Timeline for Should a new player call out a "bad" GM?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
5 events
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| May 7, 2014 at 22:21 | comment | added | Monty Wild | Yes, perception is important. That's why I said "Roll the dice..." In a situation similar to the one you mention, I'd have the PCs roll to see if they blundered into the mushroom, and if they didn't (or the GMPC was the only one in a position to blunder into it), I'd then say "That was to see if any of you blundered into a shrieker mushroom none of you haven't seen yet, now I'll roll for <GMPC name>" In fact, my "GMPCs" are typically in supporting roles, and on the rare occasion that they must take a leading role due to their abilities, I typically hand them off to a player. | |
| May 7, 2014 at 8:21 | comment | added | Tim B | @MontyWild It's not just about the reality of the situation, it's the perception. Even if you strictly apply separation it's very easy for players to start thinking you aren't. Additionally as I already mentioned you get issues. If your character blunders into a shrieker mushroom and alerts the goblin horde to the parties presence then everyone at the table knows that you knew the mushroom was there. They are left thinking "did he deliberately do that to sabotage us?". Conversely if you never blunder into the mushroom and your character never makes mistakes that's just as bad the other way. | |
| May 6, 2014 at 23:09 | comment | added | Monty Wild | It can be difficult to separate your GM knowledge from your GMPC's knowledge - I find that it takes strict mental discipline. As a GM, I must constantly ask myself, "Would this character know that?", and roll the dice like everyone else when required. It isn't necessarily a bad idea for everyone, just bad for those who can't bring themselves to apply the necessary discipline. It sounds like the GM in this question isn't able to do that. | |
| May 6, 2014 at 14:18 | history | edited | Tim B | CC BY-SA 3.0 | added 5 characters in body |
| May 6, 2014 at 10:21 | history | answered | Tim B | CC BY-SA 3.0 |