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<blockquote data-quote="Rhenny" data-source="post: 6887786" data-attributes="member: 18333">Yes...this is very important.I also like to create and keep on hand 2-4 interesting encounters that I can drop in at nearly any time to force the players to action in case the players stall or lose motivation or in case I go blank.&nbsp; I also listen really carefully to what my players say and I improvise a lot.&nbsp; Some of my best sessions happen when I listen to the players and have no particular plan.&nbsp; What they say gives me ideas to throw in and often, they feel really great because they feel as if their ideas are validated.&nbsp; For example, one time they were exploring a tomb and they found an well.&nbsp; I had planned to have a key at the bottom of the well, but when the wizard started to check the well wall for runes or glyphs, I decided to throw in a little puzzle that he could decipher.&nbsp; I had him reveal two hand prints in the side of the well.&nbsp; One hand print had a &quot;u&quot; above it and the other hand print had an &quot;n&quot;.&nbsp;&nbsp; It was obviously magical and he had to decide which hand print to put his own hand into.&nbsp; I had him ponder it and make an arcana check.&nbsp; He decided to put his hand on the &quot;u&quot; print and that's when the well drained of water and revealed the key at the bottom.&nbsp; (Since he rolled well on his arcana and had a good reason for putting his hand on the &quot;u&quot; print, I let him succeed).&nbsp; If he had rolled poorly and didn't have a good explanation for why he chose one over the other, I would have had a wraith materialize and attack the party.&nbsp; When I improvise, I try not to have one &quot;right way&quot; to succeed and I let the players develop their plans and reward them to keep them excited.&nbsp;&nbsp; This method works especially well when running a sandbox sesson/adventure/campaign.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Rhenny, post: 6887786, member: 18333"] Yes...this is very important. I also like to create and keep on hand 2-4 interesting encounters that I can drop in at nearly any time to force the players to action in case the players stall or lose motivation or in case I go blank. I also listen really carefully to what my players say and I improvise a lot. Some of my best sessions happen when I listen to the players and have no particular plan. What they say gives me ideas to throw in and often, they feel really great because they feel as if their ideas are validated. For example, one time they were exploring a tomb and they found an well. I had planned to have a key at the bottom of the well, but when the wizard started to check the well wall for runes or glyphs, I decided to throw in a little puzzle that he could decipher. I had him reveal two hand prints in the side of the well. One hand print had a "u" above it and the other hand print had an "n". It was obviously magical and he had to decide which hand print to put his own hand into. I had him ponder it and make an arcana check. He decided to put his hand on the "u" print and that's when the well drained of water and revealed the key at the bottom. (Since he rolled well on his arcana and had a good reason for putting his hand on the "u" print, I let him succeed). If he had rolled poorly and didn't have a good explanation for why he chose one over the other, I would have had a wraith materialize and attack the party. When I improvise, I try not to have one "right way" to succeed and I let the players develop their plans and reward them to keep them excited. This method works especially well when running a sandbox sesson/adventure/campaign. [/QUOTE]

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