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<blockquote data-quote="D'karr" data-source="post: 6012391" data-attributes="member: 336">I think I understand what you mean now for &quot;exploratory&quot;.&nbsp; What I still don't understand is how 4e hinders, or in some way doesn't lend itself to it.&nbsp; With 4e I, as the DM, have more tools at my disposal to adjudicate, but the players still retain the &quot;control&quot; of how they decide to &quot;investigate&quot; the environment.&nbsp; I guess I don't see a difference because I've done it (exploratory play) with every edition from Moldvay to 4e.With your White Plume example, if the PCs came up with the idea of surfing on the doors that can become an auto-success on an extended skill challenge, or it can simply be an use of the &quot;easy&quot; button to bypass the challenge.&nbsp; I can use the mechanics or not, at will.&nbsp; Maybe that's why I don't find it any different.&nbsp; This is also one of the reasons my players use rituals, a lot.&nbsp; Rituals, many times, allow the players to press the &quot;easy&quot; button.&nbsp; I remember at one time having this &quot;challenge&quot; plotted out of how they would traverse the wilderness and how long it would take.&nbsp; Well, they decided to use the Phantom Steed ritual and all of a sudden that challenge went away.&nbsp; They pressed the &quot;easy&quot; button.I think one of the misconceptions is that players always want to engage with the environment.&nbsp; There are times that they become hyper-focused on a specific piece of information and become obsessive with the &quot;exploration&quot;.&nbsp; At other times they simply bypass it entirely.&nbsp; I simply play it by ear.&nbsp; I call it the &quot;sometimes lava is just lava&quot; effect in reference to the comic strip by Scott Kurtz.&nbsp; Unfortunately my google-fu failed me and I couldn't find the particular strip to illustrate.When I ask my players what do you want to do, I'm literally asking for the direction and manner in which they want to &quot;explore&quot;.&nbsp; If they say something like &quot;we're headed down these catacombs until we find something interesting&quot;, that is my cue to bypass all exploration filler, and get to the meat.&nbsp; The meat in this case might be the &quot;interesting&quot; room, or a particular combat.&nbsp; At other times they go, &quot;I'd like to take a closer look at that statue, etc.&quot;, that is my cue for switching gears.-</blockquote>

[QUOTE="D'karr, post: 6012391, member: 336"] I think I understand what you mean now for "exploratory". What I still don't understand is how 4e hinders, or in some way doesn't lend itself to it. With 4e I, as the DM, have more tools at my disposal to adjudicate, but the players still retain the "control" of how they decide to "investigate" the environment. I guess I don't see a difference because I've done it (exploratory play) with every edition from Moldvay to 4e. With your White Plume example, if the PCs came up with the idea of surfing on the doors that can become an auto-success on an extended skill challenge, or it can simply be an use of the "easy" button to bypass the challenge. I can use the mechanics or not, at will. Maybe that's why I don't find it any different. This is also one of the reasons my players use rituals, a lot. Rituals, many times, allow the players to press the "easy" button. I remember at one time having this "challenge" plotted out of how they would traverse the wilderness and how long it would take. Well, they decided to use the Phantom Steed ritual and all of a sudden that challenge went away. They pressed the "easy" button. I think one of the misconceptions is that players[B] always [/B]want to engage with the environment. There are times that they become hyper-focused on a specific piece of information and become obsessive with the "exploration". At other times they simply bypass it entirely. I simply play it by ear. I call it the [I]"sometimes lava is just lava" effect[/I] in reference to the comic strip by Scott Kurtz. Unfortunately my google-fu failed me and I couldn't find the particular strip to illustrate. When I ask my players what do you want to do, I'm literally asking for the direction and manner in which they want to "explore". If they say something like "we're headed down these catacombs until we find something interesting", that is my cue to bypass all exploration filler, and get to the meat. The meat in this case might be the "interesting" room, or a particular combat. At other times they go, "I'd like to take a closer look at that statue, etc.", that is my cue for switching gears. - [/QUOTE]

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