The beauty of pen and paper is that the DM is writing the game code on the fly. Let’s use the ghost example above. Normally you need magic to deal damage to incorporeal creatures with weapons. Let’s say your players found a mysterious ring (signet ring for the local rogue guild), but as the DM you know it’s not actually magical. Since it was a clever idea, you allow the ring to deal 1d4 magical bludgeoning damage when you punch wearing it. You planned for them to find some other magic item but they found the ghost first. If they don’t have another source of damage, they could die. You decide it’s more fun they can punch a ghost, rather than hint to them they should run away.
So now you have a choice, do you decide the ring actually is magical, and change other plans you had, or do you decide that the ghost has a specific connection to this ring, so it allows damage to be dealt. Maybe it’s the ghost’s engagement ring and they were murdered by their fiancé. So, is it ALSO the signet ring, or will you guide your players to the guild some other way? Does it make a plot hole because of how they found the ring or what some NPC said about it? Maybe that magic weapon you planned for them to find is the actual key to getting into the guild.
It basically just goes on and on like this, for the whole campaign~
If the attack normally should not work but the DM decide to allow it, this would mean that the DM adds something like a new weakness or another mechanism to deal the damage in a way that follows the rules
Sorry what do you mean with your last sentence, “create a scenario in which the rule would be correct and give a hint”?
Never played pen and paper, this question fascinates me.
The beauty of pen and paper is that the DM is writing the game code on the fly. Let’s use the ghost example above. Normally you need magic to deal damage to incorporeal creatures with weapons. Let’s say your players found a mysterious ring (signet ring for the local rogue guild), but as the DM you know it’s not actually magical. Since it was a clever idea, you allow the ring to deal 1d4 magical bludgeoning damage when you punch wearing it. You planned for them to find some other magic item but they found the ghost first. If they don’t have another source of damage, they could die. You decide it’s more fun they can punch a ghost, rather than hint to them they should run away.
So now you have a choice, do you decide the ring actually is magical, and change other plans you had, or do you decide that the ghost has a specific connection to this ring, so it allows damage to be dealt. Maybe it’s the ghost’s engagement ring and they were murdered by their fiancé. So, is it ALSO the signet ring, or will you guide your players to the guild some other way? Does it make a plot hole because of how they found the ring or what some NPC said about it? Maybe that magic weapon you planned for them to find is the actual key to getting into the guild.
It basically just goes on and on like this, for the whole campaign~
Oooh, really nice answer. Thank you!
If the attack normally should not work but the DM decide to allow it, this would mean that the DM adds something like a new weakness or another mechanism to deal the damage in a way that follows the rules