Adam Guay wrote: I know there will always be odd situations but I feel like the Dm should be given a quick list of tokens to be aware of for their room.
We are. Each module has a "tokens of interest" section that lists all the relevant tokens that the authors could think of. Sometimes something gets missed, but the Charm of Blissward was mentioned in my room's module, because the creature was an evil outsider.
Aothos wrote: i.e.) I let a friend of mine borrow my Cleric build when he went to Origins. In one of the rooms he came across an enemy that he thought was either an undead or an evil outsider, so he asked the DM if the creature was either. The DM responded that he couldn't tell him the creature's typing, so my friend used his Turn Undead ability (since Charm of Blissward is on my build) and the DM informed him that it does nothing. At the end of the room my friend inquired why his Turn ability didn't work and the DM said that the creature was an evil outsider, not undead; to which my friend responded by pointing out my Charm of the Blissward. The DM just shrugged.
I don't remember something like that happening in my room at Origins, but on the off chance I was the DM and just forgot, I'm sorry.
Jeremy wrote: I think from a flavor stand point if a cleric ask the DM directly is this an Undead the DM should be able to answer yes or no. Since , story wise, a cleric should have enough knowledge to know if something is an undead or not it seems like this would be reasonable. The DM shouldn't blatantly identify the monster but a cleric should be able to identify an undead.
SnakeEyes (Eric) wrote: On NORMAL, maybe? At any other level, I disagree. Ineffective actions and spells are frustrating but it's all part of the puzzle of figuring out how to defeat an enemy in the dungeon.
It's also part of the fun of becoming an expert of a specific class. It's not just about showing up to class, but also doing the homework.
I agree with both of these. My monster at Origins was an evil outsider, but I can see how the prop could easily be mistaken for undead. Whenever a cleric in a normal group tried to use turn undead, I would tell them that it was not undead. If they then asked if their fancy charm helped, then I'd give them the beads. I don't remember any hardcore/nightmare clerics trying before confirming, but if they had, I would have let them try, then told them that nothing happens, because it's not undead.
Monster stats are supposed to be secret, but there are some circumstances where players might need to know the monster's type. The question "what type of monster is it" will get a non-technical answer of "it's an ogre mage" or "it's a zombie," but the cleric asking "is it undead?" will always get a yes or no, regardless of difficulty. Likewise, a cleric asking "I have a charm of blissward, is it an evil outsider?" will also get a yes or no.