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Require Consent for Adverse Character Interactions
by Mike on 31 January 2022
No character can adversely affect another character without their player's consent.
This is an easy rule to put in place during our session zero that short circuits a lot of potential problems.
Scan Reddit's D&D forums for any length of time and you see numerous posts describing how games went south when one character stole something from another, polymorphed them into a chicken, or made them the central target of a fireball.
Requiring a player's consent for adverse actions is a no-brainer. Such a rule stops many problems before they even start.
Here are some specific examples of character consent:
- You can't charm or dominate your fellow companion if their character doesn't agree.
- You can't roll persuasion or deception checks against another character expecting the character to behave a certain way when it fails unless the other player is good with it.
- You can't fireball your fighter friend no matter how many cultists of Talos they're surrounded by unless they say "do it".
- You can't steal another character's stuff unless that character's player is good with it.
- You can't attack another character unless both players are into it.
Short Circuiting "That's What my Character Would Do"
Defining hard out-of-game limits for any sort of player versus player conflict gets around any sort of story justification for bad behavior. It doesn't matter what a character would do in the world, the game itself at this table doesn't allow it. Those aren't the types of characters we want to follow unless, of course, we do. If all of the players are into it, go with the gods.
During your next session zero, consider adding a standing houserule that no character can adversely affect another character without their player's consent.
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