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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Rhialto" data-source="post: 1395759" data-attributes="member: 630">I'm going to be blunt here--this is classic "CRAWL WORM" style DMing that you're talking about here, punishing players for having initiative, for doing something that you personally don't like that doesn't have anything inherantly wrong with it.  Let me tell you--this can kill campaigns.  Players don't like being crushed for not following the DM-God's whims.  He killed a dragon--a fairly difficult dragon, and wants to have that fact acknowledged.  THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT. Penalizing him to discourage it is the sort of petty behavior that can send your players running to the hills.You've noted you don't want this turning into a dungeon crawl.  A character giving himself a nickname will only do that if you let it.  Actually such a nickname can be used to grant role-playing opportunities, without necessarily penalizing the character.  After all, people who get reputations tend to attract the attentions of the powerful, or those seeking to be powerful.  Perhaps in a town the party visit the two candidates for a public position attempt to curry favor of the Dragonslayer and his friends forcing the party into the arena of local politics.  Perhaps a local lord decides his worthless son could use some shaping up, and offers the PCs rewards if they'll take him under their wing and keep him alive...  There are lots of things you can do with this besides the typical "DM SMASH!!" responses.And it always amazes me that dragons who are put into adventures to be killed, and who come from a species infamous for its brutality and callow behavior, all turn out to have devoted relatives willing to live for vengeance the moment PCs start taking pride in their accomplishment...</blockquote>

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