Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 zombiegleemax Jul 29, 2003 11:55:16	For as long as 3e has been out, my group has been playing D&D with pretty much standard stuff. Finally I have introduced Dragonlance to them and they embrace it with love as most of them have at least read one of the books. But I encountered a major problem halfway through the firstscenario, which has grown with every scenario. My players are too used to magic in D&D that they are totally clueless to the low magic setting of DL. We are playing 5th age post-WoS and after the first encounter, the players looked at eachother and said "Is there a temple around here where I can get healed?" I directed them to a follower of the Order of the Heart and she used healing magic. Now this (and this is important to my campaign) was supposed to be marvelous. The PCs had never experienced magic, and only few of them had even heard of it, yet they all acted like that healing spell was routine. Later in another scenario, they surrounded a mage (or so they had heard, but didn't believe him to be one) and he cast light on his staff to keep them at a distance. If you have never seen magic before that alone is enough to make you dirty your pants, but the PCs went: "Oh, a light spell... GET HIM!" The entire point of that encounter went down the drain, and I now turn to your help: How can I make my players understand that magic is marvelous and rare and should be treated with awe. By this rate my players will have laid waste to WoHS in a second because they "know" all the spells and how they work. It's ruining my entire campaign *whine whine*
#2 Dragonhelm Jul 29, 2003 15:01:19	It sounds to me like your players are using player knowledge in the game, commonly known as metagaming. I'm not quite sure what advice to give you at this point. Perhaps remind them that they don't know (example) what a light spell is. Perhaps run them through a scenario where they think they know the answers, and surprise them at the end. Sometimes it helps to explain the feel of things too. If you're trying to make magic rare, then make sure it is rare. For example, let's say that your guys are in a battle, and they get hurt. "Oh, let's find a cleric or mystic and get healed!" After some searching, they find nothing. Suddenly, they have to heal the old-fashioned way. This was a common element in my post-Cataclysm game I played in, and it was quite fun. After doing that a few times, they'll be grateful the time they do find a cleric or mystic. Anyway, I hope that helps some. Good luck!
#3 jonesy Jul 30, 2003 9:01:55	I have to say I agree with Dragonhelm. The problem seems to be not with how you manage the game, but how the players use knowledge that their characters shouldn't have. There's a reason it's called a roleplaying game.
#4 kipper_snifferdoo_02 Jul 30, 2003 9:38:58	Something that might also help would be to describe the magic effects in ways that don't really explain what they are. I know light might be difficult, but maybe if you described it as "A soft orange light that pulsates from yellow to red like a heartbeat from the tip of the staff suddenly flares into a dazzling white light forcing you to look away. When you look back you notice the entire staff is a glow with light." That might give them more of a cue to play off of than, "the top of the wizards staff lights up". *shrug* Maybe you already do that and they are not impressed. Another thing to do that might be amusing would be to have them make Knowledge(arcana) checks, so when they say "oh he cast light" you force them to make a knowlegde check and tell them, "You have no clue what that spell is", heh. I would just have a talk with them. They probably don't realize they are doing it. Most likely they won't be upset with you and will really get into roleplying the wonder of it instead of just blatently yelling out things their character would have no knowledge of.
#5 zombiegleemax Jul 30, 2003 14:25:56	Switch up the spells on them. If it looks like a light spell, make it a sort of altered Ray of Enfeeblement, so that when they charge in they get a nasty bit of Strength damage. And ofcourse, no healer around to help them out with it. Basically, if they're calling your spells, make sure it's not that spell. It's a little mean, but do it anyway. Mix up the weaknesses in the 'common' spells so they have to relearn them. After all, there's no rule against wizards and their ilk making up new spells, so why not tweak the old ones? Just some thoughts. Everyone else's advice looks good.
#6 zombiegleemax Jul 30, 2003 15:25:06	I really like Kipper's advice. It takes more effort, but it adds a lot of depth and richness to the game. Beyond that however, it's not all your job. Explain to your players what's up here. Explain that their characters have limited exposure. Tell them to pretend that they grew up without the commonplace knowledge of these effects. They have to roleplay their characters as much as you have to set the stage.
#7 zombiegleemax Jul 30, 2003 15:55:28	I usually describe stuff like that in vivid detail to make it easier to go "AW! WOW!" But that whole tweaking the spells idea..... Me be gettin wickid ideas....MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Thanx pplz