Assassins going after player characters how to?

hoganbball23 · 03-28-2016, 11:58 PM

Hi all. In my upcoming fantasy campaign the players will have a chance to engage in a month of training time to join a racially diverse adventurers supergroup. As part of the training they will have assassins come after them of steadily increasing skill. The assassins aren't actually tryong to kill them, just to leave their trademark on them. My question is how to do this? In general I let players roll their own perceptions but asking players to role a perception for no apparent reason is often a good way to wreck the meta of what they were doing. Any thoughts?

Also I assume for my assassins I would role stealth and then pickpocket to give them the mark. Yes?

Leynok · 03-29-2016, 12:07 AM

My group also likes to let the players roll their own Per instead of the GM doing it all behind the scenes. First, don't let the players know there is anyone after them, unless the Character themselves know (in which case then them on the lookout for assassins makes sense). Second, find creative other uses for Per rolls, to notice something interesting in the area for instance, make the rolls feel like something they would have rolled even if there wasn't an assassin after them. Third, if they are actively on the lookout for the assassins occasionally make fakeout Per rolls, ask them to roll Per for things that are otherwise meaningless, this keeps them on the edge and always second guessing if their roll was good enough, or if there was anything to see.

DanHoward · 03-29-2016, 12:08 AM

Start with harmless prank-traps:

A bag of flour that drops from an ajar door on their heads.
A dye in their drink that stains lips/teeth a bright colour.
A harmless snake or spider in their bedding
A tripwire that activates a loud noisemaker
A candle or lamp that emits a noxous smell when lit

When they are good and paranoid, get some suspicious-looking people to follow the PCs around town for a few days but not actually do anything.

Mechanics-wise, the GM has to roll Perception if you don't want to spoil the mood. I roll all the time, even while talking, so the players have no idea which rolls count and which just are me fiddling with the dice.

(E) · 03-29-2016, 01:47 AM

Another one to mess with players is the "make a roll" then follow it with how well the character has handled the effects of the emetic or laxative the assassins spiked their food with.

Boomerang · 03-29-2016, 02:26 AM

The other suggestions are good, all I would like to add is: I like shared rolls for perception.

The player rolls two dice and the GM rolls the third. The player will have an idea of how perceptive they are (which I believe is realistic) but they won't know for sure.

Wavefunction · 03-29-2016, 03:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boomerang

The other suggestions are good, all I would like to add is: I like shared rolls for perception.

The player rolls two dice and the GM rolls the third. The player will have an idea of how perceptive they are (which I believe is realistic) but they won't know for sure.

That's a fascinating idea...

Of course you still have the problem that if you ask a player to roll Per, even if they fail you let them know that there was something to be seen in the first place, which puts them on guard. Even if they're really good at not letting out of game info impact their in game performance you still changed the atmosphere for the player.

Which brings me to my next point, sometimes I will make a player roll Per, simply to generate that change in atmosphere, when a feeling of tension is more valuable to me than the player being unaware of any potential threat.

Maz · 03-29-2016, 05:42 AM

I have used Passive Perception in the past, (from D&D 4e/5e).

Instead of having the players roll a Perception check, I let the assassin take a penalty to their stealth equal to the targets Per-10.

So someone with Perception 14 have a -4 to attempt to use stealth around them.

This way only I, the GM have to roll. However I also use it for when PC's sneak up on NPC's.

whswhs · 03-29-2016, 06:15 AM

I just about always have players roll Per for their characters. But one trick I use, which you may find helpful, is that sometimes, if a player rolls Per, and succeeds, I take them out of the room and privately tell them what they've just noticed, while the other players wonder what's going on. And then I take them back in and either ask them what their character is doing, or tell the other players what they perceive the character doing.

Polydamas · 03-29-2016, 07:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hoganbball23

Hi all. In my upcoming fantasy campaign the players will have a chance to engage in a month of training time to join a racially diverse adventurers supergroup. As part of the training they will have assassins come after them of steadily increasing skill. The assassins aren't actually tryong to kill them, just to leave their trademark on them. My question is how to do this? In general I let players roll their own perceptions but asking players to role a perception for no apparent reason is often a good way to wreck the meta of what they were doing. Any thoughts?

One good technique is to ask the players for a sense roll whenever they seem too relaxed, are getting distracted with side chat, etc. Most of the time it is nothing, sometimes it is a chance to spot the ninjas getting ready to burst through the paper windowpane. I also rolled most things like that myself.

Curmudgeon · 03-29-2016, 07:17 AM

A method I've used with success is to have the players make and record a number of rolls (minimum two dozen) and record them on a 3 x 5 index card with the player's name on top. As a situation requiring a perception or other secret roll comes up, I consult the cards, determine whether the player's roll failed or succeeded and cross that roll off. When all the rolls have been used (or sometimes when I'm down to the last half-dozen), I have the players make and record more die rolls.

My players have been happy with the process as they still make the die rolls but don't gain a "what did I miss?" effect and don't have to waste time on false rolls, which is good since making die rolls momentarily takes the player out of character.

03-28-2016, 11:58 PM	#1
hoganbball23 Join Date: Aug 2015	Assassins going after player characters how to? Hi all. In my upcoming fantasy campaign the players will have a chance to engage in a month of training time to join a racially diverse adventurers supergroup. As part of the training they will have assassins come after them of steadily increasing skill. The assassins aren't actually tryong to kill them, just to leave their trademark on them. My question is how to do this? In general I let players roll their own perceptions but asking players to role a perception for no apparent reason is often a good way to wreck the meta of what they were doing. Any thoughts? Also I assume for my assassins I would role stealth and then pickpocket to give them the mark. Yes?

03-29-2016, 12:07 AM	#2
Leynok Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Australia WA	Re: Assassins going after player characters how to? My group also likes to let the players roll their own Per instead of the GM doing it all behind the scenes. First, don't let the players know there is anyone after them, unless the Character themselves know (in which case then them on the lookout for assassins makes sense). Second, find creative other uses for Per rolls, to notice something interesting in the area for instance, make the rolls feel like something they would have rolled even if there wasn't an assassin after them. Third, if they are actively on the lookout for the assassins occasionally make fakeout Per rolls, ask them to roll Per for things that are otherwise meaningless, this keeps them on the edge and always second guessing if their roll was good enough, or if there was anything to see.

03-29-2016, 12:08 AM	#3
DanHoward Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Maitland, NSW, Australia	Re: Assassins going after player characters how to? Start with harmless prank-traps: A bag of flour that drops from an ajar door on their heads. A dye in their drink that stains lips/teeth a bright colour. A harmless snake or spider in their bedding A tripwire that activates a loud noisemaker A candle or lamp that emits a noxous smell when lit When they are good and paranoid, get some suspicious-looking people to follow the PCs around town for a few days but not actually do anything. Mechanics-wise, the GM has to roll Perception if you don't want to spoil the mood. I roll all the time, even while talking, so the players have no idea which rolls count and which just are me fiddling with the dice. __________________ Compact Castles gives the gamer an instant portfolio of genuine, real-world castle floorplans to use in any historical, low-tech, or fantasy game setting. Last edited by DanHoward; 03-29-2016 at 12:22 AM.

03-29-2016, 01:47 AM	#4
(E) Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: New Zealand.	Re: Assassins going after player characters how to? Another one to mess with players is the "make a roll" then follow it with how well the character has handled the effects of the emetic or laxative the assassins spiked their food with. __________________ Waiting for inspiration to strike...... And spending too much time thinking about farming for RPGs Contributor to Citadel at Nordvörn

03-29-2016, 02:26 AM	#5
Boomerang Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: Melbourne, Australia (also known as zone Brisbane)	Re: Assassins going after player characters how to? The other suggestions are good, all I would like to add is: I like shared rolls for perception. The player rolls two dice and the GM rolls the third. The player will have an idea of how perceptive they are (which I believe is realistic) but they won't know for sure.

03-29-2016, 05:42 AM	#7
Maz Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Denmark	Re: Assassins going after player characters how to? I have used Passive Perception in the past, (from D&D 4e/5e). Instead of having the players roll a Perception check, I let the assassin take a penalty to their stealth equal to the targets Per-10. So someone with Perception 14 have a -4 to attempt to use stealth around them. This way only I, the GM have to roll. However I also use it for when PC's sneak up on NPC's.

03-29-2016, 06:15 AM	#8
whswhs Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Lawrence, KS	Re: Assassins going after player characters how to? I just about always have players roll Per for their characters. But one trick I use, which you may find helpful, is that sometimes, if a player rolls Per, and succeeds, I take them out of the room and privately tell them what they've just noticed, while the other players wonder what's going on. And then I take them back in and either ask them what their character is doing, or tell the other players what they perceive the character doing. __________________ Bill Stoddard I don't think we're in Oz any more.

03-29-2016, 07:17 AM	#10
Curmudgeon Join Date: Sep 2011	Re: Assassins going after player characters how to? A method I've used with success is to have the players make and record a number of rolls (minimum two dozen) and record them on a 3 x 5 index card with the player's name on top. As a situation requiring a perception or other secret roll comes up, I consult the cards, determine whether the player's roll failed or succeeded and cross that roll off. When all the rolls have been used (or sometimes when I'm down to the last half-dozen), I have the players make and record more die rolls. My players have been happy with the process as they still make the die rolls but don't gain a "what did I miss?" effect and don't have to waste time on false rolls, which is good since making die rolls momentarily takes the player out of character.