Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lanefan" data-source="post: 7830960" data-attributes="member: 29398">It's extremely rare - if ever - that I-as-DM take over and declare a PC's action unless said PC is under magical compulsion, but I will now and then jump in and veto a declared action - sometimes as a smackdown on either blatant metagaming or on one player trying to control another's character but most often because the player is acting on knowledge the PC couldn't possibly have in character.  Conversely, I'll remind players of info their characters would know but they-as-players have obviously forgotten, usually because the info came to the characters two in-game hours ago but it's been a week or more for the players.  Or, if the info they need is in the game logs, I'll just suggest they read 'em.I'll also now and then pull out the "Are you sure?" line when someone wants to try something balls-out crazy, but it doesn't always stop 'em* <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />* - see spoiler, unless you currently play in my game.......[SPOILER]Game system is modified 1e.Last session I ran, party's in an area that they've (correctly) guessed to be a long-abandoned starbase* that they already know has potentially deadly defenses running on autopilot!  They get to an isolated building in the middle of the airfield with some glass doors in one end.  Doors don't open.  One character is determined to get inside, however, and can't be bothered exploring around the building to see if there's any other way in; instead he just decides to use his earthquake boots on these doors.In an unusual move for this guy, this time he warns the party what he's about to do.  Everyone else backs way-the-hell off and warn him he's on his own - this character has a long history of bringing death and destruction down on the party so they're well justified in this.And I ask "Are you sure?" (as did, I think, one other player as well)BOOT!  Doors destroyed.  Defenses activate: three "metal golems" (i.e. sophisticated and deadly robots armed to the teeth) appear from a nearby wall and catch Boot-guy completely off guard.One massive critical hit from one robot, one regular hit from another, one rending as the two pull him apart, and a point-blank laser shot from the third robot put Boot-guy to -133 h.p.** before he can do anything about it. (he started with about 35 h.p.; an 8th-level equivalent-to-Druid)* - Yes it's a normally-medieval-fantasy D&D game - think of this adventure as Expedition to the Barrier Peaks dialled up way past 11.  If they quietly and peacefully explore the place they'll (very likely) be just fine; if they go around destroying stuff, they'll (very likely) die in a hurry.** - in 35 years of DMing this is the lowest hit point total I've ever taken a character to by any means, so at least he set a record. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> [/SPOILER]</blockquote>

Verification