D&D 5E What to do if a player keeps reading the adventures

[Lord Vangarel]

What do you guys suggest when a player keeps reading the adventures before we play them. We're playing through the official adventures released by Wizards and the player reads ahead for each adventure so he knows what's coming.

We started playing published adventures as I don't really have the time to prepare my own however I have tweaked monsters etc.

 

[I'm A Banana]

What do you guys suggest when a player keeps reading the adventures before we play them. We're playing through the official adventures released by Wizards and the player reads ahead for each adventure so he knows what's coming.

We started playing published adventures as I don't really have the time to prepare my own however I have tweaked monsters etc.

Yeah, I mean, the big thing would be "make it your own." Wildly change things. Drop new points of geography in. Alter character motives. Turn allies into enemies and vice-versa. Throw a stone in the pond and see where the ripples lead.

Though I might also consider just letting that player DM. "If you're going to read them all anyway, just run 'em for us."

 

[DaveMage]

Either do what KM suggests above (get them to DM), or just eliminate the player from the game.

 

[Lord Vangarel]

Though I might also consider just letting that player DM. "If you're going to read them all anyway, just run 'em for us."

I might just suggest that for the next campaign. The player isn't going to change and if I make everything up I may as well not play the published material.

 

[Lord Vangarel]

Either do what KM suggests above (get them to DM), or just eliminate the player from the game.

I've just had a vision of a 100d6 no save Lightning Bolt hitting the player's character everytime he steps out his front door!

 

[delericho]

Regarding that lightning bolt: don't use an in-game solution for an out-of-game problem.

I suggest one of three solutions:

- Hand the player an ultimatum: stop reading the books or leave the game. Or...

- Significantly alter the pre-written adventures such that reading is less useful and potentially counter-productive. Or...

- Don't use those pre-gen adventures. Either write your own, or use some third-party adventures, or convert older adventures (or Pathfinder APs), or do an "inspired by..." campaign, or something. 5e actually looks a lot less prep-intensive than either 3e or (well-run) 4e, so hopefully this is at least something you could consider.

 

[Mephista]

First, figure out if he's metagaming. There are a lot of people who can play a game with knowledge of the story before hand, generally keep that information from affecting game play, and everyone have a good time.

Is his reading actually affecting anyone's fun at the table at any point? If not? Then do nothing. If its not broken, then don't fix it.

 

[iserith]

What do you guys suggest when a player keeps reading the adventures before we play them. We're playing through the official adventures released by Wizards and the player reads ahead for each adventure so he knows what's coming.

We started playing published adventures as I don't really have the time to prepare my own however I have tweaked monsters etc.

Is the player actually using this inside information to make the game experience worse for everyone else? Or does it just bother you on some level?

The reason I ask is because I know I am capable of knowing everything there is to know about a published adventure and still not use the information in a way that ruins the game experience for everyone else. I also have a lot of one-shot adventures that I run for pick-up groups and I have regular players that will jump in and play them more than once (sometimes multiple times). I've had no problem with them doing that because they, too, only use the information they have to make the adventure better. (Typically they're in it to approach the adventure a different way they did previously to see how that changes the emergent story or to see how other people do things compared to their first time.)

In any case, if it's bothersome to you or others and ruining your game experience, just talk to the player outside the context of the game directly and politely and ask for his or her help in rectifying the situation to everyone's mutual satisfaction. If you can't find a compromise, then perhaps it's best to part ways.

 

[Celebros]

First, figure out if he's metagaming. There are a lot of people who can play a game with knowledge of the story before hand, generally keep that information from affecting game play, and everyone have a good time.

+1

Is the player actively leveraging information in-game his character wouldn't have? If not, I don't think there is an issue, but if he is I think a serious out-of-game diacussion is needed with the player.

 

[Nebulous]

How does he use the information that he gleans from the module? I guess the issue is that if he warning the group about traps, monsters, secrets, or otherwise anything outside the character knowledge base, then yes, that is a huge problem.

If he's just ruining the story for himself, but likes it that way, well, i guess that's not a problem.