Post/Author/DateTime	Post
DragonRg6 03-12-04, 04:11 PM	I am having endless problems with a reoccurring situation: Whenever the party splits up, one becomes deafened, blinded, or otherwise unable to know what is going on, I send them out of the room. Then, I bring them back in on their turn, and fill them in on what they should realistically know. The problem? My house is certainly not soundproof. What's more, when a number of members of the party split up, the moment they are out of the room, they tell eachother everything that happened, and so everyone knows everything all the time. How am I supposed to deal with this? Please help!
His Majesty 03-12-04, 04:30 PM	You can lower your voice, or tell your players to go to the other side of the house, but that's not supposed to be neccesary. There's supposed to be trust between the DM and players, so that if you ask them to cover their ears, they will. Likewise, tell your players not to tell the others what they know if they wouldn't realistically be able to do that. If you explain that it interferes with the game, I think that they'll listen to you. Your players should understand that in order for the game to be fun for everyone, they should not try to "cheat" on you.
DragonRg6 03-12-04, 04:36 PM	yeah, that's true... I have some problems. I can't trust some of them (I believe Robert Jordan once wrote "Trust is a knife, the Hilt as sharp as the Blade"). I also can't really ask them to leave the group without insulting them, and lord knows I hurt enough people's feelings as it is. Perhaps I could establish some sort of code for when I hand messages to each player... Or, I could simply twist adventures to prevent players from splitting up... What do you think?
Sweet Steph 03-12-04, 04:56 PM	If players are abusing their OOC knowledge, reward them with XP penalties. Make it very clear that meta-gaming is not to be tolerated in your game.
His Majesty 03-12-04, 04:58 PM	I also can't really ask them to leave the group without insulting them, and lord knows I hurt enough people's feelings as it is. Try to work around it. There's no need to throw them out of the group, certainly. Although it's better to play with players you can trust, the game can be fun without that. You can always try to establish that trust if it doesn't exist. Or, I could simply twist adventures to prevent players from splitting up... You can't. One of the points of D&D is that the players do whatever they want. Even if you do your best it'll happen eventually. Perhaps I could establish some sort of code for when I hand messages to each player... That'll probably be the best solution. Earplugs might actually be a good idea. If they're sitting in the other side of the room and you're talking quietly, they won't hear you. Otherwise you can send them to the other side of the house. Sweet Steph's suggestion is also a good one, but that, my friend, is the core of player-DM trust. (I believe Robert Jordan once wrote "Trust is a knife, the Hilt as sharp as the Blade") Yes, I also remember something like that from one of his books..
DragonRg6 03-12-04, 05:09 PM	To be quite honest, I was kidding about the earplugs - I was indicating some of the problems I expected with them in the title - but maybe that is a good idea. In response to Sweet Steph, I'm taking advice from the Dungeon Master's guide and not handing out penalties as a result of bad behaviour. I am, however, imposing "Unfavourable Circumstances" on players who are making life hard for the others. This basically entails giving -1 penalties on all rolls without telling the player. The more miserable they make life, the less lucky (cough) they get. I have solved some problems of trust - actually, they solved themselves - when two of my less favourable players left. There was one particularly memorable dispute where one player with a massive AC bought a ring that enhances AC off another for a pittance. The player selling the ring had an AC of 14. When the player buying the ring wouldn't give it back, and the seller wouldn't let us continue until he had it back (he actually went so far as to add it to his character sheet, and wouldn't let us remove it), I confiscated it and the money from both of them. Thankfully, the seller has now left the group. On reflection, they were both in the wrong. The Buyer knew he didn't need the ring, and the seller knew how much it was worth, and how much he needed it. Thankfully, my threat of a sudden rain of rods of cancellation negated any argument with my decision...
His Majesty 03-12-04, 05:18 PM	Your group sounds terribly frustrating. Well, anyway, good luck. And remember always - your most important goal is having fun.
DragonRg6 03-12-04, 05:23 PM	Thanx. The group are frustrating, but I have succeeded in luring two players away by playing on weekends when football is on the television. The two in question are, coincidentally, the most annoying ones (My brothers). I never thought I'd say this, but... Thank God for Football!