oldmanofdoom
One of my players has a swordmage and refuses to sheath his longsword. He sleeps with it by his side, carries it all the time, talks to people while holding it, etc. The only times he ever puts it away is when he needs both hands for something. I already told him it doesn't make any sense, it's dangerous and makes his look like a psychopath and that it is probably a great hassle to be doing all sorts of stuff while holding it, but he refuses to listen. Should I just let him do as he wishes, or do you think I should insist? He doesn't want to use the minor action to take it out, and complains he'll lose his AC bonus if he's not holding it. I told him to invest in his Percepction so he won't be taken by surprise and is able to pull it out if he senses danger, but he doesn't want to. What should I do?
Comments
Overall its a small thing. Just enforce putting it away for things like climbing a ladder, that take two hands. Or during an audience with the king.
Unconquered Kingdoms, July 2016 CotM
That said, I'd tell him to quit meta gaming. His character has no concept of minor actions or armor class alterations due to holding or not holding a weapon. Unless he has some in-character reason to be constantly on guard, he's meta gaming.
- Kallak
Of course, you _could_ remind this swordmage that there is such a creature as a Rust Monster...
_~Mae_
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~Mae
CotM Selection Committee
DM, Current Campaign: The Godlands: Rise of the Blood Moon Kings
DM, Previous Campaign: Avatar: Conquest of the Imperial Order - CotM: November 2011
Hope this helps!
-Beaumains
Just trying to help out.
Just my opinion, once you go down that road it leads to the dark side. Obviously there are some situations having it out all the time would be detrimental. Apply those.
But don't get carried away with the details and "punishing" (my words) the character. There are a thousand other little things the other characters are glossing over that could be accounted for.
BL: Make sure the player knows there may be situations where having a sword ready will be socially bad. Give him chance to put it away. If he doesn't he accepts the consequences.
Unconquered Kingdoms, July 2016 CotM
Just let him do it. But let him see the expression in your face that says: "why the hell do you have to be a big pain in the ass about all this...."
...but to force people to do things (especially things so inconsequential to your storylines) is heading for disaster if it is something he feels so strongly about. With the others all playing differently, he might end up changing by himself anyway, which would be a far more favorable outcome.
twigs
"I met a traveller from an antique land....."
CotM May 2016: Mysteria: set in Wolfgang Baur’s MIDGARD.
Previous CotM Aug 2012: Shimring: High Level Multiplanar Campaign
Inner Council Member
* City Guard hassles
* Entire party rounded up by the guard because they are hanging out with a 'brigand' (kind of like the cops rounding up everyone in a gang because they are trying to get at one member)
* Merchants tell him to leave their shop
* Tavern & Inn owners tell him to leave
* Slips, falls, and cuts himself or someone else - bad enough it is annoying but not bad enough to kill
* Slips, falls and breaks his sword (oops your sword landed under you with the flat of the blade hitting a big rock and then you landed on the end and the damn thing snapped or bent)
* Slips, falls and nicks his sword - which causes it to be less effective
* Falls off his horse if the horse is galloping
* In Hero Games there is the concept of Endurance - I would penalize him 1 Long Term Endurance for every two hours he is walking around with the blade in his hand
* Wakes up in the morning covered in blood because he cut himself a few times with the blade
Keelah Se'lai,
Keryth
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I agree with having logical social (town guard stop him, merchants freak out and call the guard) and practical (always has one hand occupied) consequences. I disagree with making up random bad things (I rolled a 12, so....you trip and cut yourself!) to happen to him. The former is making the game world consistent and logical (but be sure to warn him in advance and explain your reasoning, so he doesn't feel like you're deliberately picking on him -- speaking of which, also think hard about the rest of your PCs and give them the same sort of consequences for any odd behaviors). The latter is passive-aggressively banning holding one's sword at all times, and never ends well. If you have that much of a negative reaction to it, just outright ban it and take the consequences.
- Kallak
- Kallak
Based on the information available, it is not possible to say whether this is an instance of a player looking only at the numbers, or a player playing a paranoid character, or a player playing a character who's used to unexpected attacks, or a player who's had a bad history of DMs screwing his characters over with unavoidable sneak attacks, or something else entirely. Some of the motivations I've listed are player driven. Some are character driven. None are known to any of us in this thread. I don't think it's fair to say 'oh, he's metagaming, just tell him to stop' when there are obvious in-character reasons for the behavior, since that would a) take away the player's ability to control the one thing in the game that he can control and b) imply that I fully understand both the player's and character's motivations and have judged them insufficient.
Now, whether or not the DM has made the player paranoid with constant ambushes, we don't have the information at hand to say, but there's clear evidence of meta gaming. A sideline discussion with the player resulted in nothing but concern for game stats. A more clear case of meta gaming I can hardly bring to mind in a moment's notice.
- Kallak
twigs
"I met a traveller from an antique land....."
CotM May 2016: Mysteria: set in Wolfgang Baur’s MIDGARD.
Previous CotM Aug 2012: Shimring: High Level Multiplanar Campaign
Inner Council Member
Regardless, twiggyleaf is right, this is largely beside the point, so I'll stop arguing about it now.
twigs
"I met a traveller from an antique land....."
CotM May 2016: Mysteria: set in Wolfgang Baur’s MIDGARD.
Previous CotM Aug 2012: Shimring: High Level Multiplanar Campaign
Inner Council Member