This item on page 24 of White Box booklet 3 really stuck out at me as I was preparing for the OD&D session I did on my birthday:
“Anyone who has viewed a horror movie is aware of how dangerous angry villagers are. Whenever the referee finds that some player has committed an unforgivable outrage this rule can be invoked to harass the offender into line. Within the realm of angry villagers are thieves from the “thieves quarters,” city watches and militia, etc. Also possible is the insertion of some character like Conan to bring matters into line.”
Note the sweet Conan reference. You can imagine Arnold showing up “Ah am He-ah to bring mattahs into line!”
James over at Grognardia sure has a point about old Universal and Hammer horror movies having a load of influence on the game. And here it’s obviously being used as an abstract tool for a DM to bring a douche bag player into line. If the DM does not approve of the slaughter of an innkeeper or the rape of a lass by some social ‘tards chaotic evil assassin, he can drop this sack of bricks on the offending munchkin. Mr. Evil is confident he can take the farmers and milkmaids in the tavern room, but when one of them runs out and riles up the locals you can literally have hundreds of peasants with torches and pitch forks up your power gaming ass! And if they are getting cut down like wheat on harvest day, just have a certain Cimmerian or reasonable facsimile show up to lay down some smack.
It smells of DM “cheat,” but hell, I like it. I need to remember this rule for my 1st edition games.
I like the rule, but I also disallow the creation CE assassins as a player character. That solves part of the problem too. CN is about as far as I let PCs go -- and then only if I understand the player and the character.
ReplyDelete"DM cheat"? I'd dare any metagaming player to say that to my face. :)
ReplyDeletePCs have it /way/ too easy as it is - even in 0e - and like y'need them tearing up the town, too, thinking they rule the place. :p
(remembering, too, that the ruleset is totally open and the players are well aware in advance that if they do so, those /might/ be the consequences)
Not a fan of a slap down like that. I'll tell the player what type of game I'm running and it's up to him to make a character that fits. If he doesn't, he's not in. I'm too old to be worried about offending someone else's fun while that person is ruining everyone else's fun.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget Frankenstein rakes! Those are really scary.
ReplyDeleteJim: yeah, I really don't need to deal with assassins either. No good can come from it in a game with good characters.
ReplyDeleteIrbyz: even one of my players desiring me to make rolls in the open make me mad. If the word 'cheat" came up, I would open me some wupp ass.
Joe: I don't need the slap down much either, although it's nice to know it is there!
Sea: those rakes are of excellent quality and count as +1 (+3 vs. flesh golems)
Variations of that rule appeared in the Ravenloft books as well, where it appeared as a random encounter. I like what it says about the setting that a mob of torch and pitchfork wielding villagers is a random encounter.
ReplyDelete