Trust nothing, especially cutlery. I have zero sympathy for the wizard who burns every Detect Magic on bowls and chairs, but I also have even less for the DM who treats player tools like a punchline. Detect Magic telling someone “it’s chowder” is a cop-out, same as a DM saying “you failed the skill check because you looked suspicious.” If a spell exists to reveal a magical aura, use it to reveal an aura, not to sass the player.
Play smart, but don’t be that paranoid asshole who thwarts every fun thing. And DMs, if you want to surprise people, do it with plot and stakes, not constant item ambushes. Let spells do their job, let players have some agency, and yes, keep an eye on the spoon.
And DMs, if you want to surprise people, do it with plot and stakes, not constant item ambushes.
A good surprise has foreshadowing so the players go “ooh that makes sense. We should have thought of that”. If all the corpses in the room look like they died of drowning and there’s scratches on the door, it’s not a total surprise if there’s a trap that locks the door and fills the room with water.
Also, good foreshadowing always creates the possibility that your audience (the players, in this case) will work out what’s really going on before you expected them to. This is not a flaw, it doesn’t “spoil” the experience. It is, in fact, incredibly satisfying to put a bunch of clues together and then see that prediction vindicated when the twist is revealed.
Trust nothing, especially cutlery. I have zero sympathy for the wizard who burns every Detect Magic on bowls and chairs, but I also have even less for the DM who treats player tools like a punchline. Detect Magic telling someone “it’s chowder” is a cop-out, same as a DM saying “you failed the skill check because you looked suspicious.” If a spell exists to reveal a magical aura, use it to reveal an aura, not to sass the player.
Play smart, but don’t be that paranoid asshole who thwarts every fun thing. And DMs, if you want to surprise people, do it with plot and stakes, not constant item ambushes. Let spells do their job, let players have some agency, and yes, keep an eye on the spoon.
A good surprise has foreshadowing so the players go “ooh that makes sense. We should have thought of that”. If all the corpses in the room look like they died of drowning and there’s scratches on the door, it’s not a total surprise if there’s a trap that locks the door and fills the room with water.
Also, good foreshadowing always creates the possibility that your audience (the players, in this case) will work out what’s really going on before you expected them to. This is not a flaw, it doesn’t “spoil” the experience. It is, in fact, incredibly satisfying to put a bunch of clues together and then see that prediction vindicated when the twist is revealed.