vulcan_idic
Explorer
ThorneMD said:This is measuring the amount of greed the players have. The small amount of gp that they can get easily, a map that will lead to treasure but with conflict on the way, or a gem that is priceless (only to a race that is long since dead making it completely worthless). Basically it can show the characters that greed is not always the best thing.
(emphasis mine)
The problem I see with this is that your intent with this is not to test them in something as the other things do, but to show them/teach them. If I was the player in this I would feel quite annoyed by it. My first instinct would be to choose nothing, if forced though I'd probably do eeny meeny miney moe - there is no good answer. It seems like the whole thing is set up (espescially with the "priceless gem" being priceless to some long extinct people I know nothing about) to trick me into making the "wrong" choice and punishing me for it. As a player I really don't like that. If you want to test the character great! It makes for great story, but make it a test not stacked in your favor - that will make me feel like you set it up just to show off your moral superiority to the players. I had a DM do that once and I know I really disliked it.
ThorneMD said:2. The Greater Good (Test of Guilt)
In an otherwise empty room, they players are confronted with a figure (can be anything you want). They are given three options and must choose one; To completely eradicate a race on your world (like elves for instance), to let the figure choose, or to let the choice fall randomly.
Do the players take the responsibility in their own hands, let fate decide, or let someone else take the control.
I should have said this before. In my world, there isn't a set alignment for races (ie there are good orcs and evil gold dragons). In this room, the players must choose between killing off a random race and take the blame themselves, let the figure choose a race (still a bad karma area, but better then killing a race themselves), or let fate decide (a quick type of evolution). This is basically a test of guilt and I should rename it that way.
My problem with this is similar to the problem with the first one - there is absolutely no chance I have to make a choice that doesn't result in genocide. Maybe it would work better in conjunction with the test of courage - give the characters the chance to willingly offer their own lives to prevent the genocide. All I know is I don't want to play the Kobayashi Maru - or if I do I want a chance to play it like Kirk does.