However, some people seem to overlook the single most important way to figure something out, asking their DM.
All too often we see posts on these boards that range from "Hi, I just found this vile of green liquid. Can you tell me what kind of potion it is?" to "My DM has been doing something I don't like, how can I make him stop doing it?" The people asking these kinds of questions have obviously either forgotten or never learned the most fundamental answer to any question. Ask your DM.
Identifying items, to some extent, we can do this. If you just got a suit of armor that’s covered in spikes and makes people run away from you whenever they see you in it, and its got claws built into the gauntlets, its probably a suit of Demon Mail. If the item you received is a book, or a potion, or a weapon that you haven't seen before, then the item could literally be ANYTHING. Ask your DM. If he/she thinks you should know, he just might tell you out of game what the item is. If they don't want you to know what it is for story reasons, then you shouldn't be coming on the boards asking us to ID it for you in the first place.
D&D isn't a videogame. Items do NOT look the same from game to game, they don't even always look the same in the same game. I can give a description and a history of two weapons that make them appear to be totally different, even if they're both just +1 Flaming Longswords. Don't ruin your own fun by thinking you have to know what an item is right when you get it. If you do things like this repeatedly though, your DM is simply going to start describing items in a way that, when you go off to ask for help on the boards, will make us think its something completely opposite from what it really is.
If you are having problems with the DM or another player, for the love of God, don't come asking how to fix things on the board before you even tell the DM that something is wrong. Chances are that if you spring it on them out of nowhere and start claiming support from the boards, they aren't going to agree with you, they're going to see you as a little snot that’s been going behind their backs. Talk to your DM. 99.99% of things can be settled by doing this. And the things this can't fix, well we won't be able to fix it for your either. If you just wanna blow off some steam, that’s okay, go right ahead. But please don't come on the boards asking us to fix your game for you when you haven't even told the DM that you're having problems. He's there to help you have fun. If you aren't having fun, tell him. All that coming on the boards behind his back is going to accomplish are some hurt feelings when he finds out.
I have yet to see an in-game problem that can't be solved by talking to your DM and working something out. Be it item identification or problems with other players. We are not you, we are not in your games, we don't know what’s going on. We all know that everybody sugar coats their own side of the story to make themselves look better than they really are, its just human nature. We cannot give you a fair evaluation of the situation, and if you haven't talked to your DM, even the most well intentioned advice we could give could explode in your face.
Again, talk to your DM. So, so, so many things can be worked out before they become a problem if you will just talk to your DM about it. Don't rely on strangers that have no idea what’s really going on when you've got a friend (I hope) sitting across the table from you that not only knows what’s going on, but that also actually has the power to do something about it. You'll have a better game if you do.
DM's need to follow the advice as well. If your player is a "powergaming, min-maxing, uber-munchkin," don't log in to the boards and ask us what to do about it, until you have adressed the situation with the aforementioned "munchkin." How do you know that simply asking the player to attempt more of a roleplay won't work? You don't.
If, however, you have tried talking to your player/s, and that still doesn't work, then by all means, you should look for advice. Look for advice on how to coax, not force, someone how to roleplay.
Edymnion, this may or may not be right to tack this on at the end of your thread, and I apologize if you are offended by it. I do feel however that it is a similar problem.
Player's who log on for, in effect, "cheat codes" for D&D are looking for the easy way out. They want us to tell them everything about what they have, instead of playing with it or simply asking the DM. The same goes with DM's who complain about things. They want us to solve the problem for them instead of simply talking it out with the offending players.
Another issue I have is when someone asks what to do about the guy who doesn't shower, eats all their food, kicks their dog, makes passes at their wife/mom/daughter. The general response from the members is usually, " Talk to them about it, then kick them out if nothing changes." The DM in question then replies, "But, he's my friend and a good roleplayer."
Originally posted by Doc225
Edymnion, this may or may not be right to tack this on at the end of your thread, and I apologize if you are offended by it. I do feel however that it is a similar problem.
No, no, that’s fine, and perfectly acceptable. I was thinking about the player flipside of this myself. Its just that I see a lot more of the "How do I make my DM do this or that?" than I do "How do I make my players do something?" I guess its just because, by definition, the players outnumber the DMs about 4 to 1.