I've taken over DMing for my party, and have been escorting them through a few modules, that will culminate in them earning a wish. My plan was to gran the entire parties' initial wishes: i.e. save my village, heal my family, help crops crow again, etc. however, I know a few players will try to game this like mad... and will do the ask for more wishes, ask for infinite money, or something game breaking. Does anyone out there have ideas I could use to build off of that won't allow things to get broken but to remain fun and seem like a really awesome reward for finishing half of a campaign?
well, there's the wish spell itself and all it's limitations.
alternatively, you might look into supernatural gifts (DMG) and charms (BoMT) that replicate a spell that would help them do the thing they'd set out to do (but only usable three times). or let them draw from a thin deck of many things you stacked with exactly the tools they'd need (Gem = wealth, Throne = a new town, Vizier = answer to crops failing, etc)
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unhappy at the way in which we lost individual purchases for one-off subclasses, magic items, and monsters?
tell them you don't like features disappeared quietly in the night: providefeedback!
Yes, players don't like following rules so if you're going to give a reward and that reward is a Wish spell. I doubt a pc will ever say something like "I want to save a village!" or "Heal my family!" unless they're good at roleplaying. Not sure if you're gaming with newer or older players. If you want to stop some truly crazy madness from happening (Like say the world getting split in half) then I would suggest simply having a creature that's giving the pc the wish have the ability to say no to stupid demands.
Another way is that if a player asks for something that is going to break the game, make the effect have the good and the bad side. Taking from the infinite money thing, you could have it so all the money is counterfeit and made of painted wood. Its money just not real money. But even this can be memed with. Infinite firewood am I right. But that's kind of a good thing. Less wood needing to be cut down? Less dryads attempting to murder people in anger.
Also, I don't know what level your players are, but hopefully high when they get this wish. Wish is a powerful 9th level spell wielded by only those who are of the strongest level. Not something you get every day. (But in the end this is up to you).
Any I hope this helps.
Cheers!
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Monster Fact of the Day: Tarrasque
Tarrasque's have a magical regeneration and are able to reflect spells back at its enemies
Praise Jeff with Your Hole Heart and Soul with the Sign ofDoomJOY to Come!!!!!
I've taken over DMing for my party, and have been escorting them through a few modules, that will culminate in them earning a wish. My plan was to gran the entire parties' initial wishes: i.e. save my village, heal my family, help crops crow again, etc. however, I know a few players will try to game this like mad... and will do the ask for more wishes, ask for infinite money, or something game breaking. Does anyone out there have ideas I could use to build off of that won't allow things to get broken but to remain fun and seem like a really awesome reward for finishing half of a campaign?
Don't call it a wish. It's a boon granted by some entity, and make it clear that the boon is not limitless.
well, there's the wish spell itself and all it's limitations.
alternatively, you might look into supernatural gifts (DMG) and charms (BoMT) that replicate a spell that would help them do the thing they'd set out to do (but only usable three times). or let them draw from a thin deck of many things you stacked with exactly the tools they'd need (Gem = wealth, Throne = a new town, Vizier = answer to crops failing, etc)
That's a pretty good idea, and I don't know for certain it is the wish spell specifically as it's a 3rd party campaign / module that simply says, when you do x.. you get to make a wish. Players are level 6, and given the current track of the material I took over and rewrote.. they'll be hitting lvl 10 after 6 more modules. which then grants the wish.
well, there's the wish spell itself and all it's limitations.
alternatively, you might look into supernatural gifts (DMG) and charms (BoMT) that replicate a spell that would help them do the thing they'd set out to do (but only usable three times). or let them draw from a thin deck of many things you stacked with exactly the tools they'd need (Gem = wealth, Throne = a new town, Vizier = answer to crops failing, etc)
That's a pretty good idea, and I don't know for certain it is the wish spell specifically as it's a 3rd party campaign / module that simply says, when you do x.. you get to make a wish. Players are level 6, and given the current track of the material I took over and rewrote.. they'll be hitting lvl 10 after 6 more modules. which then grants the wish.
It's a module and you're the DM. Doesn't matter what the adventure says, the reward is whatever you want it to be.
Give them a genie in a bottle. If they are not carefull the genie or djinnie will fulfill the wish in a way they didn’t thought about. Could result in hilarious situations and they cannot wish someone back to life, kill someone or let someone fall in love. If they still wish it, the results are, well, shockingly disappointing xD
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"Time, like hope, is an illusion" - Lumalee "Time is relative" - Albert Einstein "It's a joke. It's all a joke. Mother forgive me" - Edward 'The Comedian' Blake "Do I look like the kind of clown that can start a movement?" - Arthur Fleck
Give them a genie in a bottle. If they are not carefull the genie or djinnie will fulfill the wish in a way they didn’t thought about. Could result in hilarious situations and they cannot wish someone back to life, kill someone or let someone fall in love. If they still wish it, the results are, well, shockingly disappointing xD
Deliberately interpreting wishes to mess up the players leads to a nasty adversarial relationship between the players and GM, and should be avoided. Also, once it's happened, any future wishes will be tediously lawyered to death.
A good rule of thumb for GMing is, when giving your players a choice, to never provide an option that you don't want them to take. So yeah, give them a boon rather than a Wish.
And also maybe throw in something for the PCs themselves because a reward that's pure roleplay is nice, but including something that they can actually use is good too.
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Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
Do not tell the party they are having their wishes granted.
Instead have them be questioned by a godlike being that they may or may not know is a god like being.
It could simply be a 'social' interaction with an NPC. Or it could be a "To enter the Library of Truth you must contribute a truth. What is your motive for adventuring?"
Perhaps they can find a magic item, something akin to the Ring of Wishes, which a powerful spellcaster created at the cost of their soul. However, this wish has its limitations because the spellcaster imposed them. You can even have it be a sentient magic item that demands something from the party.
Give them a genie in a bottle. If they are not carefull the genie or djinnie will fulfill the wish in a way they didn’t thought about. Could result in hilarious situations and they cannot wish someone back to life, kill someone or let someone fall in love. If they still wish it, the results are, well, shockingly disappointing xD
Deliberately interpreting wishes to mess up the players leads to a nasty adversarial relationship between the players and GM, and should be avoided. Also, once it's happened, any future wishes will be tediously lawyered to death.
As was suggested above, don't call it a wish.
I think this is rather a form of playstyle/GM style, than creating a adversarial relationship. It's also about what the players want. The fact it's a genie should help that if any future wishes granted by a diety or something are much more reliable, which helps in creating a narrative that these are still much stronger than those spirits in a lamp. How hard you interpret the "wish" and you want to mess around, is just about how you want to GM.
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"Time, like hope, is an illusion" - Lumalee "Time is relative" - Albert Einstein "It's a joke. It's all a joke. Mother forgive me" - Edward 'The Comedian' Blake "Do I look like the kind of clown that can start a movement?" - Arthur Fleck
There is an old adage: be Careful what you wish for. A player's village may be in the path of an orc horde 10000 strong and the player may wish for the salvation of their village. Their Village is saved by a glacial glacial lake breaks through its ice barrier and obliterates the orc horde and all villages and farmsteads in the path of torrent for hundreds of miles as the torrent gouges a path into the bedrock fueled by the magic of the wish. By the same token they may wish to resurrect a party member unknowingly a person or several people die in 500 ft radius of the person making the wish. The cost of the wish need not be borne by the party. But there should be a cost.
I mean, it's magic, it kinda works however you say it works. I think it's fair that one of the implicit (or explicit, if necessary) rules of tampering with phenomenal cosmic power is "Don't Get Cute." Character wants to use their One Wish to get three more wishes? Sorry, doesn't work that way, and be very careful what you ask for next. The gods of fate do not abide mockery.
Character wants to use their One Wish to get three more wishes? Sorry, doesn't work that way, and be very careful what you ask for next. The gods of fate do not abide mockery.
If they use the one wish for the benefit of self or others, money, an item, resurrection, stop a goblin horde, that's fine. Give them what they want in good faith.
If they wish for more wishes, sure! Then you do it it word for word, backstabbery, and homophones.
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"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
We had to deal with a genie in a cavern. We got a sinle wish. There was some interesting dialogue which warned us to use the attempt wisely. When we finally hashed it out as a group he granted the wish and then the cavern started collapsing and we had a chase sequence to make it out alive (he granted the wish if we could free him from his indentured servitude but he was keeping everything in the cavern intact). Most of us made it out, it was very tense... lol
The wish granter should be a small cricket. As they are so small the wishes they grant can't be overly grand. Anything that the DM deems out of bounds is "overly grand" and will not come to pass. The DM can ask the PCs to try again or end it there.
As the cricket leaves they hum a tune about a star...
I mean, it's magic, it kinda works however you say it works. I think it's fair that one of the implicit (or explicit, if necessary) rules of tampering with phenomenal cosmic power is "Don't Get Cute." Character wants to use their One Wish to get three more wishes? Sorry, doesn't work that way, and be very careful what you ask for next. The gods of fate do not abide mockery.
yes, exactly. You can even take it a step further and tie the wish to a given diety, which explains the danger to mocking this incredible gift
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Greetings,
I've taken over DMing for my party, and have been escorting them through a few modules, that will culminate in them earning a wish. My plan was to gran the entire parties' initial wishes: i.e. save my village, heal my family, help crops crow again, etc. however, I know a few players will try to game this like mad... and will do the ask for more wishes, ask for infinite money, or something game breaking. Does anyone out there have ideas I could use to build off of that won't allow things to get broken but to remain fun and seem like a really awesome reward for finishing half of a campaign?
well, there's the wish spell itself and all it's limitations.
alternatively, you might look into supernatural gifts (DMG) and charms (BoMT) that replicate a spell that would help them do the thing they'd set out to do (but only usable three times). or let them draw from a thin deck of many things you stacked with exactly the tools they'd need (Gem = wealth, Throne = a new town, Vizier = answer to crops failing, etc)
unhappy at the way in which we lost individual purchases for one-off subclasses, magic items, and monsters?
tell them you don't like features disappeared quietly in the night: provide feedback!
Yes, players don't like following rules so if you're going to give a reward and that reward is a Wish spell. I doubt a pc will ever say something like "I want to save a village!" or "Heal my family!" unless they're good at roleplaying. Not sure if you're gaming with newer or older players. If you want to stop some truly crazy madness from happening (Like say the world getting split in half) then I would suggest simply having a creature that's giving the pc the wish have the ability to say no to stupid demands.
Another way is that if a player asks for something that is going to break the game, make the effect have the good and the bad side. Taking from the infinite money thing, you could have it so all the money is counterfeit and made of painted wood. Its money just not real money. But even this can be memed with. Infinite firewood am I right. But that's kind of a good thing. Less wood needing to be cut down? Less dryads attempting to murder people in anger.
Also, I don't know what level your players are, but hopefully high when they get this wish. Wish is a powerful 9th level spell wielded by only those who are of the strongest level. Not something you get every day. (But in the end this is up to you).
Any I hope this helps.
Cheers!
Monster Fact of the Day: Tarrasque
Tarrasque's have a magical regeneration and are able to reflect spells back at its enemies
Praise Jeff with Your Hole Heart and Soul with the Sign of
DoomJOY to Come!!!!!Don't call it a wish. It's a boon granted by some entity, and make it clear that the boon is not limitless.
Simple, don’t give them a wish.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
That's a pretty good idea, and I don't know for certain it is the wish spell specifically as it's a 3rd party campaign / module that simply says, when you do x.. you get to make a wish. Players are level 6, and given the current track of the material I took over and rewrote.. they'll be hitting lvl 10 after 6 more modules. which then grants the wish.
It's a module and you're the DM. Doesn't matter what the adventure says, the reward is whatever you want it to be.
Give them a genie in a bottle. If they are not carefull the genie or djinnie will fulfill the wish in a way they didn’t thought about. Could result in hilarious situations and they cannot wish someone back to life, kill someone or let someone fall in love. If they still wish it, the results are, well, shockingly disappointing xD
"Time, like hope, is an illusion" - Lumalee
"Time is relative" - Albert Einstein
"It's a joke. It's all a joke. Mother forgive me" - Edward 'The Comedian' Blake
"Do I look like the kind of clown that can start a movement?" - Arthur Fleck
Deliberately interpreting wishes to mess up the players leads to a nasty adversarial relationship between the players and GM, and should be avoided. Also, once it's happened, any future wishes will be tediously lawyered to death.
As was suggested above, don't call it a wish.
A good rule of thumb for GMing is, when giving your players a choice, to never provide an option that you don't want them to take. So yeah, give them a boon rather than a Wish.
And also maybe throw in something for the PCs themselves because a reward that's pure roleplay is nice, but including something that they can actually use is good too.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
Do not tell the party they are having their wishes granted.
Instead have them be questioned by a godlike being that they may or may not know is a god like being.
It could simply be a 'social' interaction with an NPC. Or it could be a "To enter the Library of Truth you must contribute a truth. What is your motive for adventuring?"
I think this is rather a form of playstyle/GM style, than creating a adversarial relationship. It's also about what the players want. The fact it's a genie should help that if any future wishes granted by a diety or something are much more reliable, which helps in creating a narrative that these are still much stronger than those spirits in a lamp.
How hard you interpret the "wish" and you want to mess around, is just about how you want to GM.
"Time, like hope, is an illusion" - Lumalee
"Time is relative" - Albert Einstein
"It's a joke. It's all a joke. Mother forgive me" - Edward 'The Comedian' Blake
"Do I look like the kind of clown that can start a movement?" - Arthur Fleck
I gave my party the equivalent of a luck blade with 1 wish. 5 levels later and they still have not used it.
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
I mean, it's magic, it kinda works however you say it works. I think it's fair that one of the implicit (or explicit, if necessary) rules of tampering with phenomenal cosmic power is "Don't Get Cute." Character wants to use their One Wish to get three more wishes? Sorry, doesn't work that way, and be very careful what you ask for next. The gods of fate do not abide mockery.
If they use the one wish for the benefit of self or others, money, an item, resurrection, stop a goblin horde, that's fine. Give them what they want in good faith.
If they wish for more wishes, sure! Then you do it it word for word, backstabbery, and homophones.
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
We had to deal with a genie in a cavern. We got a sinle wish. There was some interesting dialogue which warned us to use the attempt wisely. When we finally hashed it out as a group he granted the wish and then the cavern started collapsing and we had a chase sequence to make it out alive (he granted the wish if we could free him from his indentured servitude but he was keeping everything in the cavern intact). Most of us made it out, it was very tense... lol
The wish granter should be a small cricket. As they are so small the wishes they grant can't be overly grand. Anything that the DM deems out of bounds is "overly grand" and will not come to pass. The DM can ask the PCs to try again or end it there.
As the cricket leaves they hum a tune about a star...
yes, exactly. You can even take it a step further and tie the wish to a given diety, which explains the danger to mocking this incredible gift