagaming, as long as they do it with style.&nbsp; The clasic example is the troll.&nbsp; It is one thing for the mid level, never fought anything but orcs PCs to suddenly start slinging burning oil as soon as they see the &quot;8' tall, clawed green skinned humanoid&quot; -- it is another entirely for the player to respond to the magical healing of the monster's flesh with, &quot;Okay, that blow's Regdar's mind.&nbsp; He starts fighting defensively, waving the torch to keep the thing at bay. ::rolls dice:: Hey look, I hit ::rolls dice:: 3 points of fire damage.&quot; and then give the DM a sly little smirk.&nbsp; that's metagaming, and it is fun.In general, using well known (to experienced players) monsters with what are intended to be &quot;gotcha&quot; abilities is kind of a waste.&nbsp; Better to recast the monster as something else.&nbsp; maybe you use the rust monster's stats, but instead of rusting items it turns them to leafy wood and you describe at some druidic abberation.&nbsp; That way, you get to surprise them with a &quot;new&quot; creature, add a little something to your milieu and still keep the &quot;gotcha&quot;.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Reynard, post: 3976759, member: 467"] Has the party ever encountered one? How common are they? Here's a question: did the PCs start at 1st level? If so, then they know what exists by what they have fought. If not, I suggest giving them a level check vs a DC of 10+creatures CR to determine if they have encountered it before. The best solution, though, is to give the players some clues and let them figure it out. And don't get too down on them for metagaming, as long as they do it with style. The clasic example is the troll. It is one thing for the mid level, never fought anything but orcs PCs to suddenly start slinging burning oil as soon as they see the "8' tall, clawed green skinned humanoid" -- it is another entirely for the player to respond to the magical healing of the monster's flesh with, "Okay, that blow's Regdar's mind. He starts fighting defensively, waving the torch to keep the thing at bay. ::rolls dice:: Hey look, I hit ::rolls dice:: 3 points of fire damage." and then give the DM a sly little smirk. that's metagaming, and it is fun. In general, using well known (to experienced players) monsters with what are intended to be "gotcha" abilities is kind of a waste. Better to recast the monster as something else. maybe you use the rust monster's stats, but instead of rusting items it turns them to leafy wood and you describe at some druidic abberation. That way, you get to surprise them with a "new" creature, add a little something to your milieu and still keep the "gotcha". [/QUOTE]

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