(Some of) my players are trying to role play in a meta-gaming sort of way.
For instance, I had an array of weapons in a dungeon, and when they took them, they had to make a Wisdom saving throw, else they feel ridiculously guilty and take 1d4 psychic damage. A few of the players tried continuously take stuff down, even though they had failed the Wis save. I tried to discourage them from this a few times, but they seemed to meta-game in the sense that: "Oh boy, my level 3 character has 21 hit points left. I'll take another one."
I was inspired by an episode of Critical Role I'd seen where a character had to make a wisdom saving throw when he killed someone with fire. He failed, and the DM described how he kinda felt guilty, and as a good RPer, the character spent the rest of the day somewhat depressed and guilty, but everyone at the table looked like they were enjoying it. But my players were willingly hurting themselves for a little more loot, in spite of the intended effects of the trap. I was trying to give them the cues that they should feel guilty, drop the longsword and walk away, but they seem to think about it in a different way.
To clarify, the guilt is magically induced.
Am I, as a DM, allowed to tell the players what they do when they are affected in this way?
If not, how am I supposed to imply that they should drop the weapon and walk away? And in a different scenario, how am I supposed to imply the harshness/the to what effect of the magic?
Are there any compromises between the two?
Best Answer
You do not control your players and cannot make them do things they do not enjoy
This is a cardinal rule of DMing. You are not the only person at the gaming table. If your players do not want to play a particular way, you cannot force them to (at least, not for very long, before they quit).
You thought that what you saw a player do in Critical Role was cool, and are wondering how to get your players to do that for you. You can't. The best you can do is get them to watch the same Critical Role episode and hope that they have the same reaction you do, and decide to want to do it for themselves.
That said, mechanically, there are two ways to handle magical mind control, and you should prefer the one that fits your players better.
Option 1: Use your powers of description to help them get into character while mind controlled.
This works well for players that already want to roleplay partial mind control, or who are at least willing to try it.
Most players are not actors. If you tell them their character feels guilty, they may have a hard time getting into character with that. To help them get into character, you use strong and emotional descriptions. Don't just tell them that they feel guilty, tell them what guilty feels like.
Then, if they go along with it, give them inspiration.
Option 2: Dictate the full and complete effects of it to your players*
D&D has a lot of mechanics which punish players with heavy things (like dead characters) if they fail an encounter. This creates an expectation in some groups that player characters will, most of the time, cooperate and do what is best for the team, and anything else feels like a betrayal to the other players at the table.
Such players will not choose to act in a way that is against what they perceive to be the party's best interest. If you have such a group, present the complete effects of the control you are exerting, and make it clear what actions they are allowed to take or not take, and then leave them free to roleplay their character as they like in the space that remains.
When they fail the wisdom save, you say:
Then, if they try to take the weapons again, do not let them repeat their save, instead, re-iterate the effect of the previous failed save, and make it clear that you won't budge.
That said, you should only dictate emotions if they come from a magical source
In most circumstances, players are the final authority of their character's inner life. Dictating emotions or actions from a character without a clear external force acting on them is robbing them of their one and only source of narrative control within the game. Don't do it.
If you want them to feel guilty for a reason besides magical mind control, give them a reason to feel guilty, then accept however they choose to roleplay in the face of that reason.