The goblin is just using its resources to counter what the player characters do. If a goblin shaman uses cure wounds to undo the fighter's sword damage, is it stripping the fighter of agency? Of course not. (And, they need to have some kind of information to make those decisions more meaningful than random guesses).īoth is the case here: the player could freely decide, and the result - stripping Strahd of the ability to ever use wish again - has a big, meaningful impact on the game world. Player agency means that the character had control over their decisions, and these decisions affect the game world. It's not denying agency if opponents use their resources to counter character actions I've only been playing D&D for a short time (a few months), so maybe I just don't get it. Is this the DM unfairly removing player agency, or a reasonable counter a BBEG like Strahd could do? The player who did this also has a wish scroll themselves that they could use to try and counter what Strahd did if they really wanted to. I can see how this might be a little frustrating, but to me, making him waste his wish spell doing this is a success in and of itself. The player who managed to steal the eye is very upset with this and feels like their character's actions were overwritten unfairly. Strahd succeeded but can never use wish again, along with being weakened from its use. We made it out safely (barely) and the session ended.ĭuring the next session Strahd used a wish spell to revive the brides that were killed because he needed them for some ritual and rolled to also banish the beholders so they were never within Barovia in the first place using the wish. This allowed the beholders, who we previously communicated with, to attack and kill several of his brides and assist us in destroying Strahd's heart. One of the party managed to steal a beholder eye from Strahd that he was using to control a group of beholders and use them as his minions. White had opened the door before Mr.Our party infiltrated Ravenloft in a Curse of Strahd campaign. What do you think Herbert would have looked like if Mrs.Do you agree with the classification? Why or why not? 'The Monkey's Paw' is considered a work of supernatural fiction.How would this story have been different if it were set in the present day?.How essential is setting to the story? Could the story have taken place anywhere else?.Are the characters consistent in their actions? Are they fully developed?.How does Jacobs use foreshadowing in this story? Was it effective in building a sense of dread, or did you find it melodramatic and predictable?.Is there a work of Poe's this story closely relates to? What other works of fiction does 'The Monkey's Paw' evoke? This story has been compared to the works of Edgar Allan Poe.Is the central theme of the story simply, 'Be careful what you wish for,' or are there broader implications?.Why do you think Jacobs chose a monkey's paw as the talisman? Is there symbolism attached to a monkey that isn't associated with another animal?.How does he reveal which characters are trustworthy and reliable, and which ones may not be?

This is a very short story, and Jacobs has a lot to do in very little time to achieve his goals.

Setting of monkeys paw