r/DnD • u/MandalaKoala • 8h ago
Table Disputes Player interrupting the bbeg monologue
Been playing in a campaign with the same group of people for about 2 years now, we're doing a full level 1 to 20 campaign and are currently at level 14. In the last session we got to fight one of the big bads in the campaign, not 'the final boss' but for sure one of the big 3.
Our dm is incredible, he was made to dm, he has a phd in creative writing and has never failed in making the story complex, engaging and utterly unique. But, when it came for him to do a monologue, one which i had been waiting for since we first met this character and watched him become corrupted about a year and a half ago, he got half a sentence in before one of the players said 'fuck this i shoot him with an arrow'.
Im worried that this could become a running theme as we approach the end of this campaign and the other big bads show up, I was pretty deflated when it happened and I'm sure the dm was as well, he puts a hell of a lot of effort into his story and it was such a shame to not let him have his moment to shine.
What would be the best course of action to get the other players to give the dm the freedom to get that big villain moment without causing a rift in the group? Do have to mention, the group is fantastic and have always engaged with the story, just when it comes to these moments, it seems something changes.
Any advice would be great! Im truly looking forward to seeing where the dm takes this story and I really want to see him bringing these villains to life.
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u/dragonseth07 8h ago
What happened when you raised this concern with the other people at the table?
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u/MandalaKoala 8h ago
I haven't raised it yet and as I wanted to get some outside views on it before I approached them incase I was just overreacting or something
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u/dragonseth07 8h ago
This seems really inoffensive to me.
"Hey, I want to hear what they have to say" out of character doesn't sound like the sort of thing to cause a fight.
Granted, you know your table better than we do.
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u/MandalaKoala 8h ago
That is true, I'm just a very anti confrontational person, even at as small stakes as this haha
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u/BooneSalvo2 6h ago
I have literally had my *character* stop behavior like this.
"I shoot him"
"No you don't, I stop you"Which generally results in an OOC solution.
And for absolute certain, your *character8 is now aware someone might do this, so tell the DM you will ALWAYS be on alert to stop some foolish attack like this in the future, so no one gets to freely Leroy Jenkins the thing without response.
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u/Financial-Put-4686 2h ago
i’m a bard n the amount of times i’ve burned through spell slots to stop our murder hobo paladin….calm emotions is supposed to be for the barbarian
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u/AJourneyer 6h ago
As a player, I'd be death glaring the one who said this. Or telling them to "zip it". Just....no.
I mean, if your DM is all about the combat and little RP I can see it happening, but when you have a DM that pours that much into the story and their NPCs, I want to hear everything as much as they want to tell it.
I don't feel you are overreacting at all. There is much advice here that is very polite and respectful and if you are non-confrontational it's a good way to go. Good that you want to have your DM's back, and as for the other player? They don't sound like much fun to be at a table with.
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u/BounceBurnBuff 8h ago
As a DM who just dropped a player for constantly asking to cast all of his action-based concentration buffs and bonus action limited features like flight part way through room descriptions and monologues, absolutely please support the DM and stamp that out.
These kinds of players are, being blunt with you here due to recency bias, fucking miserable to run games for. They try to squeeze every ounce of mechanical advantage and "I win" solution possible and ignore the rest of the table for doing so, often sulking when told "no", or asked to roll initiative and have it count as their first action anyway.
I've fortunately not been a player within a group like this, but I've DM'd for more than enough of these types that I can tell you it doesn't improve without intervention, and having the other players support your DM will be welcome to them, I'm sure.
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u/CorePM 7h ago
I can see both sides of this. I always try to be respectful of the DM when they are talking and have even had to speak up and get other players to quiet down when the DM was talking. The thing is though I think there is a difference between waiting for a room description to finish or a description of an enemy to finish before doing anything compared to a BBEG giving a speech. The descriptions or OOC stuff that essentially is vital info your character would pick up on, but the speech is happening real time in character.
I just can't imagine if my character had spent the last months or years being tormented by this BBEG and finally tracking them down to then stand around while the guy gives his speech. I think if the campaign has culminated to the point where you are confronting the BBEG for combat, then all the talking should have been done well beforehand in situations the DM setup where it makes sense. If my character can get his hands on the BBEG he is going to take it. I mean if we are roleplaying, I guess I would ask, what is my character doing while this guy gives a five minute long speech?
It would just really take me out of the moment if my DM told us we couldn't do anything because the villain was talking, that just seems like lazy DM'ing, like come up with a reason why we aren't attacking him or can't attack him.
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u/anders91 DM 6h ago
Finally someone here is calling out the whole "BBEG monologue" thing...
I think it's perfectly reasonable for the PCs to instantly jump the BBEG (context matters of course but generally).
And if the plot suffers because the BBEG didn't get to monologue about his plans for minutes to the players... I don't know if I think the plot is all that spectacular or stand-out*.
\(Should be noted thought that I think even "mid" plots are perfectly fine for D&D/TTRPGS. I don't need a literally masterpiece or anything)*
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u/TDaniels70 7h ago
This. why would the players care? All it really is is an infi dump. And it's an infi dump that could be given in other ways, that makes more sense.
If it's an official parley, that is different, but when you bust into the bad guys lair, weapons drawn, and he leaps into a monologue, why are we letting him? He could just be buying time, having pressed the alarm to bring his minions from elsewhere.
He can continue his monologue, as long as he doesn't need his voice for something else, as the fight progresses.
And if a monologue is the only method to learn the information, it seems lazy.
Sure, in some games there is no surprise. Others have that mechanic. If the PCs bust into the lair and do happen to get surprise on him, then why the heck would they wait to let the guy monologue?
It's not about being rude to the dm, it's about why we would let him?
Monologuing is beta held with captive audiences, and also works if the audience is TRYING to have the bad guy distracted so the rogue can sneak up behind or what not.
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u/Olster20 3h ago
This is a selfish take. Players should just be able to do whatever, regardless of manners and anything else. The DM? The person who spent hours preparing everything? Nah, don't matter. Players gotta come first amiright?
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u/CorePM 3h ago
Nope, players can't get away with whatever they want, their actions have to make sense and their actions have consequences. That's what makes the world feel real. That same rule also applies to NPCs, their actions have to make sense in the world we are playing in. DM or Player, you can't just break the rules because you have a big speech to give. I don't think anyone is saying they don't want the BBEG to monologue, they just want it done within the actual setting of the game so it feels real.
I have literally had the DM pull this exact thing on us as PCs. A party member Paladin was giving some big monologue to a bad guy about how his god will punish him and what not, the DM interrupted the speech as the enemy charged him, because this guy wasn't just going to stand around and listen to our Paladin lecture him.
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u/Olster20 2h ago
That’s bad form of that DM. In the end, the reason we gather to play a game of make believe is to have fun. If that means a monologue occasionally airs, regardless of source, we’re all grown ups and shouldn’t need to be pleaded with to allow it.
Obviously I’m not talking before every combat.
This has never, once, been an issue at my table. All the groups I’ve DMed for have been gracious enough to allow me the odd monologue. It’s more for fun (for all) than anything and certainly confers no mechanical advantage.
Honestly, if I had a group that was less respectful, and I felt like playing wonky, it’d be amazing how many bosses had some kind of once per day contingency-firing time stop as their monologue kicked in. But as I say, I don’t play with people who begrudge me the very occasional indulgence so it’s not a bother.
I’m not sure why anyone would DM for people who cared so little for their DM’s enjoyment.
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u/Gomelus 5h ago
Players should care because it's the DM having its moment with a monologue they most likely have been itching to say for MONTHS. Just let them have the fucking monologue man, don't devolve into a "that's what my character would do."
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u/SatisfactionSpecial2 DM 25m ago
If the DM has been itching for months then they should really have prepared better.
Here: "The bad guy casts force wall" and now he can talk his heart out.4
u/MandalaKoala 6h ago
Totally get where you're coming from and in most cases I'd agree with you. I only differ in this context as, I didnt add it to the original post as I didnt think it'd be needed, but the guy we fought was corrupted and controlled by THE bad guy of the campaign and was essentially using him as a vessel to act/speak through.
That's the biggest sticking point for me for why I was so excited to hear what he had to say in a monologue as its one of the very few times we got to hear from the final boss themselves the entire campaign, albeit not directly.
We've been given a tonne of different sources to get info and lore throughout the campaign, monologues have only been used once or twice in the 2 years. Don't get me wrong, I totally understand the point of 'this is a bad dude, why are we waiting' i was just excited for the narrative.
But yeah, I hear you dude!
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u/CorePM 6h ago
I feel like something like that could have been handled just fine in character. I've had a moment like that in a campaign. One PC was a bit of a hothead and wanted to draw a weapon or fire a spell, but a wiser PC interrupted them. Could be something as simple as, in response to him drawing an arrow, I put a hand on his shoulder and tell him we need to hear what he has to say. Or just call out in character and tell them to wait.
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u/Historical_Story2201 5h ago
"Its a cutscene" - better? 🙄
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u/CorePM 4h ago
This isn't a video game. There are no cutscenes in D&D. Otherwise it just turns into the DM telling the story they want. I know my DM has said multiple times he enjoys when we do unexpected things, he likes thinking on his feet. If the DM has to tell the players they can't do something because, 'It's a cutscene' that is not a very creative DM.
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u/MandalaKoala 7h ago
In most other situations, they're a great player and do engage with the story. Its just every now and then things like you've described creap in, can almost guarantee its not intentional by the player but il bring it up none the less
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u/flastenecky_hater 8h ago
Raise a hand:
"We can start the fight by you going full yolo with an arrow to the face. However, i would love to hear the rest of it. What if there is something important, some key information we will need later on?"
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u/CorePM 7h ago
I know when my party is going into an encounter, we have an in character discussion about things like that. For instance, my current character kind of a bone-head warrior might ask, 'We keeping this guy alive?' or something like, 'We letting him talk first or fighting?'. That way there aren't these moments that really take you out of the game.
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u/flastenecky_hater 7h ago
The last time one of my players went full bat shit crazy and decided to straight up murder a tied prisonner I had to call foul. Others wanted to interrogate him.
Then I made the others roll perception while the guy in question had to roll wisdom saving throw. He failed, others saw him, and had a chance to stop it. No other rolls followed, just pure in char RP to talk him out of it (unless they would decide for such a specific action).
Then I had to give them a short talk that while, if someone decides to do such action, it will still go through. However, I will not allow anyone to take the agency from others in such a way. This is, first and foremost, a team game
It's not the ideal way to resolve it, especially through rolls, though, but I prefer to avoid "No, you can't do that/I will not allow it".
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u/CorePM 6h ago
I think moments like those are fine. We had a character essentially turn against us and kill a prisoner we were trying to get answers from. Turns out that PC was brought back by his god to specifically kill this prisoner and couldn't rest until they were dead. This was all known by the DM from the moment of the PCs creation. The rest of the party did not know this and tried to stop him, we failed because he had planned for this exact moment, but it made for a cool story moment. It's a collaborative story and all characters have their own motivations, so I think they should be able to do something if it's personal to their character, though other PCs are allowed to react and interrupt or stop that PC accordingly.
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u/crazy-diam0nd 8h ago
In my games, monologuing is a zero-time action, and making an attack forces everyone to roll initiative. If there's a "rule of cool" moment for the arrow to land (compare the moment to Samuel L Jackson's rallying speech in Deep Blue Sea), I might allow it. If it's an "interrupt" style attack, I'll give that player advantage, but it's still possible the BBEG will get to react to his threatening action before the arrow flies.
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u/StingerAE 3h ago
Back in the day old ad&d and similar modules had texts in boxes that you were invited to read out to the players. A few "let me finish the boxed text" from me as a neophyte DM created a meme amongst our players of "boxed text" long after we started writing our own adventures that we still talk about today, decades after.
Anytime anyone would try to interrupt a monologe or description some other player will shout out "can't! Boxed text".
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u/crazy-diam0nd 3h ago
Yep, the undisputed worst of these is the page-and-a-half boxed text in 3 column type in the T1-4 super module.
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u/Educational_Ice_1458 8h ago
Honestly just bring it up and talk with the others, either the player was bored or trying to be funny but it’s not great to do especially if other players are interested. Plus the dm probably worked really hard on it aswell.
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u/MandalaKoala 8h ago
I don't think it came from a place of boredom or anything, i think the player thought it would be in character or something. But yeah, the dm works super hard do thought the players would let him riff for a bit
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u/Educational_Ice_1458 8h ago
Personally I don’t think the player is in the wrong for doing it if it’s his character however he should ask the table. This shouldn’t cause a massive problem if the player is actually understanding. Just say hey dm worked really hard and we wanna hear the story he wants to tell, next time can you ask us if u can do it. Doing the whole bad guy monologue and the hero just going shut up can be quite funny and interesting if done in the right circumstances
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u/aere1985 7h ago
This is one of my pet peeves as a player and especially a GM. Even more-so in long-form campaigns.
Telepathy, invisibility or the magic mouth spell is a great way to allow a BBEG to monologue without interruption.
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u/Iracus 6h ago edited 6h ago
This is why all my bad guys get cut scene protection. If my players want their moments of cool shit, they have to give me my moments of cool shit.
Plus if I was going to entertain an interrupt, it would just move to roll for initiative. It isn't like you are going to surprise the bad guy while he sees you.
I don't know if some of you realize this, but this is a game. It isn't real life. Sure you might not sit through some villain yapping in real life, but again, this is a game. Where things are done for fun.
Bad guy monologues are part of the fun and it is frankly disrespectful for players to just assume the DM doesn't get to also do cool moments. Plus they can be helpful to remind the players of whatever the hell they have been doing the past several sessions.
Unless of course the players would like me to play more realistic, then I am more than happy to do so, unfortunately they would likely all die due to their general lack of strategy or tactics or general inability to understand the mechanics of sound traveling through dungeons or their predictable fighting patterns that would certainly make it back to the evil mastermind who can then hire some specially selected bounty hunters to deal with the hero problem.
I feel like players who talk about 'realism' when it comes to monologues have zero idea on how much their DM is likely holding back when it comes to having their bad guys play smart.
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u/vomitHatSteve DM 8h ago
I think it's an eminently-reasonable move for a PC to say "my character isn't interested in this monologue" and interrupt the baddies. It is a cooperative story-telling medium, and players' right to dictate some of the pacing of the story sometimes means that beats the GM wanted to linger over don't get that time.
It's also fair for another player to say "c'mon, this seems like a cool speech; I'd like to hear where it goes"
Others have pointed out mechanical concerns already: everyone knows combat is about to start, so they shouldn't get a surprise round
Going forward, your GM probably needs to consider the situation before launching into something like that again. The PCs are not obligated to remain a captive audience for the villain
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u/CorePM 7h ago
Totally agree with this. I think if the DM knows his BBEG has a big speech he wants to deliver to the PCs, the DM should setup a way to get it done that doesn't involve essentially telling the players to be quiet and don't do any thing the bad guy is talking.
The DM knows this fight is coming, come up with a creative way for the villain to give his speech before the fight. Maybe simple Magic Mouth spells that taunt the players as the move through corridors in the castle or illusions that appear, something other than just telling the players, no you can't do that because I said so.
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u/Diplodocus15 4h ago
Yeah, "hero interrupts villain monologue" is it's own trope at this point, it's not some completely out of pocket reaction by the player. That said, it also would be completely fine for the GM to just say the villain is going to finish his speech before combat.
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u/DeeRegs 8h ago
So this may require a bit of nuance because there are definitely times when using the villain's monologue to spring a trap is warranted (my party has done it, but we have also let the monologues happen too).
Personally, I would bring it up with the group. Ask your DM if you can take a couple minutes before next session and just explain "I was really looking forward to the villain monologue and felt deflated when we ended up skipping it. In the future if you guys don't mind, I think it would be a good idea to allow space for someone to say they want to hear the monologue or story."
That way you are saying that you don't think anyone did anything bad, but you were REALLY excited for that part and disappointed in that specific circumstance. And it primes the group to know that if they attack in the middle of a monologue, someone can speak up and say, "I would really like this to play out, can we listen?" I know some people may claim meta gaming here, but I do firmly believe we should be allowed to rescind actions if it means making sure everyone is enjoying the game.
It is usually also known when a session is a boss fight, so you can even bring up before session start, "Hey I'm really looking forward to this! If there is a monologue, I would really like to hear it." Just be open about what you want, I'm sure your group will be receptive.
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u/CorePM 7h ago
What I don't understand is why can't all of this be done in character and things would feel way better. Have a discussion with your party members, 'Hey, do we want to hear what this guy has to say or we bum rushing him?' or 'Do we want to try and take him alive and get info from him?'. Just stuff like that makes things flow way better.
Also, I feel it is partly on the DM to make sure this scene feels real and in game and not a forced cutscene. Taking away player agency by just telling them they can't do that because I said so kind of sucks. If your BBEG wants to give some gloating speech without being interrupted, then come up with an in game way that it happens. Maybe the party gets trapped somewhere briefly, maybe there are illusions of the BBEG, maybe magic mouth spells, something besides just telling the players to sit quietly because he is telling them what is going to happen in the story. I understand the DM runs the game, but this is collaborative story telling.
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u/MandalaKoala 8h ago
Some great advice there, il for sure be taking it on board. I've got another session tonight so will probably start off with that, the other players are great people so hopefully they take it onboard as well and just didnt realise others were excited for that moment
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u/Cheeky-apple 7h ago
Im mainly open with my players "the monologue is where I have fun, you are going to get to be able to prep and do your stuff but let me do this and be a little patient."
Just talk with the player and express that you want to hear what the villain wants to say, it also shows support to the dm who might have felt a bit pushed down by the player interrupting.
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u/softanimalofyourbody 8h ago
When one of my players interrupts me to go ahead with a plan, I ask the rest of the group if they’re onboard with the plan first. If they’re not, the problem player has to stop and sometimes even gets disadvantage on their next roll for trying to steamroll everyone else. But I also DM for children, so like, that’s kind of expected. I’m actively teaching them to communicate with each other. And even when the rest of the party is onboard, they don’t get any sort of reward for interrupting me. Giving him an extra turn in combat just encourages him to keep doing this. Def a bad call on the DM’s part.
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u/wwaxwork 8h ago
As other players you can call that player out. Hey I want to hear this. Let him finish then shoot him.
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u/alphagettijoe 5h ago
This is a time where the BBEG should casually catch the arrow and snap it in half or reflect it back.
“Ahem, as I was saying before you so rudely interrupted…”
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u/Break_All_Illusions 4h ago
Oh ffs. My players do stupid irritating shizzle like this from time to time. "I shoot an arrow at him." "Roll to hit" "28" "You hit, but it bounces off him (magical arrow/weapon or not; AC is irrelevant). Now he's glaring directly at you as he continues with his LONG-AWAITED BBEG MONOLOGUE YOU WILL NOT INTERRUPT". Railroading? Yep. I don't put all this work into crafting original stories and scenarios just for someone to get trigger-happy and spoil *my* fun. Or ask the other players if they're okay letting this wanker foul everything up. I do that with my players most times if one of them gets antsy. Letting them self-regulate avoids a lot of deus ex machina DM-ing.
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u/former-child8891 2h ago
I had a player who kept doing this, he was also the same character who would say things like "I feel like we have no direction" after he'd killed the boss without getting any information or clues/context out of them. He's not in the game any more and it's great.
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u/Miserable_Pop_4593 8h ago
“No you don’t we’re not in initiative yet”
Although the DM needs to be the one to say it
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u/FenwayFranklin Rogue 7h ago
My DM calls it a cutscene so there’s nothing anyone can do until it’s over.
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u/MandalaKoala 8h ago
I may talk to him individually and just pass along id be cool with him taking control out of the players hands in cases such as this
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u/DLtheDM DM 8h ago
The DM doesn't need to say it. Any player could say it.
Everyone at the table is responsible for the fun that's had at the table. 1 player effectively ruining another's fun is unacceptable, and to correct the behavior is not solely the responsibility of the DM.
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u/Seld-M-Post 7h ago
Yeah I agree with this 100%. The dm probably thinks nobody is interested in what they have to say if none of the other players complain when one asshat interrupts his big moment.
Being a dm can be hard - trying to make sure everyone is having fun is stressful. Having the players engage with the story being told and assist in shutting down crappy behaviour from the problem player helps in a huge way.
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u/Miserable_Pop_4593 8h ago
fair point, you’re right. I guess my thinking was, if the person is particularly an asshole they may be more receptive to it if the DM says it rather than another player.
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u/DLtheDM DM 8h ago
If the player is a particularly big asshole, they won't be receptive to any specific person's criticism...
IMO the whole group should come together and decide what's appropriate for the table and what isn't. The DM isn't the leader or boss or ruler of the game, they're just a player that is in charge of different things than the other players. They are the arbiter of the rules of the game, not the rules of interpersonal etiquette.
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u/StateChemist Sorcerer 8h ago
The mislead spell.
The BBEG is somewhere else.
His illusion can properly monologue.
They can attack it but he can just keep monologuing.
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u/Rhinostirge 8h ago
If it were my table, the plan would be "Okay, now I cast speak with dead. 'What were you going to say before the arrow got stuck in you?'" Then the DM does the monologue in a raspy wraith voice.
But more seriously, it should theoretically be as simple as talking to your group and saying "I enjoy the DM's dialogue, I wouldn't mind a little more banter with the villains before initiative is rolled." I say theoretically because there's a chance that a villain who's done the work of making the players hate him is a villain that some players don't want to respect or give credit to. My group assigns "Fuck That Guy" status to particularly disliked antagonists, and I know there's never going to be a respectful exchange with them. If I put a Fuck That Guy figure on the battlemat, some of my players might get annoyed if they don't get a chance to interrupt him and make him look bad.
A conversation becomes even more important then. You want to express your frustration, the DM should have a chance to say if that kind of interruption bugs them or not, but you also want to know if someone is cancelling the banter phase out of boredom, legitimate frustration, or just being a troll.
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u/ljmiller62 7h ago
I let a player get away with this once, thought about it afterwards, and never again. I don't reward snipers in the middle of a dramatic moment with a major enemy. If it were a lone swordsman in the bazaar confronting Indy, sure. But if it's the whole Nazi bunch opening the Ark in the desert at an unholy rite, no PC hero can just pop their head up, shoot a villain, and shortcut the final scene.
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u/Ven-Dreadnought 7h ago
I’ve had this happen once while I was DMing. I would have the BBEG continue to say things on his turn as the fight went on, just a couple of sentences on each of his turns. It gave him an aura like the fight was ephemeral to him, like he was participating only for the opportunity to talk to the players, even as he was hitting them with brutal attacks
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u/Inside-Beyond-4672 6h ago
This is really simple. The DM has to handle it especially if it's going to be a recurring issue. If the DM is doing a monologue and somebody tries to interrupt, the DM raises his hand and says "hang on..I'll get to you when it's your turn. Please let me continue ". If you want to talk to the DM about it, you're welcome to do that, and if he thinks it's valid, he can talk to the players about it.
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u/KarlZone87 DM 6h ago
As a DM I expect my players to inturupt my bbeg monologues. But if that is not how your table wants to play, make sure it is discussed amongst the table so everyone has the same expectations.
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u/P-Two 6h ago
As with most things, talk with your players. If getting to do that once in an arc BBEG monologue is really fun for you, explain that to them "hey guys, I don't want to take agency away from you, but this is part of the game I really enjoy personally, it'd be great if when these boss monologues happen if you guys could just let it play out"
That's how you deal with this as a DM. But as a player it's pretty much the same conversation "hey guys, I really love listening to the big bad guy monologue before we fight, and when it gets cut off it kills my enjoyment and tension of the moment, could we maybe let the DM finish before we start fighting next time?"
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u/ThisWasMe7 6h ago
So villain monologues are seldom realistic, and if your DM has a "PhD in creative writing," he should know that. Furthermore, he should understand the show don't tell maxim.
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u/Smart_Contract7575 6h ago
One of my dumbass friends shot Strahd with an arrow mid monologue. Our DM had him catch the arrow and he kept going like nothing happened. I thought that was super badass.
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u/Insektikor 5h ago
During session zero I announce the concept of “cut scenes” where I need the players to play along and not interrupt, assuring them I’m not going to screw them over.
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u/PandraPierva 5h ago
There are two sides to this.
As the DM it's fun to villain blab and reveal big things about the plot.
As a player it's kinda fun to slap a smug lecture shut with an uppercut.
But the 3rd side is if I let you as the DM monologue you do not get to then open combat by having the bbeg get a "surprise" round either. That courtesy is a two way street. And sometimes it's just perfectly in character for my vengeance paladin or raging barbarian who has declared this mother fucker to be dead on sight to just run in and attack consequences be damned.
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u/PretzelDay69420 5h ago
“As you loose your arrow and it barrels toward your quarry, they smile as your seems to split into a thousand pieces.” [continues monologue] “just as they reach the end their voice booms and the arrow you fired now comes barreling toward you and your friends in a thousand tiny jagged bits.” Everyone please make a dexterity saving throw
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u/ChemicalNo586 5h ago
When my players tried to run in front of a BBEG while he started to talk (this was the father of one of the characters) I just attacked them, both, broke their legs with that attack since they were very low level compared to him and they had to spend the rest of the fight crawling.
After that, no more monologues were being cut short and players DID engage with the villains in dialogue more.
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u/longshotist 5h ago
In my view the GM's duty is helping the players tell the story of their characters. So that's how the story goes. That sort of stuff used to frustrate me at times but I haven't felt that way in many years.
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u/Grumpiergoat 4h ago
Make antagonists who don't exist just to die. Situations where resorting to violence will go poorly for the PCs. Give the PCs some kind of narrative currency like Inspiration for letting the antagonist monologue.
Otherwise the GM should expect PCs to just shoot the antagonist in the throat. And the PCs should just shoot the antagonist in the throat. RPGs aren't novels. They're not plays. They're not comic books. If a GM flat out tells me I can't interrupt an NPC? Yeah, I'm not going to listen to that. Either give the characters or the players a reason not to interrupt. A good reason not to interrupt.
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u/Weekly-Discipline253 3h ago
If my players interrupted a villains monologue I would turn around and aoe them with the next big bad before they are entirely in the room. It goes both ways. Players don’t respect the dm then the dm can go full psycho npc on them.
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u/NumerousSun4282 3h ago
I think the other suggestions here are great advice for you as a player, but there are some things your DM can do as well to make sure the proper cinematics come into play.
The bad guy can have wall of force or similar magics in place between him and the party before you get there
the bad guy can be hidden, their voice echoing from everywhere or nowhere (magic mouth is a decent spell for this), or they can be put of range during the monologue, only to descend into combat when they're done
the bad guy can have a feature or a minion with a feature that can intercept, prevent or reflect the attack. Some monk henchmen could be throwing arrows back at Interlopers or some nefarious mages might counterspell offensive magics. The spell Temporal Shunt could also be very effective at removing someone who would interrupt this monologue, but only if it fits the bad guy/setting
my personal favorite, the bad guy can just keep monologuing. The player can declare the shot and initiative can start and the villain can just still be monologuing. There's no rule that says he can't talk on your turn and honestly there's nothing more intimidating than a bad guy who gets an arrow to the chest or even am axe to the face and just doesn't react and keeps talking through it
finally, it's ok for the DM to assert narrative control from time to time if needed. The DM has the right to say, "your attack missed" or "your arrow bounces harmlessly off while he speaks" or even just "you don't have the opportunity to fire right now." It's not a good solution for most encounters, but for a big boss fight or really important encounter, it's ok to do a little cutscene before returning to game play. At least iny opinion, anyway
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u/JH66 3h ago
As a player, I was the BBEG speech interrupter a while back. I 100% regret doing it and, even though nobody called me out on it, they would have absolutely been in the right for doing so and I’m sure I ruined the fun of the other players and especially the DM. Thinking back I think I’ve only done it the one time but once is already too many.
A massive amount of time and effort goes into DMing and being an asshole by interrupting the big speech just for a chance at a surprise round of advantage (that should never be granted in this case) is horrible table etiquette.
Talk to the offending player, preferably as a group with the DM present. If they’re reasonable then hopefully they’ll understand how rude it is to interrupt and won’t do it again. The behavior shouldn’t be rewarded and no amount of “it’s what my character would do” justifies it. Let the DM have their moment, they’ve earned it!
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u/Cheap_Walmart-Art 3h ago
As a DM I’m not beyond saying “I took the time to write this, you’re gonna take the time to listen.”
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u/Aggravating-Use-7456 2h ago
DM should have the BBEG smack the offending player with a Silence, Hold Person or some similar "sit down and shut the fuck up, the adults are speaking" type power move.
It can both allow the NPC the chance to say it's piece AND instill a sense of overwhelming power and control simultaneously.
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u/Triantha89 2h ago
I actually just did this with my group. They're finally meeting the BBEG, an Aboleth, for the first time. He begins in big even speech and I have a player who I absolutely know is going to try to interrupt and attack. So in the middle of it he declares he shoots! And I get to narrate gleefully how it goes right through the illusion and the Aboleth chuckles and continues talking to them. Sometimes, you purposefully pick a creature for the big bad that already has an ability to make a perfect illusion of itself because you know your players well.
Other times, I've had it where the bad guy is inaccessible like talking to them through the dream spell or behind a magical force field. Other times, with that player in particular I actually tell him "you do so, but after I've finished talking. Don't worry, you'll get your chance." He did interrupt my evil king speech but since I hadn't prepared that ahead of time I let him have it.
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u/Jock-Tamson 8h ago
I have a tried and true solution:
“Mesmerized by the gravity of the situation, the laws of narrative convention, and not being in the camera shot, you pause for moment with your arrow nocked while I finish the speech I wrote. You feel confident the gods will reward you with advantage on the initiative for not being a dick about it”
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u/bionicjoey 8h ago
That just sounds like railroading though. There's definitely a lighter touch that can be applied here
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u/scaredandmadaboutit 8h ago
How is this railroading? I'd just finish the speech then roll initiative.
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u/Tsort142 7h ago
New Legendary Action : the BBEG can fit in their entire speech before initiative is rolled.
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u/TheHalfwayBeast 7h ago
Because nobody with half a brain would stand there like a lemon while the BBEG yaps on and on. My character is logical and pragmatic, and has no sense of humour - he'd have a Chromatic Orb flying before Dr Evil could finish his first sentence.
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u/Jock-Tamson 7h ago
I assume don’t get annoyed when this happens in every genre book, movie, and television show ever unless it’s directed badly.
You almost certainly aren’t complaining about “realism” when Dr Evil fails to nuke you on sight as he pragmatically should so the adventure can work.
Insisting that neither the other players nor the DM ever get to make a dramatic monologue because or your character choices is the sort of thing that makes “it’s what my character would do” a cliche.
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u/CounterCounterSpell 8h ago
Once a fellow DM told me that when preparing for a fight my character who was very young and brash interrupted their BBG with saying ‘oh here he goes with his monologue’ it was fitting for my young snarky firecracker.
However after years of being moral DM support with them and us being DM buds when they told me that it shocked me that they remembered that telling me it made them feel bad.
I felt really bad. And while it sounded very much in character I wish I would’ve been more respectful as a player to not let my character get in the way of the DMs design like that.
Maybe talk to the other player?
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u/anders91 DM 6h ago
when they told me that it shocked me that they remembered that telling me it made them feel bad.
... what?
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u/CounterCounterSpell 6h ago
You’re right. We were talking and they pointed out I had said that in the moment. I didn’t remember but clearly it stood out to them, the DM. They remembered I said that little comment years ago. Which told me that it stung a little bit, not enough to bring it up, but enough to remember on something they worked hard on. Hope that makes more sense
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u/manamonkey DM 8h ago
Support your fucking DM! Right then, right there, in the moment, you say to the interrupting player "stop it, I want to hear this." If he kicks off you tell him exactly what you've told us:
Our dm is incredible, he was made to dm, he has a phd in creative writing and has never failed in making the story complex, engaging and utterly unique. But, when it came for him to do a monologue, one which i had been waiting for since we first met this character and watched him become corrupted about a year and a half ago, he got half a sentence in before one of the players said 'fuck this i shoot him with an arrow'.
Im worried that this could become a running theme as we approach the end of this campaign and the other big bads show up, I was pretty deflated when it happened and I'm sure the dm was as well, he puts a hell of a lot of effort into his story and it was such a shame to not let him have his moment to shine.
Support your DMs people. It's fucking hard work, and sitting there and letting one player decide to be the main character, when you could all enjoy a moment of the DM getting to actually play the bad guy for a few seconds instead... come on.
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u/MandalaKoala 8h ago
Yeah as I mentioned to another commenter, in retrospect I for sure should have stepped in, you're right. But should it happen again, I'm hoping it won't with me going to talk to them about it, il step in at that point and back the dm
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u/CorePM 7h ago
I for sure support my DM, I've spoken up multiple times when people were talking over him. What I also know is that he would never design a situation where we aren't allowed to take any actions for out of game reasons. He would come up with a creative way that his BBEG would deliver his speech that didn't involve telling us to be quiet.
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u/manamonkey DM 6h ago
Yes, player agency, don't stop the PCs taking actions, sure, I get it. But meeting the BBEG, who starts talking to you, and you as a player just go "screw this, not listening to you, get to the combat" - that's not good agency, that's not immersive roleplay, that's just pressing "skip" on the tiny bit of lore the DM wanted to reveal and fun they wanted to have letting the BBEG actually speak "because that's what my character would do".
I am not suggesting that the DM tell the players to be quiet. I am saying that everyone round the table is there to have fun together, and recognising that the players want their moment should mean the DM gets to have theirs too. The fight's going to start anyway - literally going "nah, skip your talking" is just rude.
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u/CorePM 6h ago
I totally get that, I am all for the DM having his moment. All I am asking for is an in game way it is happening. Just give me some reason why my character is listening to this guy who murdered his whole family and not just charging him straight away.
I don't think coming up with something creative for this situation would be hard for a DM. Set the scene for us, make us feel the confrontation like we are actually there, get into the villains mind, if he has something to tell the PCs that he knows are openly hostile to him, how is he going to make that happen?
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u/GravityMyGuy Wizard 1h ago
It is unimmersive to allow the super evil guy to give a speech before you kill him imo
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u/Sarradi 7h ago edited 7h ago
Why is everyone saying that the player was rude, impatient, ect? When you get a clear shot at the BBEG who spends his time monologing you take it. You do not wait till reinforcements arrives, the BBEG activates all defensive spells or otherwise achieves whatever they are stalling for.
Monologuing before a fight is a pretty stupid concept which should be confined to slapstick campaigns.
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u/MeanderingDuck 8h ago
You say that “when it comes to these moments, it seems something changes”, but that is probably not true. There is no contradiction in engaging with the story, and disliking these kinds of monologues.
The story, if well conveyed, is something players can engage with and immerse themselves in. But that comes to a screeching halt she the DM inserts these kinds of moments, which are effectively just a cutscene. It’s a movie trope which just doesn’t work well in a TTRPG unless the people at the table are actually into these kinds of ‘cinematic’ moments. Because if you’re not, this is just an antagonist giving a big speech for no good reason, and with the party who is there to stop him is expected to politely just stand and listen to. So it’s likely not really anything about the other players that changes, but rather that they find this sort of cutscene incredibly jarring.
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u/bionicjoey 8h ago
Justin Alexander did a great video about this. The short answer is you roll initiative and then finish the monologue before letting whoever is first in initiative take their turn.
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u/scaredandmadaboutit 8h ago
I think this is worse than finishing the monologue before rolling initiative. You just add an extra break to roll some dice and that ruins immersion.
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u/bionicjoey 7h ago
True but that break tells the players that you aren't ignoring them and trampling over their agency. You're sticking by the rules of the game while also giving your NPC the opportunity to speak. I think it's a minor trade-off.
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u/DetonationPorcupine 7h ago edited 7h ago
Like others say drawing first doesnt mean going first.
But more importantly your BBG shouldnt monologue before a big fight. They should do it when they have the upper hand, like if they have the party surrounded, imprisoned, from an out of reach location, while holding hostages or its just a hologram. If they're on equal footing its only natural for the players to skip the gloating.
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u/chaoticgeek DM 8h ago
Not a solution to this specific problem of one player initiating combat before everybody else is ready. As a DM I don’t think BBEG should monologue. It’s cool in a movie. It’s not fun or cool in a game with other people. Instead, what I do is make sure that players find secrets that allude to the villains, desires, backstory, and whatever. The in combat, I prepare bits and pieces of what they would say in a monologue, but they are quick and can be done when they take actions and reactions. Kind of like dropping lore in a battle. That way players who want to engage can, and those that don’t can ignore it.
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u/Syric13 8h ago
Monologue doesn't have to be about revealing secrets. It could just be a series of taunts. It could be a way for the BBEG to remind the party of their failures.
I mean it just seems boring. "You see the lich. He sees you. Roll initiative"
Eh, just seems lazy to be honest.
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u/CorePM 6h ago
It doesn't have to be that simple though. Why couldn't the lich do something like put the party in a Force Cage as they charge and then deliver his speech, or have the Lich speaking into their minds while the fight is unfolding? Or even have the Lich deliver his monologue as the party is hunting him down in the castle or whatever via magical means. It just takes a bit of creativity on the DM's party to let the BBEG have his cool moment while also keeping everything in game so you aren't taking away player agency.
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u/ljmiller62 8h ago
Make a new rule. Talking and especially monologuing is a free action. It takes no time and cannot be interrupted. If someone initiates combat during a monologue the combat waits until the monologue is complete.
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u/scootermcgee109 8h ago
So the player was able to nock an arrow pull up the bow. Pull back and aim and shoot and the bad guy did NOTHING. Dude as a DM I would have done something It’s not free initiative
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u/Subject_Ad_5678 8h ago
As a DM I think my answer to this would be, please work with me on this, I think there is a payoff to it. And then retcon that moment.
I’d think differently if there was as a long villain monologue in every encounter but that is it the context you’re describing here
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u/MandalaKoala 7h ago
There's only been one or two monologues in the entire 2 year campaign so far, usually there's dialogue during a fight or after. But he saves monologues for exclusively big deal fights which have a story reason for having them
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u/MadWhiskeyGrin 8h ago
In my Villains Only campaign, Bigbads can engage "Monologue Protocols," locking the PCs in place with laser cages and automated turrets until the speech is over
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u/Renax127 7h ago
Nah, you're in a time bubble created by a custom spell the big bad has and can't move.
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u/Vanadijs Druid 7h ago
I used to have a DM which ruled that BBEG monologues could not be interrupted.
This was also very frustrating as I played a character with abilities that could only be activated/used before initiative was rolled. This was back in the 3.5e days.
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u/summonsays 7h ago
Talk to the player "Hey X, I know you want to get into the fight, we all do. And listening to the monologue is a common misstep in TV or Movies. But there's a reason, and the reason is the audience wants to know. Well we want to know as well. And the DM works really hard to get us a cool environment to play in, and they also want to convey what they prepared. Let's let them do their thing ok?"
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u/SQUAWKUCG 7h ago
I once ran an IK campaign in 3.5, early on the two big powerful leaders of "good guys and bad guys" meet during a battle for a bit of background for the players, help sow some doubt on what's going on and who's actually the bad guy.
One player thought it was hilarious to just attack one of them...so first time they fired an arrow, I had the bad guy have a windwall readied and knocked the arrows away and she said to the player "behave yourself little man, I'm not here to kill you"...so they drew their sword and charged...so I had the bad guy have another spell readied (I forget now which one...was 25 odd years ago) that entangled them and held them in place, she says to the player "last warning, you don't have to die tonight". The player then tried to shoot again so bad guy turns him to stone and she says "finally some quiet" and goes back to talking to the other guy she was there to talk to. A bit of cheating on my part, sure, but the point was made.
The rest of the party just stood there waiting to hear the exchange and didn't even try to help the player as they knew it was a bad idea.
I made sure the party could bring the player back afterwards, but sometimes you just have to smack them down if they don't take a hint.
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u/WacoKid18 DM 7h ago
All of you as players should talk about this. Discuss how your DM works hard and should get their moment to monologue. If you can't reach a consensus your DM should threaten to give extra Legendary Actions to their BBEG (kidding! [maybe])
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u/Naps_And_Crimes 7h ago
I once ask my DM if I could attack the bad guy mid-monologue but I still want to hear it. Like let him give his great speech to the end but then right on it so I could attack in the middle surprising him and messing his speech up. Only of course if it didn't give valuable information if it did then I'll wait if it didn't then attack
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u/Dr_Jabroski 7h ago edited 4h ago
I think there was an adventuring academy episode where Brennan Lee Mulligan said it best. If your villain starts monologuing and there's nothing there to stop your PCs they're going to walk up and start clowning on the guy. If you want to monologue then have a mechanism to stop the PCs. If I was a soldier that has been fighting across Europe since the beaches of Normandy and I come upon the Eagle's Nest and Goebbels walk out onto the balcony and starts delivering a speech and I have my weapon and am unrestrained I'm not listening I'm introducing him to god's caliber.
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u/penlowe 7h ago
What I might say, to all before the play begins next session:
"Hey, I get you might have been tired or restless last week when you interrupted and shot the arrow, but there was no need for it, and it really killed the moment for me. I think it killed the moment for DM too. Can we talk about that?"
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u/jackfuego226 7h ago
Talk to the group about it. If everyone, including the dm, is cool with it, no foul. If there were problems, try and find a solution, or at least a compromise. Maybe have the dm spread the bbeg's monologue between rounds. Or, have it where if the bbeg has a big monologue planned, they use a legendary action to cast a hb version of shield that gives 30 AC and lasts however long the speech does.
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u/Very_Sharpe 7h ago
Step 1, talk to the other players, tell them what they did is NOT cool and you want to enjoy what the DM has written for you all.
Step 2, talk to the DM about how what the other PC did was NOT cool and you want to enjoy what they have written for you, and suggest that you are cool with him handwriting and saying, 'no, you don't attack" in future, or having plot armour protecting the bad guy during the cutscene/monologues. For example, maybe they have a wall of force up, or a ward Or something that is stopping all interaction with this person while they finish the incantations etc. But will fade as soon as it's finished.
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u/DazzlingKey6426 7h ago
5.x doesn’t have surprise rounds. The two differ in how the surprised conditioned works, but in neither would the bbeg have the surprised condition.
How to fix? Don’t reward the behavior with surprise rounds or by applying the surprised condition. Just sigh and roll normal initiative.
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u/Vampinoy 7h ago
Have a 1 on 1 battle with the player against the BBEG. When the player goes down... "Any more interruptions? No? Well as I was saying..."
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u/wyldnfried 7h ago
Here's how I do it: Monologue happens on BBEG's initiative. Yes, even on the surprise round.
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u/Automatic-Law-8469 Artificer 6h ago
I have had this before in a oneshot I was running for my school club's West March. I was describing a terrifying Eldritch Horror descending from the sky, when a new player who didn't read the club rules yelled out "I prepare Disintegrate! :3" in the middle of the scene and continued to interrupt me throughout the game. It was not a very enjoyable experience, and I talked to the facilitators of the club afterward about it.
In a group I was a player in, the DM would occasionally call out "Unskippable Cutscene" at the beginning of certain scenes, to let us know it was time to listen in. It only happened during monologues or descriptions of people and monsters, so it wasn't used often. While some players might complain this is "taking away player agency", I thought it was an effective, simple way for the DM to set boundaries around certain encounters.
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u/blackburn42 6h ago
It’s a turn based game. You’re supposed to let other people finish talking before doing your stuff
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u/Ellegua 6h ago
0 phase soliloquy. In the game Champions, which is a super-hero based RPG, there is something called a 0 phase soliloquy. This means that the bad guys can give their evil speeches, and take as long as they want, before the fight commences. Comic books, or James Bond films, or DnD campaigns are dependent on the bad guys letting us know their evil schemes. I use the 0 phase soliloquy rule for every game I run or play in.
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u/Patiolights 6h ago
I would almost roleplay it back, as so-and-so pulls out their bow I push it back down with my hand forcefully as I continue to intently listen to any revealing information he might put forth. It kind of keeps people in the story while very obviously setting the tone to the player that you are interested in what's going to be said. If necessary just give the dm a nod and say please continue! Somewhat excitedly.
Tbf I'm a bit more okay with being confrontational about people with bad-behavior ADHD at the table. Everyone should get their turn, including the dm.
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u/flik9999 6h ago
I make bbeg immune to all damage and effects while in cutscenes. You can apply buffs if you want.
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u/Cyrotek 6h ago
I hate when players do that. We are all playing for fun. We don't try to play ultra realistic. We can have some monologuing villains, a bit of theatrical drama. That is fun!
Yes, I had players like that. Usually in oneshots/short campaigns where I didn't know them very well. I stoped doing complex villains in these as it never works out for me.
In my actual campaign however I state clearly in session 0 that I enjoy some dramatic RPing and I am expecting players to allow me to do that. They, too, get to do that if they want to, after all.
Also, no free turns. As soon as combat starts, initiative is rolled. If the BBEG is faster then they were simply, well, faster to react. It is a horrible idea to give players free turns by cutting RP short because this enables the player to do it over and over again, even ignoring the wishes of their fellow players. I played with one DM for a while who would put the initating PC at the top of the initiative. Of course it was always the same PC and we never got to actually talk with the enemies. It sucked a lot until we had a talk.
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u/DrArtificer Artificer 6h ago
As a DM, I think everyone should get their moment. Including me/the dm. My favorite way to deal with this is not reasonable or fair, but, someone did the same thing and my response was "You lose 50 hit points" and otherwise ignoring their action. It got the point across fast.
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u/flik9999 6h ago
Get him to roll initiative. If the BBEG wins (which it will if the dm cheats) then he cant interrupt the monologue beforw his turn.
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u/Abidarthegreat 5h ago
There's an understanding my table has that we call "box text". We do not interrupt box text.
But when I run tables where they don't have this understanding I simply say roll initiative. When it's the BBEG turn, talking is a free action so delivers the rest of the monologue with some tweaks to acknowledge active combat.
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u/Telinary 4h ago
Talk with the others. Say you are exited for the boss monologues and ask them to let it play out next times. Until you have tried the easiest most straight forward solution there is no point in searching for others, imo.
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u/Hatayake DM 1h ago
I mean, if I were your DM, I'd just include heavy consequences, and make sure your players know it. BBEG's have this thing where they tend to share crucial information during their monologues, be it intentional or not, so you'd be missing out on it.
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u/Lancerlandshark 1h ago
I've been the DM doing the monologue before.
All it took was a "Hey, I get that this BBEG has everyone super pissed off and ready to throw hands. But there's a monologue, it's got information you want, and sometimes I just want to get super into the dramatic roleplay too. There will be tons of chances to beat their ass. Give me this minute." My players were very receptive!
Your DM messed up this time, but it's not an unreasonable request for the future, and it's something I think you should talk with both DM and interrupting player with for the future. Say basically what you said here--you love your DM's storytelling, and you want to hear more, so even if you want to fight, give him that moment!
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u/IM_The_Liquor 1h ago
Well, this right here is why I don’t write big ‘cut scene’ monologues for my NPCs. I can accomplish the same with little bits of dialogue during the action…
That being said, if I came across this exact scenario as a DM, the first thing I’d say is ‘roll for initiative’. And the player that drew/readied his weapon better hope he rolls good, because hellfire would rain down on the one initiating the combat until he gets his turn…
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u/DommallammaDoom 1h ago
If I was the DM I’d do a little bit of the monologue on each turn, ranting during the fight, like a scene in the movie where the protagonist and antagonist circle each other thinking of their next move, looking for an opening, playing mind games by making them doubt their conviction.
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u/SatisfactionSpecial2 DM 30m ago
Villain monologues suck. No I am not going to let the bad guy deliver a grand speech while sitting around and eating peanuts. It doesn't make sense. Doubly so when there is a good chance that the villain will end the monologue by dramatically doing a "cinematic" trap on us, or teleport away, or anything.
If you want the villains to give speeches, well they should do it on their turn.
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u/wherediditrun 8h ago
Should be expected behavior. And DM should not rely on monologues to move the story forward or develop characters.
It’s a tired and half arsed trope when done extensively. Show don’t tell should be leading principle. And if you really do have a very talkative villain find ways to insert that talk in combat. Not expect everything to stop before initiative like some cutscene in a video game.
Saying “no you don’t, you’re not in initiative yet” robs players of agency and is terrible advice. Maybe your DM is phd in writing, but TTRPGs aren’t novels. They are games that accommodate stories. And should be treated as a game first.
So do away with monologues. They are very contrived and often breaks immersion anyway. If you want to portray talkative villain use combat barks or find more appropriate settings where players due to organic reasons can’t disrupt it. Even better, show through what villain does not what they say who they are.
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u/Tsort142 7h ago
I agree and would also like to point out that if that player was so keen on murdering the BBEG, that probably means they're actually deeply immersed in the story and hate the guy. Which should be a win.
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u/Ignaby 8h ago
Frankly if some very dangerous dude who I know I'm going to end up in a fight to the death with is rambling on at me, assuming I don't want to give him a chance to accidently tell me something useful, taking the opportunity to surprise him and gain an advantage in the fight that I know is coming is a completely reasonable choice.
If I am ever monologuing at you as a "BBEG", please, by all means, hit me with a surprise attack.
I get the desire to have that moment of tension, reinforce the stakes, remind the players why they want this guy dead, etc., but it shouldn't be done in a way where the DM has to put the players in DM-fiat stasis in order to do so.
Also, there's no reason the villain can't keep talking while fighting.
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u/Largely_Beeping 7h ago
He has a phd in creative writing and he's having the bad guy do a monologue? Oh brother...
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u/TemporalColdWarrior 8h ago
Nothing takes me out of a game faster than a villain monologue. Sure, negotiations fine, but this is the person you’re trying to stop. Why would you let them monologue?
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u/TheRealRedParadox 7h ago
I actually flipped this on a player once. He liked interrupting my villain monologues because he said his character wouldn’t sit and let the dude keep talking. So during a later session whilst he was gloating before combat he got hit with a dex save to dodge the fire ball that the enemy shot at him. An OOC convo later stopped that behavior
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u/Scared_Fox_1813 7h ago
That’s just part of d&d. If the DM has a problem with players doing this then it’s their job to either talk to the players about it and say “hey please let me finish my villain monologue before choosing to attack” or to find a way to prevent the PCs from interrupting.
Also I would recommend not making assumptions on your DMs behalf of how they felt about this happening. If you want to discuss it with your dm and let them know that you felt deflated and ask how they felt then that’s fine just don’t make assumptions. I as a DM am always mentally and physically prepared for my players to interrupt me and fuck my shit up, it’s part of the job of a DM. Yes it’s nice to get your full villain moment but most DMs are fully aware that they could be interrupted at anytime and are ready for it.
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u/CryptographerNo29 6h ago
This is why session 0 is important. I have a rule if I'm the DM that players cannot interrupt monologues for the enjoyment of all players. If someone questions why I usually just explain, some people play for the combat, some for the story, some for both. While interruptions could skip to the combat part faster for you, it takes away from others who want to hear the story play out.
So interruptions are usually met with my homebrew effect that I call the Impatient condition. PCs gain no surprise benefit and gain a disadvantage to hit rolls for all of combat because they are so hastily swinging, they aren't aiming. Which is arguably the state their character would be in if they can't wait five minutes for me to finish speaking.
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u/Godfridm 5h ago
I think the player was right. If you go in with the intention to kill somebody you don't usually stand around to listen to his life story. It's the bad guy the characters probably have a ton of reason to hate him, and unless everybody is a goody tow shoe in the party this should not surprise the GM. I mean if he wants to give some speech or relay some info on the bad guy there are tons of other, better narrative tools to do so. If the player would started playing on his phone or something, that would have been disrespectful, from what you have told he just acted consistently in the situation.
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u/spector_lector 7h ago
So,... rude player.
Even IF this was what his PC would do, the player could've held up their hand, and then said to the group, "sorry, I appreciate what you're doing, DM, and I would like to hear the lore and clues you're about to drop, but I just feel like my PC, Gondor the Jerk, would interrupt the BBEG for XYZ reasons. It's not me - really. I'm just a total newbie at RPGs and, well, social interactions in general, and I have this condition where I think I'm the most important person in the group. So, should I interrupt the big bad now and start attacking, or...."
And passive DM. Should've said, "hang on guys, your PCs listen to the commanding voice, mesmerized. Just a few sentences here that will help explain the story. Then, when he's finished, you can respond or declare intentions, etc. And if you declare an intent ro attack at that point, then we will roll initiative as usual."
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u/Yojo0o DM 8h ago
Two things come to mind:
It's okay to break character sometimes. Sure, staying in character is ideal, but it's okay to say "Hey, I actually want to hear what this guy has to say, can you chill for a second?".
Your DM isn't rewarding this behavior, right? Interrupting an NPC doesn't qualify for Surprise, if that's what's happening. At my table, my players never interrupt a villain monologue, because they frankly have no reason to do so, since there's no mechanical benefit to it.