Quote Originally Posted by gbaji View Post
Yup. I also find it's incredibly useful since sometimes the players just get the wrong idea about something. Having this kind of open discussion ahead of time allows the GM to correct those miconceptions. So if the players are talking about "who is going to put the poison in the Duke's drink while at the party" and I know that it's the Baron, and not the Duke, who is the bad guy that the PCs are supposed to be oppossed to, I'm not just going to sit there quietly wondering why they're targetting some random guy instead of the one they're supposed to be going after. I'm going to ask them "Um... Are you sure you mean the Duke? It's the Baron who you learned was working for the demon lord. As far as you know, the Duke knows nothing of this, and hasn't done anything evil".

If it's obvious the players have mixed something up, or forgotten some detail, I'm going to clear things up for them. Obviously, this does not apply if they have all of the information but have simply decided on the wrong course of action all on their own. So if they decide to poison the Duke anyway, despite having no evidence he's a bad guy, and it's clear that they know this fact, then... that's their choice. But yeah. Just on the off chance that they are confused about something, I will ask them. Just in case (sometimes, players do strange and unexpected things, knowing full well that it's strange and unexpected).
Yeah, agreed. I think in that situation... Let's say the Duke and the Baron are at the same party, and the players know that the Baron is Doctor Murder in disguise and the Duke is just a duke. If they're talking about poisoning the Duke, I'd probably edge right up to it without saying 'you have the wrong person'. "The Baron is remarkably calm. He's flirting with the woman on his left and his wife is glowering from down the table. It's hard to believe he's Doctor Murder under his filigreed circlet, despite the puppy you saw him kick before he got in his carriage." And then if the players go "Ok yeah how do we poison the Duke" well crap I guess I'm going with them poisoning the Duke...? I do want to preserve chances for them to make mistakes, and I don't want to say outright "I think you are doing the wrong thing." I guess I might ask why they're planning to poison the Duke and what their plan is. If it is a genuine OOC mistake, I want to clear it up, but if it's a case of the entire party just wildly missing the point I can't and shouldn't play their characters for them. It's a thin hair to split, I guess!