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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Majoru Oakheart" data-source="post: 6412295" data-attributes="member: 5143">I'm not in disagreement.  I think that players need clues to figure out puzzles.  But I think that not every puzzle being able to be solved immediately is a good thing.  If the puzzle in a movie or TV show was solved the second it came up every time, they'd be very boring.The answers to most of these questions involve understanding the whys behind this adventure.  I can explain but it requires deep spoilers for Murder in Baldur's Gate:[SPOILER]In the adventure, the point is that Bhaal(the god of Murder) is almost coming back to life.  His essence was scattered in the city itself, so because of that, his presence is especially strong within the city.  He is using his power to manipulate the feelings of everyone in the city subtly.  Though he has the most direct influence over 3 NPCs in the city:  The second in charge of the thieves guild, the guy in charge of the Flaming Fist(who is the mercenary organization that essentially the police force in town) and one of the 3 remaining Dukes in the city.All 3 of these NPCs have things that they are really irritated about and Bhaal is playing on those rivalries, fears, and angers to make them stronger and stronger as the adventure goes on.  All 3 of the NPCs attempt to use the PCs as pawns in their plans to make sure they come out on top and their enemies are defeated.  The Duke wants the thieves guild eliminated.  He wants the non-nobility put in their place as lesser than the nobles.  He is manipulating all the other nobles behind the scenes so that they will pass laws that will put the common people in their place.The PCs in question were attempting to ask him to overturn those laws under the basis that they were bad for the common people.  That was precisely the point of creating those laws.The guards they were convincing to stop harassing people were acting on direct orders from the leader of their organization to get rid of all the dock workers since they were immigrants who were obviously causing all the crime in the city and they needed to go home.  Most of the Flaming Fist feel the same way as their leader since racial tensions are high in the city.  They were told that the recent crime wave was caused by these people and were trying to convince them to leave.Yes, there was a chance to convince them but the player in question REALLY got annoyed when it was hard to convince them.[/spoiler]I agree, to a point.  You want to say yes when possible, but you don't want to say yes constantly or your players will walk all over you.  It's impossible to have a mystery if the facts in your game keep changing because the players want them to.  If you have a description of the wizard in question already planned out and he doesn't have a beard, that doesn't change because the players want it to.  If the answer to a puzzle is to touch yellow, yellow, green, red...the order doesn't change because the players want it to.There needs to be a balance between players getting what they want and the facts of the D&D world.  For instance, that player wanting to be a Warforged.  I said we were playing in FR and there are no Warforged in the FR so I wasn't allowing it.  The player wasn't happy but I think it enhances the overall experience of the game to live and play in a consistent world with defined boundaries.I didn't prepare the second half of the adventure because our group died and I stopped DMing part way through the adventure.  So, my understanding of the second half is a little vague.Spoilers again for Scourge of the Sword Coast:[SPOILER]The point is mostly foreshadowing.  The PCs get to town and are asked to find a missing magic artifact.  Also, when they arrive a guard attacks them and then later commits suicide in his cell.  But the main mission is to find the artifact, that's what they were asked to do.  The PCs can take it upon themselves to investigate the suicide and determine that something was suspicious but for all intents and purposes, it appears to have nothing to do with the theft of the artifact.  The succubus in question had dominated the guard as part of her plot to steal the artifact, however.  And when the adventurers shows up, she was concerned she'd be found and dominated the guard to attack them.  Then, in order to make sure she wasn't found out, she dominated him again to commit suicide.The succubus wants them dead because she works for the Red Wizards of Thay who are operating nearby as part of their mission to conquer the Sword Coast.  They view the PCs as a threat and want them eliminated.  But without drawing attention to them.  Charming one, most likely wouldn't work as he wouldn't be able to kill the rest.  Also, there's a possibility it doesn't work and she gets discovered.  She's a good spy for the Red Wizards in the city and doesn't want to blow her cover.It's also meant to foreshadow when the PCs run into the Red Wizards later and the Succubus reveals herself.  I find foreshadowing helps a plot seem much more interesting.  I love feeling like a storyline is all tied together and isn't just a collection of unrelated events.[/spoiler]</blockquote>

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