stupid PC stories

>>53947221
>you run into 14 kolbolds in a room
>"i'd like to intimidate them
>he succeeds and they all retreat
>he proceeds further into the dungeon
>it seems the kolbolds that retreated have joined this set of kolbolds, you count 32 kolbolds in this room
>"i'd like to intimidate"

>>53947221
>Party runs across some rabbits
>Druid can communicate with them
>Asks where a certain McGuffin, to do with their current quest, happens to be
>Rabbits ask for some carrots.
>Party turns out of the forest, treks back to the closest town, buys a bag of carrots, and returns to the rabbits with them.
>Rabbits don't know where it is, and try to get into the party's packs to see if they have more food.

They literally just went up to random rabbits and assumed that just because their guy could speak with animals, any random animal had to know something useful for their current quest.

>>53949584
My players did exactly the same thing. I had the rabbits bring them to an enclave of treats who pointed them in the right direction in exchange for returning a sacred animal to them.

I like to reward player ingenuity myself and keep the story going , rather than arbitrarily punishing players for not following my railroad.

>>53949609
Randomly spamming your class abilities and assuming it will help you out isn't "player ingenuity". Rewarding players for acting like retards encourages further retardation. As it was, the only loss was a bit of time to go to town and back, and a copper piece or so.

DMs whose philosopy can be summed up as "I must always suck the players collective dicks and prevent anything from bruising their fragile egos" are a cancer on TTRPGs.

>>53948961

All I can think of is a mob of Kobolds running away in utter panic from a barbarian waving his hands in the air screaming.

This mental image really brightened up my day.

>>53949642
Your games sound like fun. This isn't the 80s. Go and read some modern RPG design and return when you've been humbled by the knowledge.

>>53949706
They are, actually. Go and show me some "modern" game design that encourages you to abandon versimilitude and make sure every time your player does anything, it advances their interests somehow.

>I pickpocket the random passerby!
>Good thing he has the key to that vault you were thinking of looting!

>I trawl for rumors!
>Every single one of them is both true and immediately useful for your interests!

>I attack the Vizier because he has a goatee
>Well, it turns out he was evil and plotting against the king anyway, so you get a pass!
Those are shit games, suitable for children and manchildren. We shouldn't pander to that sort of audience.

>>53949706
That's not the same. The druid just tried to use one of his abilities to further the plot in a totally legitimate way and you could have just said "The rabbit doesn't know anything".

Instead you went full dick mode and lost them time. Not much, but still.

>>53949845
meant to answer >>53949779 sorry

>>53949779
>Rumors
My DM actually did something pretty fun with rumors. After our checks were all made, our characters had uncovered three credible rumors. After we made our choice of which one to act upon and went through the short adventure, he informed us later that one rumor was a complete falsehood, one rumor was half-true, and one rumor was completely accurate (as rumors go, anyway.)

>>53947221
>DMPC
>other DMPC
>DMPC
>DMPC
>DMPC
You misspelled "shit GM stories".

>>53949845
It is exactly the same. The implicit assumption is that if a player uses an ability, it should work out for them in some way, or at the very least not set them back. That's idiotic. What's next? NPCs can never lie to the PCs, because if the PCs believe them they might get in a pickle? Shopkeepers will never rip them off or sell them defective goods? A source of ancient lore is always spot on and never either honestly mistaken or covering up something important?

Whenever you're looking for information, consider the source. The idiocy involved in thinking some literally random rabbits in a clearing would know anything about a magical item is staggering.

>>53948961
>>53949648
>"Why do you run here?"
>"Guys guys! There's a big human-man coming! Big and scary!"
>"Let's join forces and take him out in here!"
>"BOOOO!"
>"Aaaaa! Run run run!"

>>53949779

>I pickpocket the random passerby!
>Good thing he has the key to that vault you were thinking of looting!

Infinitely more interesting than 'you get a few copper' or 'you fail to pickpocket him'. Well done.
>I trawl for rumors!
>Every single one of them is both true and immediately useful for your interests!

Rumours that are pertinent to the players goals and what they want to do in the game? Brilliant. I think you're really learning.
>I attack the Vizier because he has a goatee
>Well, it turns out he was evil and plotting against the king anyway, so you get a pass!

Sounds like the players got to feel like heroes killing the evil vizier great job.

I'm glad you were able to return to me humbled with your suggestions and may your games grow due to them. Good day .

>>53949648
>>53950033
Motherfuckers I needed those sides!

>>53950053
Ok, I know you're baiting, but for the other people out there who might actually think this is a good way to run things, let me offer the following.

One of the most overlooked aspects of RPGs is that they're GAMES. They're a series of interactions, conducted sequentially, which eventually terminate in a decisive outcome. In the example of an RPG itself, the player makes a decision, the character does (or abstains) from something, and there is a consequence or several. These consequences are not always equal. In fact, they should not always be equal, because if no matter what choices the players make all lead to inevitable victory, than none of those choices really matter, and you haven't played a game at all.

By making sure that every time the PCs do something, it advances their interests, you've ended the game entirely, and entered the realm of interactive storytelling. Maybe that's what your group likes, but don't pretend you're playing an RPG anymore, you're not.

>>53950198

You can go back to your blog now Justin.

>>53950198
let him go anon, hes not worth it

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555KB, 933x1024px

Oh boy, time for another "shit GM blames everything on their players" thread!

>running a simple dnd game
>players ask an old wizard in a library for some info about their quest
>he activates as many explosive high-level spells as I can fit in his slots
>That Guy whines about how it was "unfair"
>mfw he completely forgot that dementia does weird things to the elderly
fucking entitled players, what did you expect when you went up to a wizard

>>53950459
I honestly can't figure out what you're trying to accomplish with that?

>>53950539
Not him, but it's obvious. He doesn't believe some or all of the stories, or just thinks they're in fact That GMs putting their players in impossible situations and then arbitrarily punishing them.

So he makes up a stupid, obvious story where this is clearly the case, and then "blames" his players.

>>53950686
LIBTARDS BTFO
HOW WILL THEY EVER RECOVER

>>53950459
(you)

>>53947221
Stopped reading at "other DMPC". I thought this was supposed to be about stupid players, not stupid DMs.