Role-playing Games Stack Exchange
Role-playing Games Stack Exchange

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1500 questions
551
votes
30 answers

How do I get my PCs to not be a bunch of murderous cretins?

Most RPGs teach you that casual violence is the best solution to all your in-game problems. This is so well established a part of the vast majority of RPGs that there are entire satire RPGs like Greg Costikyan's Violence and John Tynes' Power Kill…
mxyzplk
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6 answers

What is "my guy syndrome" and how do I handle it?

I've been reading forum posts and blogs who mention "my guy" syndrome as a specific type of difficult player, but I can't seem to find a solid definition for the term. Can someone explain this particular kind of problem player to me? How do you deal…
Nameless Nick
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Managing a Medieval Low Orbit Ion Cannon

Sometimes I hate my players. My table is currently composed of five diabolically inventive players. They come from a mixed IT/Engineering background, so more often than not, I have to deal with some really weird solutions that they create for the…
T. Sar
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16 answers

Without a magic item economy, what is gold for?

PHB page 144, Equipment, Wealth, Selling Treasure Magic Items. Selling magic items is problematic. Finding someone to buy a potion or a scroll isn’t too hard, but other items are out of the realm of most but the wealthiest nobles. Likewise, aside…
synesthesia
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20 answers

Dealing with difficult male players, when you're a new female player?

There was quite a bit of discussion about this after I posted this question, so I thought I would do as advised and re-ask the question in a new topic. I will be playing D&D 5th edition soon with a group of all male players. This will be my first…
Asteria
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10 answers

How does rolling two d20 and taking the higher affect the average outcome?

D&D 5E has an "advantage" concept where instead of rolling 1d20, you roll 2d20 and take the higher. Likewise, disadvantage means rolling 2d20 and taking the lower. How does this affect the expected average outcome of the roll?
Sterno
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21 answers

Player claims their wizard character knows everything (from books). Solutions?

I have a player who is an elf wizard and his entire backstory and goal is knowledge related. He made his elf well over 200 years old and claims that his character has read a massive amount of books (pretty much reading since his elf character could…
krakenships
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10 answers

I'm at a loss with “Dungeons and Dragons.” How does one play it, anyway?

I'm no gamer at all, so this could be like a very silly, basic question for you guys. The thing is that I always read about "Dungeons and Dragons" game (not the video game, but the normal game to play with friends that are actually gathered…
Rosamunda
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10 answers

How does a player correct a GM mistake without being a rules lawyer or pushover?

You are playing in a game. The GM says that you need to roll a given roll. The rules clearly state something different. I realize one solution is to go along to get along, then tell the GM after the game, but that means you are rolling to intimidate…
Pulsehead
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6 answers

What's the greatest number of hands I can have to annoy my mother-in-law with?

My mother in law is coming to visit tonight, for dinner. She hates me, and will criticize my food. But tonight is my night. I've prepared the dish she most hates, a beautiful roasted Tarrasque chop, and as soon as she makes her first comment, Oh…
BlueMoon93
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6 answers

What are the primary differences between the rules of D&D 3.5 and Pathfinder?

What are some of the rule changes that Pathfinder brings in comparison to D&D 3.5? I am curious what changes were made so I can explain to my group what it has to offer.
Maximillian
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181
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7 answers

How to let my players fail their rolls intentionally, but covertly?

I'm experimenting with some pen-and-paper role-playing involving characters with hidden agendas. To foster a proper sense of paranoia, I want these hidden agendas to be unknown to not only the other PCs, but the other players, too. A PC's hidden…
kviiri
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7 answers

What is the source of the "spells do only what they say they do" rules interpretation principle?

Every time somebody asks a question like "can I use X spell for doing Y" the answer is usually "no" because spell descriptions are very short in 5e, and usually they don't explicitly say a spell can do Y. These answers are based on the "spells do…
enkryptor
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13 answers

How can DMs effectively telegraph specific dangers in D&D?

There are some play-styles of D&D in which the spectre of player-character death is considered a feature of the game rather than a bug. For my own reasons (which aren't the point of the question), I see them as a feature especially in…
SevenSidedDie
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18 answers

How to deal with players who like to use the local authorities to solve their problems

The problem I have a player in my group which tends to approach local authorities (may it be guards or churches) when facing a threat. He thinks that, given his role (a bard in a medieval world, so, more or a less, a civilian), this is what one of…
user1368
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