D&D General Should players be aware of their own high and low rolls?

[Crimson Longinus]

Do these metagaming things actually regularly crop up in people's games? Like sure, I can imagine hypothetical situations where I would object and say "Your character doesn't know that," but I don't remember such actually happening. I'm sure it has sometimes occurred over the years, but it definitely is not a an issue I would spent a lot of time worrying about as it simply doesn't come up.

 

[Xamnam]

Do these metagaming things actually regularly crop up in people's games. Like sure, I can imagine hypothetical situations where I would object and say "Your character doesn't know that," but I don't remember such actually happening. I'm sure it has sometimes occurred, but it definitely is not a an issue I would spent a lot of time worrying about as it simply doesn't come up.

Never in a negative way in any of my games yet.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

If they want to go and check they can tell me how long they're going to wait before doing so. For example if the scout's not expected back for an hour but they're going to start worrying after only half an hour, then at the half-hour point I'll check and find out what they're doing.

It does, provided that - both in and out of character - people are willing to commit to doing what they say they're going to do.

If I ask what your character's doing for the hour the scout expects to be gone and you say your character's just going to wait for her to return, that's your action declaration and you're committed to it unless something interrupts you e.g. a wandering monster or a scream in the distance or whatever.

Which means that if after the hour I come back and ask "What next?" and you say "Well, after half an hour I would have..." I'm completely within my rights to shut you down right there for two reasons: one, you now know nothing happens in the full hour and two, you already committed yourself to doing nothing for that time.

And if you want to go to where people aren't committed to their action declarations once they've been made, we've got bigger and likely unsolvable problems.

the part that strikes me the weirdest is you don't let people change there minds ever... and you do this while forcing people to RP in private. Like HOW can it be metagaming if they don't know at all.

As for the "Why change" I can imagine you and DM walk off to your private game for 40 mins out of game time come back and I say "SInce in real life I sat here for 40 mins getting annoyed I have decided my character most likely will feel the same, so I will check at 30 mins instead of an hour" or maybe I should come text or knock on your door at the 20 min mark and say "Hey, since we still want to RP and our characters are not much more patient then we are, we are coming now... what ever point you are at"

now because I am pretty easy going I most likely wont do that, I will just say the game isn't for me. I have no interest in note passing or private play

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Burning Hands goes 15 feet these days?

In my game it only goes three, meaning that to cast it on a Troll you're going to be well within its reach.

Good luck with that. Please make sure your Wizard's will is up to date before attempting.

wait you change spells range?

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Do these metagaming things actually regularly crop up in people's games?

nope, and when it does I bet it is always just a misunderstanding of what eveyrone wants at the table and can be handled (most times) with a simple adult conversation.

Like sure, I can imagine hypothetical situations where I would object and say "Your character doesn't know that," but I don't remember such actually happening.

in the last 30 years it has come up maybe 15 times in my experience... and never once to the degree threads like this make it seem

I'm sure it has sometimes occurred over the years, but it definitely is not a an issue I would spent a lot of time worrying about as it simply doesn't come up.

 

[Bill Zebub]

Do these metagaming things actually regularly crop up in people's games? Like sure, I can imagine hypothetical situations where I would object and say "Your character doesn't know that," but I don't remember such actually happening. I'm sure it has sometimes occurred over the years, but it definitely is not a an issue I would spent a lot of time worrying about as it simply doesn't come up.

Not really a problem situation, but it does remind me of a story: in Jr. High a college kid was running G1 at the local FLGS. Problem is my friends and I had played it. So my friend and I asked the DM if we could play if we didn't give anything away. I forget where in the module this is, but the party opened something and before the DM could say anything my friend Kent blurted out "Lightening javelin city!" Everybody stared at him, I facepalmed, and the DM explained that we had already run that adventure.

Looking back, I suppose it was a good sign that everybody at the table was surprised by this news.

The epilogue is that in the 40+ years since then, whenever a lightening javelin makes an appearance I hear Kent's voice. "Lightening javelin city!"


[/nostalgia]

 

[Bill Zebub]

In my game it only goes three,

Doesn't that mean, by strict D&D(5e) rules, that you can't even hit an adjacent square?

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Not really a problem situation, but it does remind me of a story: in Jr. High a college kid was running G1 at the local FLGS. Problem is my friends and I had played it. So my friend and I asked the DM if we could play if we didn't give anything away. I forget where in the module this is, but the party opened something and before the DM could say anything my friend Kent blurted out "Lightening javelin city!" Everybody stared at him, I facepalmed, and the DM explained that we had already run that adventure.

Looking back, I suppose it was a good sign that everybody at the table was surprised by this news.

The epilogue is that in the 40+ years since then, whenever a lightening javelin makes an appearance I hear Kent's voice. "Lightening javelin city!"


[/nostalgia]

TBH the whole "I ran/played this adventure before" stories more often come with "This is how I tried to help the DM" in my circles... I have 2 raven loft examples were we TOTALLY used out of game info to make sure someone did something that we knew the adventure needed to be fun and kept going... no 3 I forgot I am almost playing in curse of strahd once a month (we meet 4 times in the last 7 months so it's easy for me not to count it).

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Doesn't that mean, by strict D&D(5e) rules, that you can't even hit an adjacent square?

I think so, like, you have to enter the square... is this from an older edition or is this some strange way to nerf casters? I have never known burning hands to be the 'this is the broken spell' of any edition

 

[Irlo]

Doesn't that mean, by strict D&D(5e) rules, that you can't even hit an adjacent square?

3' is the BH range in AD&D 1e.