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DM Gets Blamed Cause Bandits Act Like Intelligent Human Beings | Narrated D&D Story
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- Опубліковано 14 сер 2024
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Story Source (Reddit): bit.ly/DMBlamed1, bit.ly/DMBlamed2
Video Editor: Murtaza Bohari
Editors: Lonny Foran (written4reddit@gmail.com)
Narration: MyLo (Twitter/VoMylo)
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I don't know why this was in my recommends
I've never played d&d, never been interested in playing d&d, never watch videos about d&d. But I keep getting reccomends for videos about d&d. So I watched this one. Now I'm going to watch some more.
Those players in the first story were idiots.
You should give it a try. It can be nerdy with all the roleplay, min-maxing, and emotional attachment to fictional characters but it’s so fun you won’t care
The guy below me is right ^^ Its super fun.
if you play it with the right friends, it's almost like a video game board game except you can do whatever the fuck you want. and you don't have to do the whole fantasy dungeon crawler nerd shit either, you can choose whatever setting you want. it's quite fun.
When even a non-player can tell you’re an idiot, you done fucked up lmao
Huh, usually that is the response i hear to critical role. That is how I heard of d and d.
Um, why wouldn't you expect trickery from bandits? Like, deception is literally a skill profiency you get with a crimanal background.
Half the time I have players encounter bandits, it's one or two (depending on difficulty scaling) sneaking up on them.
Yeah I straight up don't believe this happened
Criminal. Crim-anal is what happens when the rogue sneak attacks your asshole.
@@thruthewormhole I am pretty sure that, like, 70% of these stories are fake. Entertaining nonetheless.
@@Meteor2022 There are definitely players who are this stupid out there.
I think I'd prefer if the bandits behaved like actual people instead of just mind less bad guys
Adds more depth to the enemies.
What for stupid players. 10/10 they were embarassed and tried to hide their shame by a stern looking fascade of cheap logic.
I'm going out on a limb here. But I think this was a party of gamers. Because the bandits always attack in video games.
@@davidtherwhanger6795 played too much Fallout and Borderlands.
@@denverarnold6210 I don't know about Borderlands, but even Fallout has quite a few exceptions to the "mindless bandits" video game rule. There is the Sudden-Death Overtime gang, the Powder Gangers, the Nuka World raiders, and the Crater raiders, just to name a few.
Whenever i get called out for things like in the first story, i flip the script and explain things from the NPC's POV. I would tell them, "Alright look, lets turn the situation around. Lets say that you're a group of bandits and a group of very strong looking adventurers approach you asking about bandits, but incorrectly assume that you are NOT the bandits. Would YOU just jump up and attack them out of nowhere, knowing that you could very likely lose? Would you ADMIT to being the bandits they are looking for? No. No you wouldn't."
Roll for initiative
Imagine being the town guard hiring a band of walking potatoes to hunt down pro bandits
If they return successfully, pay them. If they don't, not your problem.
@@aleisterlavey9716 or the town guardsman giving the quest points mercs in their direction for a share of their gear, the plot thickens!
Twist. Town guard is also bandits.
@@TuberTugger I have to write that one down. The guard sending the bandits andventurer to rob and Murder.
These bandits were still pretty clearly bandits from the get go. Rough customers, telling dirty jokes, typical bandits from the get go, even if they're acting humanized. I find it really confusing that the party had a hard time putting two and two together unless they were the naïve sort.
See, my DM has pulled the "they were just mercs, not bandits" card on me before, so I wouldn't make the immediate assumption just from that. I would, however, ask if we were given descriptions of the bandits, and maybe roll an Insight or something. Face-value is not a thing with my DM...But yeah, hard men who don't look too friendly on a road plagued by bandits? Start being suspicious.
@@TransientWitch Yeah, a little bit of caution goes a long way either way. If they're mercenaries or soldiers, great, however don't rule out the possibility of them being bandits. Especially if they pull away to talk huddled in a corner before leading you off somewhere.
The difference between a bandit and a soldier is one has the backing of royalty
@@TransientWitch Yeah, maybe the first group you find aren't the actual bandits, but you should definitely have your guard up. Those poor greenhorn adventurers.
Apparently the characters were all lawful stupid. 😂
Those bandits were like the most blatantly obvious bandits ever. How did they not realize?
They all play way too much Elder Scrolls which is famous for its suicidal over confident bandits.
@@danidas I blame social media
@@danidas Literally "That guy just killed a dragon and ate it's soul, let's mug 'im!"
They rolled a 1 on intelligence
@@bjr4536 I think 1 is a bit too high...
5:14 the DM literally did everything in his power, to suggest that these guys had bad intentions. He made them fit like most of the tropes associated with tough criminals
The only addition to make it more obvious without blatantly saying "these are bad guys, attack them" would be to say the armor seems ill fitting. Adding any kind of loot openly in the camp would just be dumb.
"The bad guys want to win!"
-Matt Colville.
Quote to live by as a GM.
If all enemies act like idiots, and just stand there as PCs kill em, then it's a boring game.
Agreed
Exception: Enemies who can't think shouldn't think, and just react to what's going on. Y'know, golems, animated objects, skeletons, Paladins...
Skeletons under strategic orders? They shouldn’t care about self preservation, but they would be smart enough to try and overwhelm pcs.
@@thekinginyellowmessiahofha6308 skellys following orders gotta be smarter than lawful stupid paladins at least :D
TFW the bandits don’t just immediately turn hostile and go “NEVER SHOULD’VE COME HERE!” As soon as they see the party approach.
Especially if it's an assorted party of colorful weirdos and races that should hate each other in the lore. That is just asking for trouble to try and pick a fight with them! (especially if said party of adventurers are trying to do character arcs were they can't die randomly!)
@@navilluscire2567 SKYRIM BELONGS TO THE NORDS!
"I WILL DRINK FROM YOUR SKULL!"
@@Zanfib32 "YOU'LL MAKE A FINE RUG, CAT!"
@@navilluscire2567 Bandits: Is that DIVERSITY I see? FRIENDSHIP beyond differences? Not on my watch!
"Why aren't the bandits attacking?"
"This isn't Skyrim..."
We're on the same wavelength.
"they are attacking you they just cut the rope bridge"
Has no one gone to Nilheim? Bandits pulled the same trick there as well.
Edit: used the wrong there/their/they're. Fixed.
Isn't there a bandit in Skyrim who do this exactly trickery? So even for that standard this players are morons.
@@billylion3073 they aren’t dumb you know. They’re being smart
Dude this dm tried so hard to describe them as bandits without saying “they are bandits”
Seriously. Based on the description the video gives, it sounds like the DM practically made a shirt that said “they’re the bandits” and wore it during the session
@@scepta101 The bandit leader wearing a t-shirt saying "I never chose the bandit life..." ;p
Yes, unfortunatly the party deserved their sad destiny, in my opinion, even death of their characters. However, since all of the players agreed that it was a DM's mistake (???), and the goal of an rpg is for everybody to have fun, the DM did rigth in not killing the group and continue the narrative, ignoring their dumb logic.
I dunno, I'd feel bad attacking some guys just because they look like ruffians. There's no direct evidence they're the bandits!
Though this whole thing feels like an episode of Slayers. From the vibe, it feels like the bandits should have tried increasingly convoluted ways of attacking the PCs and the PCs just missing it every time, allowing hilarity to ensue.
@@Theycallmetomu Still, if they look like bandits, it would be common sense to expect a backstab.
I can't help but hear this story and picture the bandits from Viva La Dirt League. "These are adventurers with nice weapons, armor and magical tools. They're way stronger than us and we would have no way to take them in a fair fight. You know what this means? We're gonna MUG EM!!!!"
But, they is way stronger then us. So why?
@@nyotamwuaji6484 Because we’re muggers. It’s what we do. So let’s go mug ‘em!
Imagine a thug running up on Batman, thinking he can rob him.....
The players in the first story must be vanilla Skyrim players, because they were expecting the bandits to be as braindead as the bandits in vanilla Skyrim; this DM did an *excellent* job, and shouldn't cave to crybabies who can't handle being outwitted by NPCs!
I was thinking along those lines myself.
@@davidtherwhanger6795 "Never shoulda come here!"
I think they've earned an intelligence penalty to match their real world selves. Which if I had to guess it's somewhere around 3.
I was thinking the exact same thing: Those players were expecting Skyrim bandits instead of realistic bandits... I mean most of the raiders in Fallout behave the same way, but at least THOSE guys have the excuse that they're so intoxicated on jet, psycho, buffout, and whatever other household chemicals & rotgut booze they can get hold of that acting that stupidly aggressive at least makes sense....
I was thinking along the same lines - maybe they have played too many video games. Stupid, suicidal video game bandits were old news when Skyrim came along; this trope goes all the way back to the very beginning of computer RPGs. Ultima I (1980) has thieves in the wilderness and upper dungeon levels that mindlessly attack no matter how strong the player is. It's understandable in an early game that was designed for extremely limited computers, but surely Skyrim could have done better. Skyrim's bandits are as stupid as Ultima I's thieves, with the rare exception of a couple scripted NPC bandits here and there. I like the idea of bandits that behave with some level of intelligence; it makes for a more interesting story. Bandits who normally attack weak peasants and merchants are not going to attack a well-armed group; they will try to run away, attempt to bluff their way out of the situation, or make some sort of deal, and won't fight unless they are cornered and have no alternative. This DM got it right - it's a shame that the players didn't appreciate it.
It seems Wis was the players' dump stat.
The players', not the characters.
That's bloodly true
This got me good after the statement took its sweet time to register.
Wis and Int both.
Int, not wisdom in this case.
@@aminulhussain2277
I'll still go with both.
Int for the stupidity.
Wis for the lack of social awareness.
I just love the beginning: The bandits all get into this awkward situation where they're talking about bandits who are actually them.
"I've heard about bandits being here, are you bandits?"
"... I do not do bandit stuff, that is my... least favorite thing to do."
I had a group of players who trusted a traitor character implicitly, to the point that when the fact he was evil was revealed, they refused to believe it for a few sessions. I had to have him spell out that he killed the PC’s parents and was working for the BBEG the whole time to convince them.
“Lysanderoth! YOU were behind all this!”
“Yes, it was I! My machinations lay undefeated for years! For I am a master of deception!”
These guys are going to have a bad time in real life. "I don't get it, he swore there was a TV in the box, it was just bricks" " I followed the guy down the alley to help him save a cat, next thing I know I woke up in my own blood without my wallet. I sure hope they didn't hurt him or his cat" "officer, I let the guy with the bloody hook for a hand in my house when he told me his car broke down and the next thing I know I was tied up and he was doing bad things to my wife".
"Officer, the Prince told me that he would pay me more money if I gave him some so he could get out of Nigeria and he never paid me! I swear, hopefully one of these days he remembers the service that I did him."
Honestly man, good for him for being able to tie knots with his hook hand. I love a story of someone overcoming adversity.
@@wcs9582 Whooooaaa Nigerian Prince Scam. That's a deeeeeeep cut, I applaud you friendo!
@@smashbrandiscootch719 was that sarcastic or did you just call something really popular and well known as a meme a “deep cut”
hahahaha for realz
2nd story: I would let them trade the amulets, but warn them that they aren't likely to get replacements, if they still trade them away then when they get sick that's on them
He who chooses wealth and power over health and safety reaps what he sows.
Having the blood hunter contract the new disease would make for a great arc in their journey to help the cleric. Not only will they have personal skin in the game, but also increase the severity of the time-line. This small over sight by the dm can actually be a boon for future game sessions.
@@aaroncruze4638 And if the blood hunter tries to complain that they got the disease, you can respond that he had the perfect defense until he sold it.
yeah let him have the magic items AND the blood plague.
@@darklord884 Or the word gets to “moderately known cleric” and he uses his “moderate reputation” to deny any assistance from temples in case *someone* gets sick from the plague
I think the party's problem was they expected anyone who would be bandits to just simply be "bad guys" and attack. Since this group didn't make them start initiative on sight... they assumed it was not the combat encounter they were looking for. Basically, the players were playing a combat oriented board game with a story, and the DM was roleplaying in an RPG. Clearly a situation of mismatched players to DM.
In other words, the players were playing Warhammer/4E, the DM AD&D/3.5/5E
And it didn't have to be a combat encounter to begin with! There are a number of ways that encounter could have gone. I think one of the coolest possibilities is if the bandits were of similar actual strength to the party (i.e. much stronger than a normal D&D encounter - the party might not even win).
In that situation, if both parties accurately assess the other's strength, then the natural conclusion is to not fight at all, because it will likely end in one or more party member being critically injured or killed. So you get a kind of 'Mexican Standoff' - you've found the bandits you're looking for, but they're too strong for you to fight. Suppose these bandits are in it for profit and not following a charismatic leader who can use them for cannon fodder, and thus are also unwilling to fight. But you've got a problem: the bandits can't let you go or the local authorities will know where they are, or at least where they were very recently, and your party can't just leave because the bandits will obviously try to run and hide while you run get backup from the local authorities. What do you do?
That's the kind of setup that leads to some of the most glorious and rewarding RP imaginable. To just throw that away is so sad to me.
The players are probably used to video games like Skyrim, where bandits really will just attack you on sight.
Not all bandits are from Skyrim. "Hey, isn't that the person who just killed a dragon and then ate its soul? Let's go mug them!"
Lol
"Hey! Hey! What are we?!" - "uhm... we're m-mu-muggers.." - "Yeah! Yeah! And what do we do?!"
@@dariuslateralus7128 "We... mug... people?"
@tekkalord So? LET'S! GO! MUG 'EM!!!!
"That guy just killed a Dragon! He's weakened! Kill him!"
Collective IQ of that first table was about 150. Out of it 120 was the DMs.
I think giving the players 30 IQ is a bit of a stretch.
@@thepoorgamou7974 There were 3 of them from the sound of the story so each had an IQ of 10.
I don't think newborn babies have IQs that low...
@@jacobblanton5179
Newborn babies think the whole world is an extension of thel and think like them.
They know the rest of the world is not a stupid AI that will kill themselve and actually want to live.
@@jacobblanton5179 You're right, but they definitely acted like babies
You forgot the 20 that belong to the dice
first story is why I tell my parties "if the players can do it, the enemies can do it, and the npc's are people. Expect consequences, expect surprises, and don't forget rule #1: The DM lies."
i love how the bandits huddled together and were like "are you hearing these chumps?"
I remember a campaign I was running where the party member, I think he was a barbarian, opens a door and sees that the room is full of orcs. So, he states that he closes the door and walks away. For some reason, he was surprised when the orcs opened the door to come after him. "They're monsters! They can't open doors!" he shouts. "How do you think they got into the room?" I respond, "Do you think someone corralled them in there a shut the door to trap in the room?"
If had an incident like that as well. My party was walking through a haunted crypt and had to get through a hallway guarded by several armed skeletons and an armored skeletal champion. The first time they came across, the armored skeleton warned them to leave and never return, which should've been a hint that these monsters aren't mindless drones.
Their plan was to bring a table from another room into the middle of the hallway to use as a barricade and fire arrows at the skeletons from the safety of their table shield. They were audibly annoyed when two skeletons approached the table and picked it up to move out of the way, while the other skeletons engaged melee combat anyway.
@@pattycake520 ROFL. The mental picture I have is sending me.
@@pattycake520 This actually happened?
@@WavelordFirst Yes.
All I can imagine is rolling a deception check. "Sorry, wrong room." And pray that the dice (and the DM) are in your favor.
The first story gave me an idea of pretending to be poor farmers to lure out bandits from their ambush positions. Imagine druid turning into starving horse pulling a covered cart, bard disguised-self into old man and rogue halfling plays as his child.
Playing on their overconfidence bandits rush out to see what goodies the old man has… only to find out barbarian and paladin bursting out of cart, starting the slaughter.
Amazing
DM: “3 bandits come from the front, while another 4 reveal themselves hiding from the sides
Bard: “I cry out desperately to not check the cart and leave us be, or else they will know the wrath of justice”
DM: “The bandit laughs and slaps you on the cheek. Another two bandits approach the cart to search it” *Bandit rolls for Investigation and fails
Rogue: “I run up to Bard screaming ‘*Father*!’”
Barbarian and Paladin: “We hear the *code word* and rush out attacking the closest bandits”
Bard: “I cast sleep on the further two in front of us”
Rogue: “And I take out my dagger to sneak attack the Slapper near Bard”
…
Druid: “… Imma a horse”
@@Sanches7557 Druid: Can I perform a perception check to look in the nearby woods?
DM: Yeah sure. You see a suspiciously placed donkey about 40 feet away, half hidden behind a tree and brush with some oddly large baskets on them.
The barbarian cries out, "I swear by my floral bonnet I will end you!"
Because even though he didnt need a disguise, he dressed up as a peasant wife.
Ever watch Firefly? They use this tactic in the show. That's what Ein was referring to.
@@Sanches7557 "Imma a horse" -Druid 2022
Never have I ever witnessed a party with such collective brain rot. This scenario is like something off of Monty Python it's absolutely comical.
Story 2: Don't protect the bloodhunter. Have their character contract the plague.
And then spread it to the other players due to protracted and extensive proximity.
Guy literally sold his plot armor.
@@ChallengeIdeas Players, towns, villages, nations, perhaps even other planes of reality depending on where their adventures take them.
If he dies he dies! :P
In D&D actions have consequences... unfortunately you traded the only thing that could protect you from the plague. Your character will probably die... lol
Wh- they coukdn’t tell these guys were the bandits! I honestly thought the players were gonna try and play 4D mind games with these guys but I clearly overestimated them! YIRBEL LIVES!
Because they play too much skyrim.
@@Oban2006 thats bullshit, the bandits in Skyrim also try to trick you, you have the random encounter of bandits wearing dead legionaries' armor to make you pay a road toll. Then you have that whole quest where you are tricked by a bandit to make a boat crash so they can backstab you and take all the loot.
This comparison to Skyrim shows so many people haven't even played the game.
@@Oban2006 I recount at least 4 times where bandit either trick or threaten you, half of which are scripted and other half are random encounter
There were no players. It never happened.
Yeah. I thought for *sure* the players realized those other guys were the bandits. Then they stupidly fell for the "you go first" trick.
The DM could design a one shot adventure where the PCs are bandits. Give them an easy mark, a challenging mark with a caravan guard, and then a party of clearly powerful warriors who are too stupid to recognize the PCs as bandits.
If the PCs attack them on sight, kick their teeth in and tell them they should have chosen their marks more carefully. If the PCs lie and let the OP warriors go on their way, explain that THAT is exactly the same reason bandits didn’t attack them that one time.
I mean how do bandits get new recruits? If they attack every single person they see and kill them then how does anybody even know about these bandits? If the survivors got away then how does the party not have a description of at least one of the bandits like the one eyed bandit that they talked with? You don’t need to kick their teeth in for them understand basic logic like that or even if their is too much banditry going on then the road will become a dead highway or more people who are also better armed will come and deal with them.
I agree, but the players in the story don’t seem to understand. I’m just suggesting a fun way to show them.
Man I feel bad for that dm. It sounds like they can think on their feet and are willing to make logical characters. Shame it was wasted on that party.
Ah, the old "DM is punishing us" trope. I have exactly the same thing when a group of barbarians ran off with the treasure while the group took a long rest. The group felt it was unfair that time continued while they slept, and that the barbarians should still be in the temple after 8 hours.
They're people, most things alive don't want to die in a pointless fight. Making smart bandits can create a whole new faction to work with or against and deal with. I made a bandit group that was harassing merchant caravans and wagons along the roads of a valley Duchy, and were very successful because 1) The Duke didn't side with the current King in a civil war but stayed neutral and didn't want to have the army come in so he kept the problem quiet, 2) The Bandits had found the abandoned ruins of Halfling settlements to living in, lauch sneak attacks from, and travel and store loot, and 3) They discovered a magic tome that let their leader figure out how to trigger lycanthropy without needing a full moon so their berserkers were all the more powerful.
The thing is, You did protect the party from the plague. Then they threw that away in a poor trade. Its a tough lesson but if a character dies from plague the others with take those amulets more seriously
Or, they'll cry, "DM! How could you DO that to us! You should have given us some means of protecting ourselves against the plague!"
"I did. You traded it away for a ring of tavern and brothel finding."
"But you weren't supposed to actually let US get the plague! You suck!"
Yep. It's going to happen.
This is the 100% correct response. As a GM, I would might have thrown in a "Hey, you do realize what you are trading away, right?" That way, when the character is slowly dying, then the player can only blame himself. Then the player rolls up another character, and this new character has to fight with the rest of the party for the limited protection from the plague that they have. Thinking long term is the hallmark of a good GM.
Blood hunters gonna be real sad when he starts coughing up blood..
All but the necklace is cursed which is why the merchant was so eager to give them all up.
Bracers can deflect missles but you still take damage.
The bow can deal lightning damage but generates so much static that you also recieve some whenever the bowstring snaps back.
The ring of tavern (and brothel) finding works completely as intended but the bard is such a whore it only points to them.
These are the coolest bandits ever, and the fact dm doesnt make it death but a cool dungeon crawl makes me feel that dm needs a new group who will appreciate them these players clearly havnt had an actual "bad" dm lol.
"You're just a shit DM!"
This DM sounds like a very good DM in fact.
I had the opposite situation in a game:
Bandits are mugging people on the street, so we attack. Initiative is rolled, the Barbarian goes first. So Barbarian enters her rage moves in to attack, is told she is too far away, so Barbarian throws a handaxe. The bandits are next and shoot all their crossbows at Cleric, who goes down in the first round and rolls a lingering injury that gives disadvantage on all charisma checks.
Why would the bandits shoot at someone who, as far as they know, could just be an innocent bystander and is the only one there wearing metal armour (the other party members are a Monk and a Rogue) not the deranged fairy throwing axes at them?
It makes sense from a tactical point of view, like if you are playing Descent, but it means the bandits are not human beings.
it's also metagaming, which a dungeon master just... really shouldn't do.
It could be argued that because initiative is rolled and you intended to act against the bandits, they could see the cleric was about to do something. I think it’s important to remember that initiative rounds are 6 second increments all at once, not actually in a turn order. In other words, they could feel the most worry about the heavily armored individual than the person with little to no armor.
@@willh9656 i mean if we’re really gonna break down the “6 seconds” analogy, then the bandits should be nowhere near coordinated enough to all simultaneously shoot the armored person on round 1. They’re bandits, and one of them just took a throwing axe to the chest by a very large, VERY pissed off gal running full-steam at them, who’s about to carve their faces in
How to resolve this simple issue: have the DM establish that these bandits have a habit of attacking bystanders to distract law enforcement or adventuring parties. They’re not great warriors with top of the line equipment and fighting prowess after all, they’re bandits. That way it makes sense for them to throw their axes at random civilians if they think they’re outgunned.
The lingering injury though is frustrating to me because it came out of nowhere.
@@thecookiemeister5374 Well, Barbarian was a fairy. A fairy being the only strength build in the party has become a running joke.
The first DM is too kind. That sounded like a perfect "Learning" opportunity. He ran that encounter very well minus letting the PCs get away without falling damage.
So the lesson is what? Be a murder hobo and assume every NPC is trying to kill you?
TPKs are boring because it causes everything to grind to a halt and to restart the adventure. It sounded like it was early on in the campaign, so TPK would be pointless and anticlimactic. I think a small amount of falling damage might be in order, followed by a short debate about how NPCs are not all morons, and bandits don't succeed at being bandits for very long by attacking literally every person who walks down a road.
@@CrizzyEyes I mean the fall didn't need to be lethal. 50ish feet is usually a pretty big fall that most level 5 or so adventurers can walk away from fine.
I had this happens with Pirates at an abandoned fort on the sea, the helpful "not a pirate" (as the bird said) friends tied them to chairs of teleportation to get to the ghost ship, these chairs were on top of the cliff to the sea, when they ended up in the ocean one character went back and said it didn't work
“People who are rather more than six feet tall and nearly as broad across the shoulders often have uneventful journeys. People jump out at them from behind rocks then say things like, "Oh. Sorry. I thought you were someone else.”
― Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!
Second story has an easy solution on what to do. Make stats for the incurable disease and give it to the player that gave up the amulet. Make the campaign seem as if it's on a timer for his life even tho that may not actually be the case. Use slight accumulating debuffs that can be remedied but not cured completely. Most importantly narrate how its affecting them when they wake up or do combat to remind them of its existence so it's not just a number on a character sheet. That's how I'd do it at least. Going back on something is always a mistake in my experience, so make it work.
Like... how diseases work in Pathfinder 2e?
Wow, what was up with those guys in the first story? The whole time I was listening I was thinking, ok these guys are ticking off every cliche bandit box in the book, so the DM would likely trick them and have them attack an innocent, if suspicious looking, group of travelers... but no, they missed it... HOW!? 0_0
Yeah. Not even as if they were all looking like common soldiers (armies' deserters and demobilized men have historically fuels most of the bandits' numbers). Their appearances just scream "hey, we're the bad guys!"
I have to assume the DM's description was too vague for these guys.
Maybe smarter enemies in their minds is limited to actually plot important enemies or a more involved story arc.
@@chaos4654 I am assuming the DM is leaving information out about what happened.
@@emberfist8347
Fair theory. It's not out the question that a poster would twist the truth to make the opposite side look bad.
They play skyrim too much
"How's the DM going to protect the player from the blood plague now?"
Don't. He doesn't. Player traded his character's life for some gear. Player made the decision to trade away his blood plague protection for some higher level gear that the DM didn't want the player to have due to the player getting too OP, so guess what? Assign a probability, roll a percentile to check every time he comes in close proximity to the plague, and if the check fails, guess who's now got a nasty cough that just won't go away...
As a Blood Hunter, a blood plague shouldn't bother him all that much, and thus sacrificing a moderately useless amulet for much better gear is an acceptable trade.
Yeah, that should definitely have been an "Are you sure you want to trade away your amulet?" moment.
I'm now very curious as to what that blood plague actually is. The only "blood plague" I could find, is one in an adventure of the same name, but it's payware, $22, which I'm not going to spend just to find out what it is.
The first story reminded me of the bandit camp from Fable: The Lost Chapters. It was so innovative and creative for 10-year-old me, that I could just dress up as one and walk among them, see them eating, drinking beer and just chilling around.
Monsters and baddies having a sense of self preservation, intelligence, and a knowledge of tactics?? No way! :P Shame on that DM.
Blood hunter gets the plague, bummer. But hey now you can describe how horrible the death it right before the players eyes.
Seriously.
I always try to develop my encounters based on the motives, intelligence, and perspective of the creatures the players come across.
Animals will mostly only attack if they're hungry or feel threatened, and will usually flee if they meet resistance. Intelligent NPCs will take measure of the party, prepare, and be open to alternatives to fighting. Even among the Undead, there's a difference between a Ghoul that has plenty of "food" in the graveyard it's lurking in and the tortured wraith that wants to snuff out all life.
My players just had a particularly challenging time dealing with an NPC spellcaster that I had hinted had been spying on the party for a while, and had tailored their spell list to counter the party's strengths.
The Blood Hunter probably wasn't worried about the plague because he's used to weird shit happening to his body...
That's not even high iq or anything, I thought the DM would've had some major big brain plays up his sleeve. I was sitting there that whole scene like, "uh-huh, yep, standard" and then at the end it was all "wait that's it? That's so basic! How did anyone fall for that?"
The worthy GM never purposely kills players' PCs, He presents opportunities for the rash and unthinking players to do that all on their own.-Gary Gygax
Doesn't sound like the Players were rash or unthinking in the first story. From what we see he never told the players to roll for insight against the bandits when they were lying to them.
@@emberfist8347 ,
Perception check...?
@@emberfist8347 Of course he didn't. Because you aren't supposed to do that.
Players only roll insight if they ask do, or if they ask to do something that translates to an insight roll.
If they make no such request, you use their passive insight, and you do so in secret.
@@aralornwolf3140 That was before the lie and it didn’t tell them anything new.
@@thesong7877 So he didn’t roll for deception either which would lead the player to make an insight check.
In the golden days of TPK, the bandits would've thrown rocks down after the party - and laughed all the while.
Big rocks, too
Rocks fall everyone dies.
@@Squilurple More "Don't come crying for plot armour if you waltz into the dragon's den."
As a DM with years of experience I would have laughed my ass of at the party who sold the amulets. It really make me think the reader doesn't play D&D. " They got a load of magic items basically for free." No, they foolishly traded away their only protection from a horrible plague they will be marching neck deep through contagious victims of for the next few weeks, and for what? A strong bow, some missile protection, an amulet that makes you brave, and a ring that does the job of a town drunk. Not the best trade in the world if you ask me.
I would have so much fun if this happened in my game. *Evil laught*
The combined intelligence of the group in the first story must be a single digit. 😂😂🤪😀😂🤪😀🤪😀
I have some ocean front property in Arizona to sell them! : )
For the second story you could heavily penalise the blood hunter by letting him get the plague that lowers a bunch of his stats. In lore the guy that gave the amulets gives him another but because he already has it the amulet just slows the plague so he won't die just get lower and lower stats throughout the game. I say it's fair due to the massive buff of free magic items.
And teach him a lesson about obvious DM fiat gifts. Send them into a zombie horde where all the zombies died of that plague. Let him sweat it a few sessions after taking some hits. Then tell him he's not feeling well and starts showing the classic symptoms.
Nice. And the treatments are expeeensive.
And this is how you kill off all creativity . Never punish creativity. Easiest solution to this would have been to have the merchant say he already got one from the cleric .
If the amulet is rare, and I'm assuming it is, just let him die from the plague. Considering the circumstance, the amulet is worth way more than any of those magic items. The player would have to just suffer the consequence of that action. And, if a shop owner is willing to clean out their shop for one thing that another has, maybe that person should reconsider trading it away. A lot of players would pay any price, if they think it"s free.
@@mathewholliman3960 This doesn't solve the problem of the player going to the next place to sell the amulet. The reason for more people to have an amulet already really reduces the overall impact of the plague. It will also possibly inspire the other players to sell theirs, again reducing the severity of the main plot.
I love being creative as a PC, I also love when it backfires on me for an understandable reason. As a DM, I award people for it, but it is also one of those "consequences of you own actions" things sometimes.
All this being said, it depends on your players affinity to consequences, those session zero expectations, and the ability to adapt/experience of the DM.
DM needs to send this video to his players and have them read the comments. Clever bandits nearly whipped party.
First story I immediately caught on that the group they met were bandits just by the description, the party was simply too trusting plus they could have done so many things to figure out it was a trap. Listen in on their conversation when they were out of earshot, do an insight check before crossing the bridge, telling the three dude to cross the bridge first etc.
In their defense, a bandit group of that size tends to be SUPER early encounter for an campaign. Plus bandits and mercs tend to be described the same way, 'ruffians', 'tough customers', and the like same as the first story had them described, but the difference is that during the day bandits would probably be WAY more on alert for anyone sent to take them down. A bit on the DM for making them act more like cautious and reserved mercs than wary and antsy bandits. I can't fault the players for this, I mean if a DM was having the bandits my party were after acting like this then I'd have believed they were just mercs too. If this was supposed to be the encounter the party was supposed to fight, the DM really should have initiated combat once he realized the party wasn't catching on. This feels like the group's second or third session for this game, if 'adventures' is meant to mean jobs they did before, so yeah an early on low-CR encounter like this is really meant to be a little more straightforward than the DM ran it. Neither side is blameless in this, players didn't need to berate the DM but at the same time the DM's clearly intentional choice to have the bandits be more cautious was what lead to the group acting that way.
What I would have done is roll to see if one of the other two bandits lost their cool and attack the party, doing that roll each time they're asked something after being asked if they know anything about nearby bandits. That way the fight will still happen, but the bandits can still be played more intelligent.
@@caiusdrakegaming8087 100% agree. There was definitely some stuff the DM could have done.
As the DM in the 2nd story I would have that blood hunter make a con check after almost every interaction with another creature
"If he dies, he dies." -Drago, Rocky III.
Sometimes, the players are their own worst enemy.
I feel bad for everyone involved there.
Putting myself in one of their boots, I imagine it really was a case of imagining bandits as indiscriminate belligerents who will attack any living thing they can loot on sight rather than people with needs and tactics for meeting those needs. Looking at it from that perspective, if they're not attacking us, they can't be bandits, since they're not exhibiting 'bandit behavior'. And with no one there to speak up and point out how actual bandits work, I could see someone following this train of thought up until the perceived 'betrayal'. It's some kind of strange miracle that that many people would not only know each other, but be interested in D&D and get together... Like, guys, these odds seem *microscopic*!
Reminds me of a player who joined our group but had never played tabletop before, just Action RPG video games. He would just sit there huffing, making bored faces, and not participating until the DM said the magic phrase 'Roll Initiative'.
The 2nd DM needed to make the 'Plague Protection Amulets' only useable by the players. Like they protect only the person whose blood is sealed inside and the cleric seals them, then activates and attunes them right there. Also he only has limited quantities so he only offers them to people his god has given him a 'sign' to, like brave adventures who might find a cure or end what's causing it.
The thing about D&D versus something like a videogame RPG is that you’re not bound by limitations of coding and AI and all that. You can genuinely make your bandits and other NPCs act rationally and intelligently. Though I’ll admit that a camp just on the side of the road isn’t very smart, it wasn’t too subtle who these guys were either. There’s no reason bandits should just attack anything on sight with no concept of self-preservation.
Yeah, if i was doing it, the bandits would have a look-out some ways before the ambush site, and if the bandits decide not to engage, the party simply wouldn't have seen anyone.
Also bandits would look just as average hunters/day laborers
Not gonna lie, I DM'd a situation where I didn't adequately describe some special creatures in the woods that spoke to the party and told them to stay away. The players attacked the animals who them cast 3rd level spells at the aggressive PC's.
I hadn't mentioned that the deer had glowing eyes and antlers due to low perception rolls.
I mean…talking deer telling me to stay out of the woods kinda screams magic/magical of some kind unless talking deer is perfectly normal for your setting…
I think the party must have been more surprised about the 3rd level spells right?…right? (Please tell me I’m right)
@@The-0ni These were the first wild animals they had encountered besides Ankhegs (and anything they might've dealt with in their backstories), but they were also the first that talked. When the Warlock and the Fighter were spared damage from the Fireball, they laughed at the Paladin who started the fight.
I once put talking deer in a campaign. They gored a PC and shout “NO MERCY,” the players are very wary of deer with miscolored fur and spiraling patterns.
Bruh if a fucking deer talked to me and told me to stay out of the woods, you'd bet your ass I'd be out of there before they finished speaking.
Must've been daylight, there's no other way someone would miss glowing eyes or antlers.
Those first players clearly thought they were signing up to play multiplayer Skyrim.
That second group, I thought for sure the end of that story was going to be "and then the blood hunter handed the shopkeep 4 crude necklaces he'd made himself."
The players, being lured into a dark cave by someone who ticks every box of"Tell me you're a bandit without telling me you're a bandit":
"Boy this guy sure is being really helpful! An upstanding citizen! We should bring him back and get him a commendation for his great work here today!"
Oh my God…I feel like I’m having deja vu with the first story.
I started a campaign with an escort quest from one town to another and the party came across 1 bumbling bandit blocking the road with a hefty log. 2 more obvious bandits come out of hiding and apologize for their bumbling friend whos just nervous but make it clear they want a toll to let the party continue on the road. The party is done with this nonsense and see just 3 bandits while their is 6 of them.
They are absolutely confused and horrified once the fighting starts when 5 more bandits begin to pop in and out of cover/hiding and attack them with crossbows. My players to this day say I played the bandits too well and they should not have been hiding or using cover and should have just stood out in the open. That what I did was unfair and that I am an antagonistic DM.
My logic was “What group of bandits would all be standing out in the open for everybody traveling on the road to see from far away? Who would give up their cover/hiding places when they see their chosen spokesperson negotiating with the travelers?”
Yeah... reminds me of a situation in a novel I read... an illegitimate daughter of a lord was on her way home for the first time in years for her father's funeral... along the road she was using she heard a bird call as she rounded a corner. She decided to get off the road... and another bird call was made. She decided to go back onto the toad and confront the bandits. They sent one person out to collect payment; the bandits made a deal with the merchants who traveled the road (cheaper to pay the toll than to pay for guards). When she paid them, they gave her a ribbon to wear, so that the other bandit of the group won't accost her... and off she went, after telling the bandit that he shouldn't patch his clothes with the same clothe his wife uses to patch her apron, lol.
Of course, if she refused to pay, she would have had arrows in her back. That's how bandits work. *Shrugs*
Also, if your players are still angry with you... you could tell them to watch Rabin Hood, Prince of Thieves or better, Men in Tights... and see how those bandits attack the sheriff's men. :D
@@aralornwolf3140 Oh I quit DMing because in that same combat the goblin monk tried to hide while standing directly in front of the bandit in broad daylight. She genuinely thought hiding/sneaking worked like invisibility.
In future sessions of the same campaign everyone was upset darkvision didn’t let them see absolutely perfectly in darkness. The problem I had with this was monsters more often than not also have darkvision so they too would see everything perfectly; which meant unless your hiding behind something or dealing with the rare creatures that lacked darkvision it would be impossible to sneak.
They were also upset that they couldn’t see traps despite low wisdom scores, lack of training in Perception and Investigation and searching around in complete darkness with their darkvision.
All of these issues took about 45min.-1 hour to argue about because despite me putting my foot down on the ruling they literally had to hear the explanation, say thats stupid and then say it should work their way or work this way instead then.
It affected them so badly they just didnt care anymore about the campaign and just messaged me saying its not working out or would show up and do things like talk in a dead empty tone and move their characters away from monsters to cause opportunity attacks in hopes I would just kill their character off.
Edit: We started at lvl 1 and I told them I would be fine with any character adjustments or complete changes to their characters up to lvl 5. I would mention this at the end of each session. Not one ever did and they all simply decided to give up because things didnt go their way to begin with.
@@The-0ni ,
Oh. The players didn't bother to read, nor understand, the rules... and they expected you to cater to their "rules".
In Pathfinder, there is an entire sidebar explaining how stealth works... if you're observed, you can hide... but... that's like a child attempting to hide... they know where they are, lol.
@@aralornwolf3140 Yea no it was more like I’m gonna stand here in front of you and cover my face with my hands and you can’t see me stealth check in broad daylight…
I got so sick of all the house rules and optional rules and players treating things like a video game (Bandits obviously attack you on sight logic) I had to stop 😅
@@The-0ni Dude, sucks you lost a play group but at the same time doesn't sound like much of a play group to begin with. Players like these never would've appreciated any work you put in as a GM.
MANY years ago with a group of beginner players, one of them had studied the players handbook (2nd Ed.) and saw that with age, the character gains wisdom and intelligence, then asked if he could cast haste upon himself a multitude of times to get older to thus get the extra wisdom and intelligence points/bonus'. I looked at him and asked, you sure you want to do that? He nodded and said he was happy to take the strength and dexterity penalties that came with getting old, and I said, well if thats what you want to do, I wont stop you. He then set about casting a heap of Haste spells and sufficiently aged himself to get all the potential bonus wisdom and intelligence points that came with being the corresponding age. As he began to adjust his scores for his now aged character, I asked him what did he think he was doing, as I had no problem him marking down his strength and dex but not adjusting his intelligence and wisdom. He said, but you said I could. I then proceeded to point out the additional intelligence and wisdom is a result of YEARS of learning and adventuring and the accumulation of experience, NOT an automatic increase for the repeated casting of the Haste spell. He suddenly realized the error of his intention and was left with an enfeebled low level wizard, whos sole aim at this point, was to find all the potions of youth he could possibly get his hands on. Oh theres something to be said for noobs playing games where theres no "Load last save position" ability...
I think in that case, I would kinda just laugh, because it looks clever on the surface and is genuinely funny, and just clarify the rule for the player and tell them not to metagame so much.
Strangely, I'm DM'ing a 2nd edition game right now and just the other day (like just a week or two ago), someone made a new character that is a wizard. I let them start off as middle-aged and they got that stat boost from the start. They also have crap STR and CON, but they don't mind. The player even went ahead and rolled randomly for his age to see if he could get it. He just rolled the starting age adjustment for the number of levels he started with (6th level)--even though I said he could start older if he wanted--just to see if he really would be older and used the age that he rolled (which was middle-aged).
The Haste idea is still hilarious though 😂 He really thought he found a loophole lol 😆 🤣
I'd say it was a great backstory, but honestly, it's entirely meta that they would expect to become more intelligent and wise by ageing with a spell. On the other hand, I kinda like the idea of a mage who wanted to be respected and never got any cause he looked too young, and then regretted it after going way too far with the old master wizard schtick
that makes you a shitty DM for not explaining to the player that that is how you handled the increases to INT and WIS.....
I was DMing a Starfinder game once and for one of my campaign's first encounters I had an ambush set up for the players and they all got incapacitated except for one and he almost died from space pirates too, but then I had an ally come along. Served as a situation that says "hey you can die" and also a cool character introduction.
This party trusts the clearly obvious bandits clearly and obviously leading them into an ambush and my party interrogates every reputable merchant for hours because they are paranoid about being betrayed.
This 😆
These people are just babies and wished for an easy fight and are oblivious as hell xD.
Agreed. Ironically enough, those are exactly the type of people such bandits might prey on, too.
I'm too old school, so I'd have just dealt normal fall damage and told them it was their own blunder that beat them.
Honestly, this wasn't even that clever of a deception or anything, like any human with bad intentions should bare minimum put in this much effort under most circumstances
This is what session zero is for. Sounds like the players had a different expectation from the dm.
@@gary9346 Yes and no. Session Zeroes are extremely helpful in general, but they aren't always guaranteed to help smooth things out. Sometimes people just get stuck on a particular train of thought, and no amount of discussion lodges them from it. I've seen it happen time and again, but only usually an individual player, not a whole group.
I had my own story involving bandits where I played it off that my Paladin had a gut feeling but wasn't sure they found a camp of bandits instead of immediately knowing they were bandits as soon as they saw them and tried to bluff them to be sure. The bluff didn't work and TLDR: The other player convinces the Bandit Group to leave behind the Outlaw life and form a Circus Troupe.
Story 2. Next session, blood hunter has to roll against infection. Each time he fights and gets near blood he has to roll against infection.
By two or three encounters he has the plague. Now they really need to hunt for that cure.
Agreed, they were told how deadly it is, and how valuable the amulet was, I'd allow them to sell it but warn then that they will have to really be careful and roll for chances of infection.
First DM did an amazing job with plot twist, the players were lucky to have a DM that likes to keep the players on their toes with interesting scenarios.
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Dm: these guys have so many red flags they're speaking in semaphore. Players: We're colorblind and only speak common.
"But they weren't wearing t-shirts with the word 'Bandits' on them! I mean, one of them was, but the other two weren't!"
If I was the DM I would have their next encounter be bandits who went "I is bandit, you is protagonist. Must murder!" and run in a straight line towards the PCs and tumble down a hole and die...
Or have a random politician bumrush them when they were in town just to get struck down by the town guard, "He was embezzling, which makes him a criminal. Obviously he would attack you on sight"
The bandits in the first story honestly could have been set up to go either way. Describe them to be how you expect bandits to be but end up not being the bandits or if that's the thought process the players had, switch them to infact be the bandits.
They still didn't need to attack on site if they did not perceive a threat. Like video of the bear that sat next to the guy at the river. Aren't bears vicious monsters? It should have attack the guy, obviously.
I mean, that seems to be the core issue. That the players expected rational, thinking bandits to just blindly attack a group of well-armed travelers.
There's a thin line between mercenary and bandit in a lot of cases, so all the more reason to stay on guard but not attack outright.
DnD not skyrim
It seems the party thought that because the bandits engaged in dialog with them that they had to be just normal NPCs and not "Mobs" its a very hack and slash mentality.
This is why you always insight check
"How's the DM going to protect the blood hunter from the plague now?"
If it's me, he's not. He's now going to have the same chance of catching the plague as anyone else without a magic amulet. That's the chance he's taking to get those magic items.
Had similar when a pair of players got upset that I didn’t make it so that when their psion “manipulated” one npc that the rest wouldn’t just follow through like some dumb computer ai. Instead I treat all my npc’s as actual characters. I use this style of thinking even when I am playing as a player instead of taking part as the DM. This has turned various random moments into cinematic wonders for the rest of the party and even allowed us to on more than one occasion a mission we otherwise wouldn’t be able to handle.
How stupid is that Blood Hunter?
He traded a very rare magic item for 4 common ones, that merchant made the deal of a lifetime.
Would I have made the merchant more distrustful of the amulet? Probably, but in the end I would have allowed the player to convince him dooming himself in the process *shrug
In the first story it sounds like the players are entirely too used to bandits in video games who'll run screaming at you across an open field while waving a rusty sword even when your an end game godslayer known throughout the world as the greatest fighter &/or magic wielder in history decked out in dragonbone and wiedling divine weaponry. They can't comprehend npc's that can actually think.
"If they were bandits, why didn't they attack us?"
"They just did..."
"What would the DM do to protect the bloodhunter from the plague" Nothing, roll and if they get the plague they get the plague. Fair cause and effect is the heart of TTRPG.
There is something for not judging a book by its cover, but if I find a group of well armed and armored, gruff, and tattered people in the woods near where the bandits are known to attack, what's your first assumption?
Obviously they’re selling cookies! Duh! 🙄
@@H240909 ah, yes, the rough men who are scarred beyond recognition with weapons telling dirty jokes are really just girlscouts in disguise waiting for their next pray to sell cookies
I’d have positioned the group of individuals to have been an adventuring party searching for the bandits as well, but be cagey about their intentions as they don’t know the players are also on the same hunt and for all they know are the bandits, and after the smoke clears have it all hashed out
to be fair? you check for match insignia FIRST. They COULD be a mercenary troupe or shady solider brigade of dubious morality. if no insignia? oh yeah. they sus
Some benefit of the doubt from the get go wouldn't be too bad, it could have been a red herring, but pretty much two sentences in they were effectively just saying "yep, we're bandits alright" and no one was catching on. Literally a 1 INT moment
The DM is NOT the idiot, the players who complained were the idiots, BIG time!
I wouldn't take this DM's story at face value. If the only way to avoid a trap is to be a murder hobo and attack first, that is on the DM (he never said anything like roll for insight).
@@emberfist8347 that is true, he *could* of asked for that roll..
@Hate UA-cam It was the obvious plot hook.
@Hate UA-cam He didn’t play fair there was no reflex save. It was just rocks fall everybody dies.
@@emberfist8347 Reflex Save for when the bridge you are in the middle of completely collapsing into a canyon. how are you gonna dodge the terrain being destroyed and falling into a canyon, also you have replied to pretty much every comment about this, one the Dm shouldn't ask for rolls unless the the party asks an obvious question or takes and obvious action like saying "do these people look suspicious and" insight or " I want to jump this chasm" acrobatics, the perception check should be passive and no a player doesn't get to roll against deception. Either the Dm has a DC he rolls against or he can roll vs there passive insight or perception there choice really. Also taking the Dm's story at face value one thing I see wrong is that he should have made a bunch of rolls vs the parties passive skills with all the tomfoolery the bandits were doing. It's common that if you get pickpocketed while a shady merchants tries selling you something that a passive roll for insight on the merchant and a passive on the pickpocket behind you would be made. So big Oof on the Dm. I see it as the Dm wanting to try something new but wasn't properly prepared for it and the party being oblivious due to them not thinking and most likely that the bandits they faced before were probably random encounters and quick filler because the dm wasn't finished with an area that they were still working on.
😂😂😂
What in the hell did they expect?
"If you're looking for bandits, then prepare for trouble! If you don't think it's us, then make it double!"
One of my best session, that my players mention with nostalgia, was a session based on the confusion of mercenaries and bandits ( where PC attaced mercenaries couse they " looked" as bandits.) And it was the beginning of a series of misunderstandings and fuzzy clues in which players had to find themselves. My players enjoy the sessions where they have to think. This is how non-combat skills can really shine.
One's mercenary is another's bandit- Sir Kuno.
I usually have to tone down the intelligence of bandits and the like to not be too smart because I would otherwise make them way smarter than these here, these were just not brain dead unlike the players.
I always try to think about the smartest way to handle a situation and then depending on the intelligence of the NPC try to make it simpler or even make an intelligence roll to see if they're gonna do the smart thing or not.
Skyrim bandit: *sees a man wearing the skin of a dragon and carrying legendary weapons* imma mug u
These guys: ah yes, this is how bandits be
Lol yeah exactly
This seems like a good teaching moment. "You may have played other games where bad guys always attack on sight. In my game intelligent villains do not throw their lives away. That goes for lowly bandits all the way up to ancient red dragons. They all want to win, or at least live long enough to do so, and I will play them accordingly. You can disagree all you want but disregard this fact at your own peril (malicious laughter)."
2 things that don't mix in that second story - 1st time DM and Homebrew. If this is your first time I HIGHLY recommend running something pre-published, at least until you get a few dozen sessions under your belt. This player put the DM in a difficult spot. You want to reward that kind of creativity, but you don't have to give away the whole shop for it. Just because a sourcebook prices an item at a certain value does not mean that everyone is eager to pay that much for it. I would offer 1 of the items that doesn't increase their combat power too much. On a good haggle attempt I'd let them have 1 of the better items, but certainly not all of them. Also that Blood Hunter is definitely going to catch the plague now.
I've played Dungeons and Dragons since 1992. Here are some old timers tips on handling bandits:
1. Arm/equip to the party: common sense. At low levels this is fairly simple. However, bear in kind that as PCs, banditry becomes too "common" as an encounter.
2. Desperation: banditry is a desperate act usually. As such those using it are going to have a better plan than normal. The incidental thing in a city is an opportunist but a band is likely to be coordinated.
3. They will use any means: detailed planning isn't a mandate but the DM should at LEAST take advantage of an opening when he/she sees it. For example: the PCs are fighting near, say, lava and its on a narrow walkway.ets sat the bandits have rigged the walkway to close off resulting in trapping the PCs. Once the PCs start to cross the walkway, they could use that to trap the PCs and limit their ability to move.
First story reaction:
Ok, pretty obvious, and the face is asking the right question to lure the bandit into a false security (kinda), now how is the DM going to put smart this game of wit? …… no way, really? They didn’t figure it out? And that wasn’t the face trying to get them to lower their guard but that other way around!? NANI!!!?
Second story reaction:
Con amulet? That’s some pretty good gear for lv1. Oh… I see where it is going. (After a quick web search and a few quick roll for simulation.). Not sure about that trade….. while the missile deflection is pretty good. I’d probably stick with the con amulet. An incurable plague can easily be a TPK. Those magic item wasn’t worth it. Also. The player got scammed. Not only is the amulet worth more than all those combine in normal situations. But this amulet was stated to specifically help against this current pandemic they are experiencing. The merchant could easily sell it for much higher price than normal, since the demand for the item would be through the roof. Hell, he could probably just auction the amulet, and sky is the limit for the price
I am betting the first DM left out some details in order to make himself seem better.
When I play I always keep the fact that you know criminals don't always act like brain dead animals so some tough looking campers could be bandits could be just hard mercenaries out looking for the same thing as we are could be soldiers who are on their way home you never know the thought that bandage should charge had long in the fighting as soon as I see other people always hit me as kind of unrealistic
“If he was a kidnapper, why did he offer me candy?”
Then the blood hunter dies a quick death because he now has no protection when there about to head into a heavily quarantined zone filled with deadly deadly plague.
Ah yes. Four magic items in session 1. And then you die because there aren't enough amulets to protect everyone. Nice one, genius.
I love this. They're roleplaying things out, instead of just attacking the first thing that looks kind of like a bandit. And they end up walking into a trap because they either didn't roll insight, or rolled too low.
Well, they also had some really weird assumptions about how bandits would behave.
I bet the DM never told them to roll for insight and that was the issue. It also comes off as he is punishing the players for not being Murder hobos.
@@emberfist8347 That seems a bit of a stretch.
The DM seemed to leave a lot of very obvious clues that should have at least raised some red flags for the players.
It feels like they could have been shipped off in a paneled van with the offer of free candy from a creep in a trench coat.
@@dungeonguy88 No the red flags sound like they were added by the DM to make it seem like he wasn't at fault.
@@emberfist8347 He wasn't at fault.
The group is looking for bandits.
The group came across a group of armed, shady looking people by the road, that were visibly sizing up the party.
One can only drop so many hints.
No DM I've played with would be protecting that clever character from the plague. I wouldn't get them sick intentionally out of vengeance. But I'd be making sure that the whole party got exposed periodically and that the amulets were pretty critical. If they did contract the plague, that would just be more opportunity for story consequences.
The first story is so hilarious. This is something you'd see from a comedy skit, the fact that it happened irl just makes it even funnier.
I roleplay NPC's intelligently both in and out of combat and I've warned my players of this from the get go.
"Remember. The NPC's in this campaign don't have videogame AI, they have *real* intelligence."
This has lead to the party coming up with some very clever ways to convince people of things or to trick people. It's a lot of fun when players take NPCs seriously, because they know the NPCs are taking them seriously, too.
Good advice. The next level is to have them act with emotion and motivation as well. For example the bandit chief might be intelligent enough but have a soft spot for dwarfs and be racist against giants. Also intelligence is a spectrum, sometimes the players should encounter NPCs who are really dumb.
@@bmac9090 Yep! Which is why it's important to roleplay characters relative to how smart they would realistically be.
A basic Bandit isn't an idiot, but they aren't a first class Arcana or history expert, either. Though considering they are still alive for you to actually encounter them shows that they are no fools to have made it that far.
Dumb criminals tend to not survive very long. So unless they are very new, most criminals any given party would encounter would have a remotely decent head on their shoulders as far as wisdom goes.
Now on the flip side of the law, guards. Guards are ridiculously under appreciated and under sold in most campaigns. Because they are no bumbling fools, they are trained, drilled, and experienced in looking out for things.
if you have guards on your ass and you're not approaching mid level , you'd be in for a very bad time if you fight them. Not because of the guards themselves, but the consciences of doing so. No city or town's government and authorities are going to just ignore a bunch of guards being killed.
The party just made themselves a serious threat, requiring a serious response. Meaning the next group that comes are them will be veterans, higher ranks, or even local mercs.
The Long Arm of the Law is not to be underestimated. But quick thinking, clever wordings, and perhaps a bribe or two could keep it at bay if you dun goofed.
Because simple or even veteran guards have their own personal ambitions, motivations, and priorities that can be exploited. 😁
the art in these videos has improved a lot
Oh, no. That PC sold his protection from blood plague for some magic items. He's definitely going to contract it before the party fixes it, BECAUSE OF COURSE HE WOULD.
I once had a player get upset that bandits attacked her after she kicked their leader in the balls right in front of everyone. To this day, I have no idea why she thought that wouldn't happen.
I also had another player get upset when his human warlock character (did not take any form of seeing in darkness) went out alone into the jungle at night right after the party had driven off (not killed) a pack of wargs and taking zero light sources with him, then get attacked and killed because he couldn't effectively fight back. I had him confirm multiple times that he wasn't taking a torch, gone far from the party's fire, and more before doing this, and as I said, the party knew there were predators out there having just driven some off a couple minutes before, if that.