That’s kind of important to the story though.

I read once that the earliest edition(s?) didn’t have Rogue as a separate class, that everyone would be searching for traps and such. And when Rogue was added with the explicit ability to detect traps, it caused a crises because suddenly that implied that no one else had that ability.

It’s the cats you gotta worry about.

Main quest? Weird tangent? They’re the same picture!

God you just described my prep in a nutshell. This is how they ended up fighting an orchestra

Ok. It was just an example of a way you might make an encounter revolve around a spell, not an exhaustively researched adventure module.

There are ways. You could, for example, set up a bbeg where that’s his whole deal. The townsfolk are scared of this guy because he has the supernatural power to just kill you, straight-up. Maybe the questline leading up to their encounter involves the players finding defenses or counters or sabotaging his supply of spell components or whatever, such that, if they DO get power-word-killed, it’s because they had ample opportunities to not, and failed to take them.

Except that’s the point, they will not be having fun. Nor will you, nor will any of the other players. Because that setup is not fun. And presumably you’re hosting a game for your friends with the intention of everyone having fun, so it’s best if you find another tact.

Nope, no, that’s encouraging their behavior. Now your player thinks you’re giving them a quest to earn enough money to play out their brothel scene.

Nope, no, that’s encouraging their behavior. Now your player thinks you’re giving them a quest to thwart this bouncer.

You absolutely do not have to RP this. You can say “No.” You can say “Ok, you go off and do that, what’s everyone else doing?”

brb, converting my 401k to gold to attract an adorable baby dragon

I’m not one of them, but I empathize with all the GMs that are just sick of dealing with those particular kinds of misconduct that crop up with new players.

Cover your phb in spray adhesive and leave it sitting on the table. As soon as someone touches it, shout “ROLL INITIATIVE!”

Actually, apply this to other random objects at the game table. A bag of chips, 1 can of soda in the fridge, every 3rd pencil, whatever.

Addl wisdom: some people make jokes when they’re uncomfortable, as a defense mechanism. If you have a player or players constantly trying to lighten the mood, consider that the atmosphere you’re trying to create may not be a good fit for your party, and/or parts of your party may not be a good fit for your game.

One slab of dry ice is a couple pounds, I could easily see a bathtub full of it being a problem. Also, co2 is heavier than air, cats are smaller than humans, and they live closer to the ground, so I think …m… made the right call.

This kind of thing can be fun. It can also be just as or more fun to sit around with nothing more than some scrap paper and an idea. Especially no shade on people that don’t have unlimited budgets to spend on setups like this.

Fun fact, any game dev’s financial data can be stolen if you’re capable of answering my riddles three

I would really like to commission that one artist that does the WWI kobolds to do a piece with 3 kobolds running a vintage SMG as if it were a crew served weapon. (But sadly they won’t return my emails)

I just want you to know how much I appreciate your hammer comparison. That is an incredibly apt simile and I want you to get credit for it. You should feel good about your analysis and communication skills.