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<blockquote data-quote="Pbartender" data-source="post: 4957804" data-attributes="member: 7533">Right, but much of that can be in the presentation and implementation.Here's a secret little trick, though...The appearance of danger can provide just as much dramatic tension in the game even if the actual danger is minimal.&nbsp; In other words, the actual difficulty of the challenge, numbers-wise, may be minimal, but if the players think that their characters are in danger, they'll act accordingly.&nbsp; And there's never any dissappointment, if they never actually realize how easily they blew through that paper obstacle.Behind the screen, the DM knows it's a paper obstacle.&nbsp; Fromthe other side, the players think they triumphed over adversity.&nbsp; It's not alwasy easy to pull off and many people think it's a dirty trick, but it sure does work well.Sure, but we could do that here, with the apprpriate types of hazard/traps.Consider this:We've got geyers that peroidically blast nearby squares with boiling hot acid (or whatever).&nbsp; If the characters stay too long in one place, they get hit. But, gives each of the geysers a different pattern of eruption.&nbsp; The PCs will have to time their jumps just right to get across without getting hit.On top of that, the platforms they need to leapfrog across are wobbly and slippery.&nbsp; If they aren't careful, they may end up falling prone or sliding toward the edge of the platform on a failed Athletics or Acrobatics check.How do you get everyone across, when in all likelyhood not everyone is good at Atheletics or Acrobatics?&nbsp; Time for some critical thinking on the part of the players.So, once they've entered the room, the geysers provide all the impetus you need to keep the PCs moving through, and slips on the disks will provide all the tension you need.&nbsp; The only other thing you need is a way to keep from going back the way they came.It's all a means to an end, eh?</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Pbartender, post: 4957804, member: 7533"] Right, but much of that can be in the presentation and implementation. Here's a secret little trick, though... The appearance of danger can provide just as much dramatic tension in the game even if the actual danger is minimal. In other words, the actual difficulty of the challenge, numbers-wise, may be minimal, but if the players think that their characters are in danger, they'll act accordingly. And there's never any dissappointment, if they never actually realize how easily they blew through that paper obstacle. Behind the screen, the DM knows it's a paper obstacle. Fromthe other side, the players think they triumphed over adversity. It's not alwasy easy to pull off and many people think it's a dirty trick, but it sure does work well. Sure, but we could do that here, with the apprpriate types of hazard/traps. Consider this: We've got geyers that peroidically blast nearby squares with boiling hot acid (or whatever). If the characters stay too long in one place, they get hit. But, gives each of the geysers a different pattern of eruption. The PCs will have to time their jumps just right to get across without getting hit. On top of that, the platforms they need to leapfrog across are wobbly and slippery. If they aren't careful, they may end up falling prone or sliding toward the edge of the platform on a failed Athletics or Acrobatics check. How do you get everyone across, when in all likelyhood not everyone is good at Atheletics or Acrobatics? Time for some critical thinking on the part of the players. So, once they've entered the room, the geysers provide all the impetus you need to keep the PCs moving through, and slips on the disks will provide all the tension you need. The only other thing you need is a way to keep from going back the way they came. It's all a means to an end, eh? [/QUOTE]

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