By now most players know, or should know, that a monster knowledge check can make all the difference when you’re fighting a monster for the very first time. Knowing that a monster is undead, has a vulnerability to fire or has a breath weapon will have a significant impact on what you do during the encounter. However, in practice I’ve discovered that making a monster knowledge check isn’t always as simple as rolling against the DCs set in the PHB. There are often other mitigating factors that need to be addressed when determining the success or failure of a monster knowledge check.
Tag: Monster Knowledge
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Greatest Hits 2009: The Gaming Jerk
While the Dungeon’s Master team enjoys some well-deserved vacation time, we’re breaking out the greatest hits and shining a spotlight on a few of our favourite articles from 2009. We’ve searched for hidden gems that our newer readers might have missed and our long-time readers will enjoy reading again. Enjoy a second look at these greatest hits from Dungeon’s Master.
Ever since I wrote this article I’ve been keeping a close eye on just how “helpful” I am at the gaming table when I’m a player. I’ve realized that quite often I could easily be classified as a Gaming Jerk. There is indeed a very fine line between being enthusiastic and a Gaming Jerk. But once I realized that this was the case it’s been a lot easier to keep things in check.
My greatest challenge is when I’m at a gaming table with rookies. I have to really resist the urge to play their character for them. I’ll still help when I can; like reminding them to add their +1d6 when they roll a crit with a +1 weapon or reminding them that they have an action point when they try to do too many things on their turn. But I’ve stopped suggesting that thy use this power or that power in a certain situation. I want them to gain the experience that comes from playing a class and trying out their own powers a certain way.
When I’m the DM I’ve discovered a whole new way to tackle the Gaming Jerk problem. Some of the comments from the original article suggest that DMs side-step the Gaming Jerk by changing the monster’s statistics or simply creating your own monsters. With the release of the D&D Monster Builder this is easier then it’s ever been before. I think we’ll find that the Gaming Jerk who used to be confident enough to shout out all the monster’s powers and abilities is at the same time savvy enough to realize that many DMs no longer use the stats right out of the Monster Manual. Suddenly the Gaming Jerk is making those monster knowledge checks to see how much his PC knows rather than making assumptions.
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The Gaming Jerk
During a recent D&D game at my Friendly Local Gaming Store (FLGS) I got stuck next to a gaming jerk for four hours. Being the nice guy that I am I didn’t say anything at the time, but the more I thought about it afterwards the more I realized that gaming jerks need to be singled out and reprimanded for the good of the game.