Why Would I Not? #rpg #ttrpg #gm #dm #gmtips #tabletop

[justinross]

This works when it's a player that wants to play a particular archetype of character, most "what my character would do" players just think it's funny and have no desire to be a character

[Axeky]

So i have a character that is a complete dumass and when he panics he chews and eats the closest thing to him, and it has lead to some funny moments that Established the times he would do it. One day our party was fighting a wizard and my character stole an object that was imbued with the magic of 8 lv 20 wizards and the one we were fighting cast command on me and i failed the save, the command was panic, so my character just straight up ate the object and it genuinely shocked everyone because my character hadn't gotten panicked in 4 real life years and i was the only one that remembered he does that when panicked, do you think this was a good "its what my character would do" thing or not?

[georgenelson]

I love this. This felt like Gentle Parenting in the most Non-Judgy way possible. Totally using this b

[satinizer]

You CAN be disruptive if it's played right. In my party there's a kobold paladin who's chaotic evil and just a selfish and greedy gremlin named Iso. She's with us only because her god thought it'd be funny to tell her to join us. But almost everything is planned by the DM with the thought that Iso might do something stupid. Oh, there's a cursed necklace? Iso will put it on (which was important to the plot and another character's lore). We're in a castle and there's a treasury? Iso will try to rob it (we find important stuff there). We see blood flowing through the city streets? Iso will try to lick it, letting us all know the blood is cursed and poisonous, so we have to avoid getting it near our faces at all times.

[marrowseer]

The only time I do "it is what my character would do" is when the opposite would be out of character. My rogue dose not HAVE to steal. But my paladin WILL say something that hurts the party if the other option gose against his doctrine. Things like that.

[NightWing]

Alternatively: Make the way you "screw over" your party less genuinely disruptive and more funny. Like instead of stealing valuable treasure from them, steal something weird. You can be a bastard if it makes people laugh.

Ive had a campaign where a blast was basically about to go off and down anyone who wasnt in cover. The rest of the party was either out of range already or had no way to get to cover even with help. So my DM let me basically looney toons the time frame and stretch it a bit to tell the guy setting off the blast to hold on for a little bit longer for some very important reason and I took an extra turn just to snag treasure we were already going to be able to loot no problem before getting myself into cover. No actual consequences but it was a sleazy character doing a sleazy thing that was funny because of the no consequences.

[stc]

Rules I'm trying to teach myself as a dm
1. To describe the scenery use the five senses. What do they hear, what do they see, what do they taste, what do they smell, what do they feel.
2. You can absolutely make an encounter that they're Not supposed to win. Just make it kinda obvious (especially for the murder hobo) that running is Most certainly an option.
3. Your actions have consequences. I'm not the one who stuck their hand in an owlbear's mouth. You did it? You deal with it.
4. Try to have a back-up plan for the back-up For the back-up you think you know how dumb your friends are. Wait until the only consequences that they'll suffer for making a bad decision result in a fictional character's death.

If anyone can name/make more rules that I am missing, please for the love of God, comment below because that's all I can think of right now.

[Sellesion]

This method of thinking is exactly what I do with my morally grey characters and I think everyone should learn it.

Once, a friend and I in a 1 shot were both playing selfish chaotic types and there was a spellbook found in a crypt. Both characters wanted it and we went back and forth stealing it from eachother. Since it was something we both found fun, it worked. But then later, her character went down and my character was the only other with magical healing.

Would an evil character heal a stranger? Probably not.

But what about an evil spell caster who is currently in danger, who doesnt have the time to get the spellbook off the body or the physical strength to cary the body along?

I logic-ed that the fastest easiest thing to do was heal her, so my character would have a shot at getting the spellbook later.

Bam. Happy players, happy characters.

[RosyMiche]

NORMALIZE HAVING ABOVE-BOARD CONVERSATIONS!! It has seriously drastically improved our roleplay and the flow of sessions to check in about our logic, the DM's intents for the plot, and the overall tone and direction of the story. You can pause, make plans and agree on how something is going to go, and then keep going. It doesn't all have to be "yes, and" like the pros do.

[Calpernia_]

Maros grabs their sword and begins charging.

[chadsmith]

Another good reasons why a scoundrel wouldn’t steal from the party. Especially as backstory.

- 1.)the party trusts him, something he has seldom had and this doesn’t want to break that trust

- 2.) while a thief and a scoundrel, he has standards he holds himself to. A code instilled into him by a roguish mentor/parent or guardian.

- 3.) the last party he was in left him for dead because they thought he was stealing.

[noahegler]

Whenever I think my character would do something that is even mildly dickish, I turn to my fellow players and ask THEM for permission/feedback, bounce ideas off of them, and come to an agreement without having the DM be our group therapist.

[dontaskme]

The worst thing about "its what my character would do" is that I cant use it for actual things. Like my character stepping back in a conversation when she knows probably the most about the topic because she's a little nervous about speaking to high authority figures. "Its what my character would do" has connotations of the dickish problem players, when I'm not being dickish or a problem player, my character is stepping back for a moment to think about how she wants to present what she knows in the best way possible.

[filipemartinho]

I also like "I do this, because it's what my character would do, but because of sheananigans, I comedically fail doing so"

[Issa.nicholas]

“Maros just stares at you for a second and just sighs as he’s shaking his head not in anger or frustration, but just in a disappointed manner that was all but palpable in the air…”

[adamm]

I remember being so stuck because my character would have 100% ran away from the battle that the rest of the party was in (he wasn’t part of the party yet) but i didn’t want him to do that. eventually one of the characters did something cool enough that i could make him go “ooh that’s interesting” and make him stay

[bm]

Alternatively: its a plot point without immediate mechanical ramifications. You all get 1/5 of the loot. Narratively, the rogue picks out something they know to be more valuable than the others do, and fencing it can be a plot hook, but you all get 500 gold worth of treasure.

Theres 0 reason why anyone at the table should make anyone else's time worse. Its collaborative storytelling not a competitive sport.

[ColeOutcast]

I did the exact thing (stealing extra share of loot) not because its what my character WOULD do but what he was FORCED to do (his sister had been kidnapped and he was being forced to pay her ransom without telling his party)

[romanterry]

I LOVE this tactic. I always recommend it wherever i can.

[LimakPan]

A player mature enough for this conversation wouldn't be childish enough to do that.
A better cure is to remind them that "the party's characters would kick you out of the group if they found out, do you have a spare character sheet ready?"