NPCs are idiots

Villager1: "Mornin' Henrik. Beautiful day isn't it?
Villager2: "Sure is. Sure is. Not a care in the world and ..."
*pop*
DM: "Heya guys."
Villager1:"Oh crap, it's the Dungeon Master."
DM: "Now, now. Don't be like that. I'm just coming in here to prep you for the next adventure. Gather round, everyone, gather round!"
Villager 2: "We're so screwed."
DM: "Now, a group of PCs are on the way here to solve your bandit problem ..."
Villager1: "We don't have a bandit problem!"
DM: "Oh, yes. You do. They've been raiding your village for a few weeks now. Hmmm, we better batter the town up a bit ..."
SMASH*CRASH*CRUNCH*
DM: "And where's the sherif? Ah, there you are. Yes, sorry, you didn't make it, which is why your town needs outside help."
Sherif: "What do you mean, I ...urk!" *thud*
DM: "Ok, next we need to let the PCs know which way the bandits went."
Villager1: "Fine, fine. Sigh. Where do we point the PCs? And what kind of bandits are they fighting?"
DM: "Oh no no no no! I can't have you do that. We only want the PCs to go off in a vague direction, and definitely not find out anything about what they're fighting beforehand. If they get too much info now, I won't have nearly as much fun later."
Villager1: "But they're here to save us, right? What do we tell them?"
DM: "Oh you can't tell them anything. See all of you need to be distrustful of outsiders and not share any information. In fact, it's better if I don't tell you anything just to make sure you don't slip up or in case they start torturing you."
Villager 2: "Torturing us?!"
DM: "Oh don't worry. They only resort to that about 30-40% of the time. And usually only on ugly people."
Priest: "I don't think we can hold back talking like that. We're devoted to the dissemination and open flow of all information. This ..."
DM: "And you are?"
Priest: "I'm the priest of Ioun who runs the local temple. It's my sacred duty to gather and spread knowledge to all those in need."
DM: "Yeeeeah, that's not going to work here. Hmmm. Ah, OK, you can tell the PCs a few tidbits about the bandits.Yeah, that works. You'll be the only link they have here for information because everyone is so mistrusting. That probably happened when your church got torched."
Priest: "What are you talking about our church getting -," *FWOOSH* "Oh for the love of -"
DM: "And after that, you were so broken up, you became the town drunk. Most of the info you give will be babbling and muttering so it'll be hard to make any sense out of it."
Priest: "Hold on. You couldn't possibly -" *snap* - help out a poor schlob like me and *hic* buy me a lil drink, cudjya?"
DM: "Great. And if it looks like you're giving away too much, we'll have you pass out on the floor."
DM: "Perfect. Ok, places everyone. Here they come." *pop*

Can you do too much damage?

Strikers are my least favorite class. I like strikers, but I rarely like the way other people play them. The power gamers play strikers. The glory hounds play strikers. The hack n’ slashers play strikers. The mindless thugs play strikers. While strikers can be played by all range of players, the player types I mentioned above will always choose a striker for their character.

The striker is supposed to do lots of damage. It’s right in their name- Strike! But can strikers have too much of a good thing? Can they take their singular focus on doing damage too far?

I’d like to think yes, you can take it too far. There has to be a limit. Doesn’t there?

Maybe?

Re: The One Real Problem with Magic Items

Jonathan Baldwin wrote a great article over at Stuffer Shack. (which is redundant- all the articles at Stuffer Shack are great articles) His article gave two examples where players, regardless of alignment or character motivations, went out of their way to gain magic items from anyone at any cost.

When I recently played through a 4e adventure, we had 3 options to stop the BBEG. First, we could go search out some ancient magic items that would help us kill him. Alternatively, we could blah blah blah or blah blah. That may not have been the DM’s exact words, but that’s all I remember, followed shortly by the party whipping our horses in the direction the DM pointed out for the magic weapons.

There is a problem there obviously. Gaining magic items are an overriding issue in most games. Jonathan had his say on the problem and his solution. He made me think about it. A lot. 

You Should Know my Dirty Little Secret

Ulfgar looked at the carnage- another outlying farm attacked in the night, body parts strewn throughout the house. The other warriors wondered what happened here, but it was all too obvious to the young warlord. A raid by Fenris cultists. And from the looks of it, the savage cannibals had taken their time, feeding on their victims while they were still alive. Ulfgar rubbed his stomach, but didn’t let the rest of the group in on his findings. He had no desire to explain how he acquired such intimate knowledge of the worshippers of Fenris.

Many characters have a dirty, little secret: a secret affair with the married queen, a disgraced noble hiding out from enemies by enlisting as a soldier, or a dark elf posing as one of his above ground cousins to stay out of trouble. Our little secrets give us something to own in our characters- a piece of personal property that we don’t have to share with anyone but the DM.

My character has a hidden background. Someday, the rest of the world may discover my nasty secret. In fact, I’m planning on it.