Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="iserith" data-source="post: 7801301" data-attributes="member: 97077">Really it just looks like you're talking about a preference and adding embellishment here. That there is a hallway is sufficient to state a goal and approach for the players. It's boring, sure, and more detail is better in my view, too. Still, the players can have their characters do stuff even with that little context and the DM can narrate the result of those actions, then repeat the play loop. Perhaps as a result of the PCs' actions, the basic scope of options has changed and there's now revealed environment for the DM to describe.It has little to do with the DM's desire to have the players take any particular course of action. It perhaps gives the DM the satisfaction of knowing that he or she runs a fair game without "gotchas" that encourages players to pay attention to gain a better chance of success. It potentially removes the impetus for standard operating procedures which by virtue of their rote nature can be a little stale. To some degree it forces the DM to be more descriptive, hopefully without becoming ponderous, which lends itself to a more immersive experience.The DM decides what is obvious and what is not obvious. There is nothing that is by default not obvious. And telegraphing isn't making anything obvious - it's just a clue in the environment. The blood stain on the wall opposite the door. An acrid smell in the air of an otherwise empty chamber. A hollow sound when traversing the stone floor. These things invite exploration rather than obviate it. If the players investigate, perhaps they find a trap or perhaps they fail to do so. Or maybe they don't investigate - it's up to them, after all - and they run afoul of the trap that you telegraphed. When they then think about the clues you provided, they know they could have avoided their fate but didn't, for which they can only blame themselves rather than the DM for hitting the party with "gotchas." Oh, that explains the blood stain on the wall - argh!</blockquote>

Verification