My old DM’s favourite was the good old “you sure about that?”
Now and again they’d ask it as a bluff, so you never knew for sure if they were serious or not
It’s always great when the DM asks the player if they’re sure about that and the player still does the crazy thing, and then gets mad about the consequences.
Played with one murderhobo that attacked 7 town guards in the town square without warning by themselves. The DM asked the player if they were sure ans the player still proceeded. When the guards attacked back and killed the player’s character (all while the rest of the group just watched as this wasn’t the first time dumb shenanigans happened), the player complained. “It’s what my character would have done.” and the DM responded with “it’s what the guards would have done.”
Suffice to say the next session that player had a new character that made slightly smarter decisions.
My old group had the opposite problem sometimes. In one campaign, we ended up with an NPC perma-drunk street urchin who was too obnoxious for his own good, and just kinda tagged along with the actual party because it meant he could get a free meal as long as they tolerated him. He was meant to give the characters some hints for the campaign and then get chased off or locked up or otherwise removed, but the party basically instantly adopted him, tried to teach him some manners, got him out of trouble whenever he did some Really Dumb Shit™ like groping a city guard or telling a priestess to go f- herself or barfing on the druid’s familliar. I think our DM was a little frustrated for a while that the one-off character he pulled out of his ass just to deliver a message ended up becoming a full-time job for him to play, despite his efforts to get the character killed or left behind.
Fast forward a couple of (in-game) years and what was once an annoying little shit is now an resposnible adult running his own tavern, in which our party frequently resides. All is well that ends well, I guess ;)
(still, that DM never again brought orphans into the play, just in case.)
That’s on the dm. Players will adopt ANYTHING. One game I listened to involved a pc giving a cloak of elven kind to a little girl npc to keep her safe.
The problem is the stereotype of people who say “It’s what my character would have done.” are just using that as an excuse to dodge blame for having their overly edgy character perform questionable acts such as murderhoboing that ruin the fun for everybody else.
Having said that, understanding what your character would actually do in a given situation based on their current knowledge, background, etc. can make for really good RP situations, but must be done in good faith (unlike above)
Some of the GM’s we play with telegraph everything and will ask this and basically give away that we’re on the wrong track or not doing what they were planning for. Even when you say, “Yeah, sure, I’m going to do it,” they’ll basically spoil their own game trying to dissuade us from doing something. It just always feels like a lack of imagination, just let people do stupid shit and deal with the consequences.
My old DM’s favourite was the good old “you sure about that?”
Now and again they’d ask it as a bluff, so you never knew for sure if they were serious or not
It’s always great when the DM asks the player if they’re sure about that and the player still does the crazy thing, and then gets mad about the consequences.
Played with one murderhobo that attacked 7 town guards in the town square without warning by themselves. The DM asked the player if they were sure ans the player still proceeded. When the guards attacked back and killed the player’s character (all while the rest of the group just watched as this wasn’t the first time dumb shenanigans happened), the player complained. “It’s what my character would have done.” and the DM responded with “it’s what the guards would have done.”
Suffice to say the next session that player had a new character that made slightly smarter decisions.
My DM used to warn their players that if they acted like Murderhobos or were an accomplice to one, they would get treated like Murderhobos…
It also incentivised the party to keep their muderhobos in check, by force if necessary
My old group had the opposite problem sometimes. In one campaign, we ended up with an NPC perma-drunk street urchin who was too obnoxious for his own good, and just kinda tagged along with the actual party because it meant he could get a free meal as long as they tolerated him. He was meant to give the characters some hints for the campaign and then get chased off or locked up or otherwise removed, but the party basically instantly adopted him, tried to teach him some manners, got him out of trouble whenever he did some Really Dumb Shit™ like groping a city guard or telling a priestess to go f- herself or barfing on the druid’s familliar. I think our DM was a little frustrated for a while that the one-off character he pulled out of his ass just to deliver a message ended up becoming a full-time job for him to play, despite his efforts to get the character killed or left behind.
Fast forward a couple of (in-game) years and what was once an annoying little shit is now an resposnible adult running his own tavern, in which our party frequently resides. All is well that ends well, I guess ;)
(still, that DM never again brought orphans into the play, just in case.)
That’s on the dm. Players will adopt ANYTHING. One game I listened to involved a pc giving a cloak of elven kind to a little girl npc to keep her safe.
We just adopted the Lost Mines of Phandelver goblin.
I love these stories! I love that he stuck around long enough to turn it around haha, I hope your party gets to drink for free after all that bs
First round of the evening and one meal per person are always free at the Cranky Cat inn ;)
Oh my gosh I love the name too!
I’m one of those. Especially if my character got something wrong and is acting on those assumptions. By the gods I love digging my own grave!
The problem is the stereotype of people who say “It’s what my character would have done.” are just using that as an excuse to dodge blame for having their overly edgy character perform questionable acts such as murderhoboing that ruin the fun for everybody else.
Having said that, understanding what your character would actually do in a given situation based on their current knowledge, background, etc. can make for really good RP situations, but must be done in good faith (unlike above)
Completely agree with you. Being disruptive is always a player choice, everything the character does is always a player choice.
Some of the GM’s we play with telegraph everything and will ask this and basically give away that we’re on the wrong track or not doing what they were planning for. Even when you say, “Yeah, sure, I’m going to do it,” they’ll basically spoil their own game trying to dissuade us from doing something. It just always feels like a lack of imagination, just let people do stupid shit and deal with the consequences.