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If he can. Not much of a king if he immediately leaves his people behind to go off on (what to his people would look like) pursuits of his own. Now if he could get the whole Barbarian tribe to come along and help, that'd be hella cool; assuming you're willing to DM an adventuring party with a...

Further to the notion of showing the players my notes, I just remembered one fairly recent example where I not only showed them the notes, I posted them online for people's amusement. Situation: an all-day gonzo all-star game two years ago in celebration of session 1000 of the campaign...

The list is a list of things I want to buy, not things I will buy. I've no way of knowing whether they'll all be available at a price I'm willing to pay until I get there and look - or, if sensorily-deprived as per you example - ask. Further, there might be things not on my list that I'll pick...

Yes, but the "something" still hasn't encountered you - if your sneaking was successful it still doesn't know you exist. To be an actual rather than potential encounter IMO there has to be some sort of two-way interaction. Doesn't have to be combat necessarily; discussions, bribes, riddle...

Sure you can have a list; and you'll already have an idea of at least some of what the store contains before you get there*. That said, there's no guarantee the store can fill your list entirely: they might be out of eggs today and might never carry the type of tea you're after. * - in game...

You don't - which means you can either ask about everything or pick your spots. Most players IME pick their spots, sometimes correctly, sometimes red herrings. In my tavern example above, my guess is that most players would key on the possibly-criminal patrons and ask more about those. I may...

I can't remember the last time anyone asked to see the notes or module after playing through an adventure I'd just DMed. Gotta be 30 years or more. If asked, I'd show them, with three exceptions: 1. If there's any real likelihood of the PCs returning to the site and there's things there still...

Depends on the goals. In the game I play in, one of my characters has a long-term goal that, were the DM to cater play towards it, would likely become the primary or even sole focus of play probably for the rest of the campaign. And so, wisely, the DM doesn't do that; my character has to...

It occurs to me that it is in 1e, just not using that exact term. On rereading the relevant bits of the DMG (you quoted them upthread somewhere) the piece about "tricking or outwitting monsters" leaped out, as that covers sneaking past them and-or other ways of avoiding actually encountering...

I think it starts and stops right here. The issue with goals is that those goals IME often either directly conflict or try to lead the party in completely different directions, meaning that if the DM wants to tailor something to one character's goal it comes at the expense of either ignoring or...

Unless, as many 1e tables did even before 2e came along, xp-for-gp was either greatly reduced or dropped outright.

If something about that environment (e.g. the dockside tavern you're in) interests you-as-player, ask for more detail about it. If not, move on to a different environment (e.g. down to the docks to check out the ships). Sure, it could...if you don't mind listening to the DM give a half-hour...

Which then puts it on you to ask about the availability and-or prices of the specific things on your shopping list. The Guide Merchant, to begin with, doesn't know what you - as opposed to all the other shoppers - are specifically there to buy today; so the only useful up-front info he can give...

If the NPCs in the tavern were the only possible source of this information then sure, one can't blame the players for not interacting with what otherwise might have seemed a bunch of randos in a pub. If, however, the info was potentially and relatively easily available from various sources but...

The problem is the OP's use of "narrative", as far as I can tell, has little-to-nothing to do with capital-N Narrativism as espoused by game theory wonks; and is thus perhaps a poor choice of terms (though whether there's a better alternative is an open question). The other thing that's causing...

Exactly. They didn't just fail, they outright blew it up in their own faces (as reflected by the Nat 1 on the die); and the consequences were therefore more extreme. Makes perfect sense to me.

The nearest thing to a megadungeon I've run in the last very long time is Dark Tower, which while fairly big still doesn't meet my "mega" threshold. It ain't ToEE or Castle Zagyg or Ruins of Undermountain, that's for sure. :) My average is usually 40-50 rooms or areas plus surrounding...

They saw the potential for an encounter and avoided it. The way I see it (and I might be alone in this, no-one else has mentioned it) it's not an encounter until both parties are aware of it. Before that, when only one party is aware, it's a potential encounter; and potential encounters can be...

Now you've really got me wondering where I saw written Gygax words to the effect of bypassing or avoiding a known threat (e.g. sneaking past some guards rather than fighting them) brings equal xp that defeating that threat would bring. I know for sure we didn't make that up ourselves. A Draogn...

Not every moment, but if they're travelling I'll always narrate each day's weather and ask if there's anything they want to do along the way other than simple travelling. Unless they have something in mind for a day* or the weather is bad enough to cause concern this takes maybe ten seconds...