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Author
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Comment
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lightnng
Faen
(6/25/03 9:54 pm)
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cheater?
I have a question everyone...
In our last session, as the group was descending into the moathouse obelisk cavern and was suddenly under attack by the grell, I started describing what this creature looked like.
In the middle of my explanation, one of the players blurted out "grell?". Naturally, no one else knew what it was, and the player didn't really explain any further except that it was quite a nasty many tentacled thingy.
I didn't think much of it at the time, but in retrospect, how could they know? Is the grell part of any published material OTHER than RttToEE? I dont think so, but I want to find out before I go about confronting the player, especially as I value their participation in the game.
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srmilich
Faen
(6/25/03 10:14 pm)
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Re: cheater?
Hi lightnng,
I believe that the grell creature has surfaced before, in other books or modules. I do not know the exact reference myself, but I came across a similar situation in that one of my players had heard of it before when I mentioned its name. Maybe in MM2 or in Manual of the Planes?
Hopefully someone else on the boards can verify for sure.
Hope that helps,
Simon.
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chartam
Litorian
(6/25/03 10:16 pm)
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Re: cheater?
The grell has been around since 1st edition, possibly earlier. The earliest reference I have for it is in the 1E Fiend Folio.
Chartam Plicatus, Paper Prestidigitator
- [Minibase] - [RttToEE Minis List] - [Campaign Website] -
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lightnng
Faen
(6/25/03 10:25 pm)
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Re: cheater?
Thank you, I have checked and you are correct, it appears in an earlier edition fiend folio (the "deadly grell"). I am VERY happy to know that!
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deafdungeonmasterRIT
Litorian
(6/25/03 10:40 pm)
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dude..
keep looking for warning sign.. keep looking.. be sure to punish him for acting OUT of the character!
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GlordFunkelhand 
Faen
(6/25/03 11:57 pm)
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Re: dude..
The grell is also in monster manual2.
problem is: if you have enthusiastic players, they want to get more D&D stufff... even if they just browse through the DMM or MM at their local bookstore from time to time.
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msherman
Faen
(6/26/03 5:03 am)
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Re: dude..
Yeah, assuming that he's not cheating, and just blurted out something he'd seen in the MM2 or the old Fiend Folio, the best way to deal with that isn't to punish him, but rather to account for the knowledge in character. Have him spend some of his next batch of skill points on Knowledge Aracana, and in the future, give him the chance to make skill checks to recognize monsters.
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Belial
Faen
(6/26/03 5:36 am)
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Forgotten temple of Tharizdun.
For what it's worth, The Grell first appeared in the Forgotten temple of Tharizdun WG4, an old 1st Ed. module.
Belial.
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blakwind
Faen
(6/26/03 6:24 am)
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Re: Forgotten temple of Tharizdun.
Yep. One of my old-timer players also recognized the Grell from WG4. Fortunately, he didn't blurt it out during the game.
In your case, however, I would be ticked off that the player seriously metagamed the encounter. That's inexcusably bad roleplay. Msherman's suggestion is a good one-time Band-Aid to explain the slip, but I'd definitely want to nip this problem in the bud before it becomes accepted behavior.
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TheOutlands
Litorian
(6/26/03 6:28 am)
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Re: Forgotten temple of Tharizdun.
My party hasn't encountered the Grell *yet* - but they *are* getting darned close... However, they *did* encounter a grell earlier on in their adventuring career and one of the PCs subsequently took "Knowledge (monstronomicon)" specifically to at least know a little bit about the monsters they faced. I thought it was a great idea, myself, and that would cover any OOC slips - because now they would be IC!
--Michael<br>
http://outlands.tripod.com<br>
homesteading, survival, self-reliance, and a whole lot more
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lightnng
Faen
(6/26/03 7:26 am)
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Re: Forgotten temple of Tharizdun.
Well... about the metagaming aspect... Four of my six players are relatively inexperienced, and although the one that blurted this out is, she is also new to the group and has been a very good addition. I think it was more because of the slight discomfort of joining a new group and a need to show usefulness.
Im quite alright with that, especially as she plays "the wizard(tm)", with buckets of knowledge (arcana), and the way our group plays, is EXPECTED to be the brains of the operation.
None of my players know the rules enough to metagame anyway (except maybe one, the other experienced player). And the style is quite loose, as I encourage the players, for example, to find out the rules of their own spells when deciding spell effects. And my house rules actually state that I sometimes fudge dice (in the party's favor) - check out the bottom section at:
Clan of the Bitter Rose
Note: I am indebted to many other contributors for the handouts and the XP debt idea... thank you!
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Offgall Fizziwigg
Faen
(6/26/03 8:15 am)
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Re: Forgotten temple of Tharizdun.
You can't help if people have fought certain monsters before. I would say most characters would be allowed to scream "ogre!" "troll!" or "orc!" I would pull the player aside, and tell her not to use out of game knowledge. If her character has already fought a grell, then it would be fine. In those circumstances, you don't want her telling the group about the paralyzing tentacles, a creatures breath weapon, or that something is immune to certain attacks. There has to be surprise for your other players. Talk to her about it.
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