There are ways. You could, for example, set up a bbeg where that's his whole deal. The townsfolk are scared of this guy because he has the supernatural power to just kill you, straight-up. Maybe the questline leading up to their encounter involves the players finding defenses or counters or sabotaging his supply of spell components or whatever, such that, if they DO get power-word-killed, it's because they had ample opportunities to not, and failed to take them.
Except that's the point, they will not be having fun. Nor will you, nor will any of the other players. Because that setup is not fun. And presumably you're hosting a game for your friends with the intention of everyone having fun, so it's best if you find another tact.
Nope, no, that’s encouraging their behavior. Now your player thinks you’re giving them a quest to earn enough money to play out their brothel scene.
Nope, no, that's encouraging their behavior. Now your player thinks you're giving them a quest to thwart this bouncer.
You absolutely do not have to RP this. You can say "No." You can say "Ok, you go off and do that, what's everyone else doing?"
They've all programmed their replicator profiles to include "Ethanol, 22.5ml, Chilled" in all orders they place containing the word "synthehol"
What's more fun, demoting pluto or announcing the discovery of a new planet every week for a couple years?
I see, thank you. That sounds like the kind of common-sense thing that I will never be able to convince a manager of XD
I'm not one of them, but I empathize with all the GMs that are just sick of dealing with those particular kinds of misconduct that crop up with new players.
Cover your phb in spray adhesive and leave it sitting on the table. As soon as someone touches it, shout "ROLL INITIATIVE!"
Actually, apply this to other random objects at the game table. A bag of chips, 1 can of soda in the fridge, every 3rd pencil, whatever.
I'm not confident I'm remembering correctly, but didn't she have a line to the effect of "They can courtmarshall me if we make back"
Not a very high quality article. Makes constant reference to "faction and domain play" without adequately defining the terms for someone that didn't grow up with them. (Presumably, the target of the article.) And a lot of typos.
Addl wisdom: some people make jokes when they're uncomfortable, as a defense mechanism. If you have a player or players constantly trying to lighten the mood, consider that the atmosphere you're trying to create may not be a good fit for your party, and/or parts of your party may not be a good fit for your game.
I understand, but also, please don't. As bad as it is right now, the world is still a better place with you in it. Call or text 988 if you're feeling suicidal, there are people there ready to listen and help.
You see something similar in the entranceway to public bathrooms that don't have doors, where it kind of zig-zags for privacy. I'm trying to figure out what this kind of architectural feature is called. Thanks!
I recently started a new campaign. Two players (one who has played in my games before and their SO, who has been begging me for a spot for years) unexpectedly dropped out, moments before our first session. Their reason was somewhat baffling; they said they didn't want to spend "all day" on this, despite the game only going from noon to 3PM. They seemed to think this was a totally unreasonable expectation on my part, despite them previously having stated they were available during that time. This puzzled me.
I've been musing on this, and the strange paradox of people that say they want to play D&D but don't actually want to play D&D, and I've had an epiphany.
A lot of people blame Critical Role or other popular D&D shows for giving prospective players misplaced perceptions, often related to things like your DM's voice acting ability or prop budget, but I don't think that's what's going on here. My realization is that, encoded in the medium of podcasts and play videos, is another expectation: New players unconsciously expect to receive D&D the way they receive D&D shows: on-demand, at their house, able to be paused and restarted at their whim, and possibly on a second-screen while they focus on something else!
I don't know as this suggests anything we as DMs could do differently to set expectations, but it did go a long ways to helping me understand my friends, and I thought it might help someone here to share.
I've got an unholy-water fountain, a human chessboard, and an evil hedge maze. I need 1 more thing to put in the last corner of the square courtyard/garden thing. Any suggestions?