DM of the Rings Remaster XXXIV: Let’s Make A Deal

By Bay Posted Sunday Aug 27, 2023

Filed under: DM of the Rings Remaster 6 comments

I’ve had my players try to barter for items I was trying to give them for free. This is not a bad thing, but it always throws me off-script. It’s like little Timmy coming downstairs on Christmas morning and crying out, “Sweet! Okay mom and dad, how much for the big box with ‘timmy’ on it? Huh? How much?” It doesn’t matter what you say now, the moment is ruined.

–  Shamus, Monday Nov 27, 2006

No no no, you just have an NPC come in from entirely off screen and be confused who told them about your grand gifts of boats. Make it a weird social interaction:

Galadriel: Oh…you gave them the boats already?

Nameless elf guy: Well they just sort of…

Galadriel: I really thought you’d wait for me, I had a whole sort of ceremony planned…

Nameless elf guy: Well, yes, but…

Galadriel: Go on back, I’ll speak to you about this later.

The party can then be gleeful they cut off a awkward ceremony. Or horrified and speculative wondering if they got that guy fired and if elves even have jobs in the first place. Either way, your players don’t get off thinking they just bullied your NPC’s into gifts they didn’t want to give, leading to more bullying later on.

 


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6 thoughts on “DM of the Rings Remaster XXXIV: Let’s Make A Deal

  1. Chad Miller says:

    This looks like an accidental repost of the last strip.

    1. Bay says:

      Ah…yup, fixed. 4 and 5 are shockingly close together for some reason. What idiot did that. /s

  2. Octal says:

    One of my favorites. He just looks so irritated.

    1. MrGuy says:

      Yeah. Capturing the perfect stills is really the heart of this series.

  3. PPX14 says:

    I’ve recently learnt the value of insight/perception/investigation checks. Not to learn things, but to nail things down so that the GM has more difficulty in rebalancing them later if I get a good roll :D

  4. Zak McKracken says:

    Given the bonus of hindsight, I think I’d include some hint in the dialogue between Galadriel and the embarrassed elf about some other things that *could* have been a great benefit for the players but is now hard to accommodate.
    Like, some scouts are just coming back in, likely with important info, and the rations aren’t ready yet.
    Or the random elf “gave” them the wrong boats.

    Ingame, I think it’s cool if PCs notice if they behave like idiots, with negative consequences for their quest/success.
    IRL, I think it’s also cool if players notice some consequences to not even trying to keep up. Unless the DM was really just interested in showing off, that whole stuff was good for *something*, and if players think they can waltz through the adventure by punching whatever gets in their way should at least be made aware that this is a different game.
    Simultaneously, the DM has already got their reminder that something is out of sync, and should also adapt their style a bit. Maybe not act out the whole thing in excruciating detail but narrate through it a bit quicker than planned… or maybe have an out-of-game conversation with the players about preferred playstyles?

    …yeah, like I would ever manage to do that :(

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