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Gaming session lessons: why moving slow is important all the time, and the kid learns kiting
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<blockquote data-quote="iserith" data-source="post: 6543318" data-attributes="member: 97077"><p>As burrowing monsters, it's probably fair to say that the ground is providing them the fictional context to justify a Dexterity (Stealth) check to hide.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>It is exceedingly easy to justify how and why a monster might be hiding and waiting in ambush, especially a "lurker in the earth" like an ankheg with its tremorsense and a party bumbling headlong into its territory at normal pace with feet pounding the ground all the way. Other monsters could similarly be given fictional justification to be in the position to surprise adventurers. Fiction is easy to come up with.</p><p></p><p>However, my position is that it is not a fair challenge (and is fake difficulty) when the DM fails to fictionally telegraph the threat in a way that provides an opportunity for the players to discern that there is some threat in the area and that caution is warranted.</p><p></p><p>As I mentioned above, I would have described collapsed earthen tunnels, a husk of molted chitin, a partially eaten orc in a puddle of acrid bile, or the like. This would encourage the players to engage with the exploration pillar of the game - check out the tunnels, the husk, the corpse - the investigation of which may allow them to make deductions about threats in the area based on what they learn (with or without ability checks depending on the uncertainty or certainty of their stated actions). Based on their findings, they might opt to be more cautious and slow their pace. Or they might ignore that telegraphing or make the wrong deductions and carry on. Or they might decide to haul ass away from the area.</p><p></p><p>The key thing here is that the DM created an opportunity to interact with the environment and for the players to make meaningful decisions about what to do. The ankhegs might still get the drop on the PCs even in this scenario depending on what the players say they want to do, but at least they had a chance to avoid or prepare for the danger. It turns a potential "gotcha" into a scene that builds the tension and allows for meaningful decisions.</p><p></p><p>Now, the OP seems to not do this (or at least not all the time as I would), relying upon meta communication (if you will) to warn players that they should be more cautious. The player skill then becomes reading your DM and taking action accordingly. That's fair enough if that's how they normally do things at that table. It's just not what I'd do.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="iserith, post: 6543318, member: 97077"] As burrowing monsters, it's probably fair to say that the ground is providing them the fictional context to justify a Dexterity (Stealth) check to hide. It is exceedingly easy to justify how and why a monster might be hiding and waiting in ambush, especially a "lurker in the earth" like an ankheg with its tremorsense and a party bumbling headlong into its territory at normal pace with feet pounding the ground all the way. Other monsters could similarly be given fictional justification to be in the position to surprise adventurers. Fiction is easy to come up with. However, my position is that it is not a fair challenge (and is fake difficulty) when the DM fails to fictionally telegraph the threat in a way that provides an opportunity for the players to discern that there is some threat in the area and that caution is warranted. As I mentioned above, I would have described collapsed earthen tunnels, a husk of molted chitin, a partially eaten orc in a puddle of acrid bile, or the like. This would encourage the players to engage with the exploration pillar of the game - check out the tunnels, the husk, the corpse - the investigation of which may allow them to make deductions about threats in the area based on what they learn (with or without ability checks depending on the uncertainty or certainty of their stated actions). Based on their findings, they might opt to be more cautious and slow their pace. Or they might ignore that telegraphing or make the wrong deductions and carry on. Or they might decide to haul ass away from the area. The key thing here is that the DM created an opportunity to interact with the environment and for the players to make meaningful decisions about what to do. The ankhegs might still get the drop on the PCs even in this scenario depending on what the players say they want to do, but at least they had a chance to avoid or prepare for the danger. It turns a potential "gotcha" into a scene that builds the tension and allows for meaningful decisions. Now, the OP seems to not do this (or at least not all the time as I would), relying upon meta communication (if you will) to warn players that they should be more cautious. The player skill then becomes reading your DM and taking action accordingly. That's fair enough if that's how they normally do things at that table. It's just not what I'd do. [/QUOTE]
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Gaming session lessons: why moving slow is important all the time, and the kid learns kiting
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