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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Rhenny" data-source="post: 6838866" data-attributes="member: 18333">This here does reminds me of many times in games I've DMd or played.  It is so easy for a DM (me included) to think that a situation is easy to "sus" out or understand, but often for many reasons, players will not always think about the obvious or even more intricate ways to interact with a scene.  For me, it often happened when our games became less frequent so there were longer breaks between games (where people would forget a lot about the campaign story or their own characters even), or when we played too long in any one session and we started getting tired or less patient.  As a rule, once the players in my campaign make some logical decisions, I try to give them every benefit of the doubt.  I don't hold them as accountable for "their words", I hold them more accountable for their "intent."   Iserith and Bawylie have mentioned lots about incorporating this into player declaration of action.   It isn't enough for the DM to know what the PC is doing.  The DM should also know what the PCs intent is.  Knowing that the player is having his PC look for guards will free me up to add some additional information.   If I know the guards are not in view at that moment, I may even ask "how long do you look?" or I may ask for a perception check and if the result is high enough, the PC might see a small smoldering campfire or a pack that seems to be hastily discarded and left on the ground, or even some deep foot prints walking around the building.  More info is always helpful, and the only way the DM can really give what the player is looking for is if the player makes the PCs intention clear.Part of what I think both DMs and players have to keep in mind is that most people play D&D as a fantasy escape narrative that uses rules to adjudicate situations rather than a simulation that uses rules to adjudicate situations.  Imposing too many demands for specific player knowledge/description of action leans more towards simulation, and at times, some players, will find this a drain/frustrating.</blockquote>

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