That was some guess

[Savage Wombat]

So I'm running a module where an adversary has shown up to "chat" with a PC in his tent, in the middle of the night.

Somehow two of my players figured out he was a rakshasa purely from how I role-played him.

My question - is this a good sign or a bad one?

 

[billd91]

Are they properly terrified? Do they think the fact that it's a rakshasa is lame? Good? Scary?

 

[JamesonCourage]

It's a good thing. Back when I was playing a lot (4ish times per week, rather than 1/week), years ago, my players started to guess about a lot of stuff, and it was almost all correct. They had many NPC in-game plots figured out, etc. At first, I thought "am I too predictable?" But, after a couple weeks, it occurred to me: they're just invested enough in the NPCs and campaign that they know how these NPCs think. I finally came to this conclusion when I noticed they only guessed what people were up to when they had had interactions with them / knew about them, or had heard of it. They could not, in general, predict events that they were not a part of. I wasn't predictable on the whole, but they had gotten to know the setting / NPCs well enough to predict how they acted to a fair degree. It just meant my setting / NPCs were fleshed out and consistent.

If they're guessing correctly, they're most likely invested. Could it be the GM being predictable? Sure, it could be. But, in my case, it was a level of investment, rather than me being predictable. So, overall, I'd take it as a good sign. Nice RPing for the rakshasa (a creature I quite like!); keep it up. As always, play what you like

 

[D'karr]

So I'm running a module where an adversary has shown up to "chat" with a PC in his tent, in the middle of the night.

Somehow two of my players figured out he was a rakshasa purely from how I role-played him.

My question - is this a good sign or a bad one?

Look at your hands. Are they turned backwards? Maybe that clued them in.

 

[dd.stevenson]

So I'm running a module where an adversary has shown up to "chat" with a PC in his tent, in the middle of the night.

Somehow two of my players figured out he was a rakshasa purely from how I role-played him.

My question - is this a good sign or a bad one?

I'm guessing that Rakasha were level-appropriate and you role played the baddie as an eastern-themed hedonist?

If so, I'd just say it's a sign that they're experienced D&D players who view metagame knowledge as fair game.

 

[Ahnehnois]

I'd say it's a good thing for them that they were involved and insightful enough to figure it out, and a bad thing for you that you didn't sell the NPC. It happens. Fortunately, there's always next time.

It pays to learn from these things; trying to figure out what your players' expectations are makes it easier to subvert them.

 

[I'm A Banana]

The question in my games isn't usually do the players know what this is, but do the characters know what this is?

It's only really a bad sign if you are a DM who was hoping on the big reveal at some point and you're not flexible enough to roll with the punches here. Otherwise, go with it, and see where it leads!

 

[Warbringer]

Look at your hands. Are they turned backwards? Maybe that clued them in.

Lol...

Re to the OP, players using out of character knowledge play on their expectations and play it up

Re nonsense about "subtefuge" vs players .. "Nonsense" ... have fun with it

 

[Herobizkit]

I would have instantly made him a weretiger or a Druid.

 

[delericho]

So I'm running a module where an adversary has shown up to "chat" with a PC in his tent, in the middle of the night.

Somehow two of my players figured out he was a rakshasa purely from how I role-played him.

My question - is this a good sign or a bad one?

Probably a good thing - it probably means your portrayal was good and that the players are paying attention.

Of course, the other possibility is that they've sneakily read that module and are cheating. (Personally, I prefer to assume good play... it's just better that way.)

The way to check this is to move around one or two of the later mysteries in the adventure and see what they do - if they make a beeline for the hidden treasures, they're cheating; if not, pat yourself on the back for a job well done.