I was playing an orc skald aboard what we suspected was a pirate ship. The GM rolled a die, informed me that there was a spider crawling on my character’s arm, and asked what I wanted to do. I said that I yelled in horror and tried to fling it off, and the veteran players all sighed and rolled their eyes as I passed up an opportunity to squash the sack of XP. In fact I was bitten and poisoned. I felt that I had been punished for failing to recognize a spider as a “monster”.
This was the first time I had played Pathfinder, and I did not understand the implicit assumptions of the game (e.g. all creatures is monster). I was not able to anticipate the consequences of my character’s actions. How could I? In real life I would hardly draw steel against a spider.
Thus I present to you the Golden Rule of Game Mastery: Do not allow your players to make a bad decision because they do not understand an in-game situation. It will make them disappointed, frustrated, annoyed, or any number of non-fun responses.
Let us consider together why this is so important and how you might course-correct wayward players.
- They Only Know What You Tell Them
- How to Redirect Bad Decisions
- When The Player Stays Their Course
- Conclusion
They Only Know What You Tell Them
When playing a video game and confronted with an enemy, typically the music changes, the screen changes, and there is often a health bar above the opponent. All of these are visual cues that COMBAT has begun. In a TTRPG, all such cues must come from the game master.
In many video games, you are unable to damage NPCs and creatures (case in point: Zelda cuccos), thus preventing you from incurring the wrath of the town and collapsing all possibilities of completing your quest. In a TTRPG, all that stands between bloodthirsty players and civilian murder is the game master.
And the consequences of actions will vary by game master. Some may allow a fight to play out in a tavern, and some may have the city guard throw the characters in jail for disturbing the peace. Each player will come in with different assumptions, and only by adjusting the flow of information can you the game master lead them to think along the same lines as the imaginary world you made up.
This may be less true if you are using a virtual tabletop, which obviously presents many visual cues. However, what you choose to place in the VTT gives players information about what is expected of them. And there is always a chance they will come to a different conclusion than what you had intended.
How to Redirect Bad Decisions
We have presented a scene to our players, and one states an intention to take an action that we think is a bad idea. We think it is obvious why that is a poor choice, but we do not know what the player is thinking. Here are some methods to gently nudge your players to a better decision (because remember, we want players to win!).
Explain the Mechanical Consequence
In my spider scenario, a better GM might have said—Just so you know, you have the opportunity to gain experience points if you kill the spider. Are you sure you just want to yell?
I did not know the spider was a source of XP; now I do, and I have a chance to change my mind. This method gives more information from the player perspective.
Revise Your Description of the Scene
Seeing that I had not recognized the spider as a monster, the GM might have instead said—Before you try to fling off the spider, let me clarify that it is a foot long and has venom dripping from its fangs. You think it is about to bite you. Do you still want to yell and throw it?
Now I have a mental image of the scene that more closely matches what the GM had in mind, and I can react more appropriately. This method gives more information from the character perspective.
Treat the First Response as Roleplaying
Alternatively, the GM might have accepted my statement and also given a chance to take an additional action—You yell when you see the spider on you and reflexively try to shake it off. The other sailors in the room have drawn their knives and have them pointed at the spider. You’re still up; what do you do?
I got to do my fun yell, I see the NPCs responding to the spider as a monster, and I still have a chance to attack. This method also gives more information from the character perspective, but without suggesting that the first reaction was wrong.
When The Player Stays Their Course
We have given the player more information to make a better decision, and they decide they want to stick with their bad decision even though now they understand there will be a negative consequence. What to do?
If the consequence affects the entire party, I recommend giving the other player characters a chance to intervene. This would be in a situation where a character is on the brink of blowing their party’s cover, revealing a secret, or something else with a broad impact. Sometimes players (myself included) get carried away by an idea that they see as fun, and when other players indicate they see it differently, the first player will compromise to maintain party cohesion.
If however the consequence affects only that character, let them take their action and reap their (negative) reward. This would be in a situation like the spider where no one was in danger except my orc skald. Sometimes players find it enjoyable to play in character and make poor decisions, and sometimes they think it is honorable to stay with their first choice. To me this is no issue as long as it does not take away from the enjoyment of the whole table.
Conclusion
Remember that it is your job as game master to create a scenario that players can engage with, and the players cannot read your mind even if they wanted to (probably they do not want to). If you think something has been understood differently than you intended, provide more information to add clarity.
Because after all we are working together to weave an epic story of heroism and mishap, of fate and fortune, and we do it best when we all share the same vision of the world.
The Nature Game Master 
Leave a comment