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<blockquote data-quote="Janx" data-source="post: 5724695" data-attributes="member: 8835">It's always funny about what people don't see as &quot;not a concern&quot;If a player asks for something totally stupid, incompatible, game breaking, most GMs will say No.Because of this, those kind of requests aren't a concern.&nbsp; The answer is inherently obvious.&nbsp; If the player asks if he may carve out your kidney and sell it on the internet under your mom's name*, you will of course say &quot;No.&quot;*because it would be painful, deadly and is a federal crime that could put your mom in jail, not your player.Once you eliminate the part where the answer is so obvious, what remains is the area that does matter.&nbsp; Namely, the part where you really have to make a decision.If we're in a space ship, and I ask if there's an air duct in this room, you've got to answer it.&nbsp; It's not unreasonable that an airduct might exist in this room.&nbsp; Will it be people sized? Alien sized?If the bad guy just took off across town, and you obviously want to catch him, you might ask if there's a shortcut.&nbsp; and the GM has to answer that.&nbsp; If the city map is complex, the player may have a valid point that a shortcut might exist and he might know of it better than the NPC.Personally, my gut reaction is to default to No, until I give the matter some thought.&nbsp; Nobody ever had the players goof up the game by saying &quot;No.&quot;&nbsp; That's not really true, but it's a logic trap to get into.And 9/10 RailRoad GMs say &quot;No&quot; to keep the train on the tracks.&nbsp; Saying &quot;Yes&quot; usually opens up paths that allow your PCs to escape, so &quot;No.&quot; is a pretty powerful tool.Before I answer, I try to consider where the question is really going.&nbsp; If Yes would be a pretty likely answer (most space ships do have airducts) then I'll have to say Yes or roll for it if it's not so probable.&nbsp; If it &quot;breaks&quot; the challenge, i chalk that up to my mistake for not planning on that detail.if &quot;Yes&quot; is something that isn't pretty likely, but not impossible, I might say no, or roll a pretty low probabilty check.&nbsp; I justify &quot;No&quot; in that case of why complicate the situation by adding something that probably isn't here anyway.For some things where I said &quot;No.&quot; I might add them later.&nbsp; So the current room doesn't have an airduct, but the adjacent room does (perhaps relying on natural air movement).</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Janx, post: 5724695, member: 8835"] It's always funny about what people don't see as "not a concern" If a player asks for something totally stupid, incompatible, game breaking, most GMs will say No. Because of this, those kind of requests aren't a concern. The answer is inherently obvious. If the player asks if he may carve out your kidney and sell it on the internet under your mom's name*, you will of course say "No." *because it would be painful, deadly and is a federal crime that could put your mom in jail, not your player. Once you eliminate the part where the answer is so obvious, what remains is the area that does matter. Namely, the part where you really have to make a decision. If we're in a space ship, and I ask if there's an air duct in this room, you've got to answer it. It's not unreasonable that an airduct might exist in this room. Will it be people sized? Alien sized? If the bad guy just took off across town, and you obviously want to catch him, you might ask if there's a shortcut. and the GM has to answer that. If the city map is complex, the player may have a valid point that a shortcut might exist and he might know of it better than the NPC. Personally, my gut reaction is to default to No, until I give the matter some thought. Nobody ever had the players goof up the game by saying "No." That's not really true, but it's a logic trap to get into. And 9/10 RailRoad GMs say "No" to keep the train on the tracks. Saying "Yes" usually opens up paths that allow your PCs to escape, so "No." is a pretty powerful tool. Before I answer, I try to consider where the question is really going. If Yes would be a pretty likely answer (most space ships do have airducts) then I'll have to say Yes or roll for it if it's not so probable. If it "breaks" the challenge, i chalk that up to my mistake for not planning on that detail. if "Yes" is something that isn't pretty likely, but not impossible, I might say no, or roll a pretty low probabilty check. I justify "No" in that case of why complicate the situation by adding something that probably isn't here anyway. For some things where I said "No." I might add them later. So the current room doesn't have an airduct, but the adjacent room does (perhaps relying on natural air movement). [/QUOTE]

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