Stupid DM mistake HELP

[vegetalss4]

so i have made a stupid mistake. here between sessions i made a resume and posted it on a forum my group uses, normally I use Word to spell check my post, so i wrote in a document I had open, specifically my NPC list, however when I copy-pasted it, i accidentally copied to much, so now at least one, probably more of my players saw that a NPC benefactor secretly is a Silver Dragon. I have already edited the offending context out, however the damage is done, so now i ask you fellow playgrounders, what shall i do?

[Calimehter]

Well, the classic solution would be to ask your players (nicely) to not act on said information, since their characters do not know it yet.

You could also treat this mistake as an unplanned plot point, making up (or better yet, roleplaying out) a reason for the characters to have discovered the true identity of their benefactor well before they were "supposed" to (at least according to their benefactors plans). What the PCs do with this information could lead to some very interesting intrigue and adventure possibilities.

[Temotei]

Don't change the NPC. The above post has it right on. :smallamused:

[holywhippet]

Hit your players with a heavy, blunt object to induce partial amnesia. You'll want to aim your blow carefully so that you remove the memory of the NPCs true nature but not remove their memory of the game itself or the rules of D&D.

Seriously, tell your players that anyone who saw that information should keep it to themselves and not act on it in character. Penalise them if anyone disobeys.

[Bibliomancer]

I'd lean towards the option of don't mention it, and quietly change which of the benefactors is the dragon. That way, if the player acts on his OOC knowledge, he or she will be suitably surprised.

Alternatively, make the dragon evil (easy if you're playing in Eberron, otherwise make an exception) and have it react angrily to any confrontation about its true identity.

[Vitruviansquid]

Quickly revise everything the player learned. This way, the players will get a nasty surprise when they try to act on that information. :smallamused:

Of course, you'd first tell them nicely not to act on anything they've seen.

[Choco]

Take up the habit of posting intentionally misleading information on forums your players are known to frequent (not all the time, just in spoiler tags marked "my players keep out" like they do here, only wanna catch the bad ones after all :smallamused:) just to mess with them.

Oh how many traps and TPK's that has lead to, and they STILL don't learn that I have a zero-tolerance policy for metagaming of that magnitude :smallcool:

The good thing about doing this is they have no grounds to whine afterwords, it is funny watching them squirm :smallamused:

[DabblerWizard]

Admit to the mistake, mention it was unintentional, and change your plans.

[Thomo]

Tie it in to the plot by making it propoganda put out by the real BBEG - say make him something else (e.g. Red Dragon). That way you can still keep your basic premise, but if the PC's metagame and kit themselves up to take on a silver dragon, smack them down with something else.

[Deepblue706]

Have it turn out that the NPC is really just trying to throw rumours around town that he is a Silver Dragon, because he's trying to boost his image because his PR has lately been down.

[absolmorph]

Take up the habit of posting intentionally misleading information on forums your players are known to frequent (not all the time, just in spoiler tags marked "my players keep out" like they do here, only wanna catch the bad ones after all :smallamused:) just to mess with them.

Oh how many traps and TPK's that has lead to, and they STILL don't learn that I have a zero-tolerance policy for metagaming of that magnitude :smallcool:

The good thing about doing this is they have no grounds to whine afterwords, it is funny watching them squirm :smallamused:
The way I run things, this would be pretty much an automatic TPK.
Thankfully, I get most of my work done completely without aid from anyone. I don't think I've actually posted anything about my campaign online that my players don't know (not that what they know will help them; the incarnation of magic is really good at hiding his identity, and that's the only major thing they know). They don't frequent this forum, anyways. At least, not that I know of. If they do, they're definitely not among the optimizers. A sorcerer who mostly uses his crossbow, a rogue and ranger that focus on ranged attacks and a Fighter who is specializing in swinging a Bastard Sword. Oh, and a druid who hasn't really made his character plans clear yet. I'm gonna be giving them some major boosts for general laughs.

I agree with the people who're saying change parts of it so they're hit by something they didn't expect (change the type of dragon, if it hasn't become relevant yet, or change the benefactor). Or just remove him entirely from the role you'd planned, put him somewhere else, and put a different (conceptually similar) character in his place. Maybe replace him with a doppleganger sorcerer who has some (preferably beneficial) plans that require the party? Basically, change the character just enough that their information is incorrect, and warn them against using their OOC knowledge to plan with the character.