Do you pull the chain?

[Cadfan]

Of course I pull the chain. If the chain leads to fun things, great! If the chain leads to unavoidable death and the DM thinks I'm stupid for even pulling an unknown chain in a dungeon, then I'm not interested in his campaign and I don't care if my character dies.

 

[Man in the Funny Hat]

Of course I pull the chain. If the chain leads to fun things, great! If the chain leads to unavoidable death and the DM thinks I'm stupid for even pulling an unknown chain in a dungeon, then I'm not interested in his campaign and I don't care if my character dies.

Well, I for one would likely still care that my character died - but I would sleep peacefully, secure in the knowledge that he died not because I was a fool as the DM suggested for pulling an unknown chain, but because the DM was a creep.

 

[Dice4Hire]

WOAH!!!!

You are all forgetting step one.

1. Look at the DM and try to read his face. (and hope he does not have a good poker face)

If he is smiling broadly or sniggering, don't do it!

 

[TheAuldGrump]

He - now let's try it from the DM's view:
What happens when the silly PCs pull the chain?

My answer - the door the PCs came in through closes and locks if the PCs did not wedge it open, but the secret door unlocks, leading...? If they did wedge the door open then the chain only moves a little bit, and the door makes a small noise as it hits the wedge. (I call this a 'Bad Guy Has An Exit' approach - the door closes and locks, not to keep the PCs in, but assuming (perhaps wrongly) that it will help keep them out.)

The Auld Grump

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

Only if we haven't finished our objectives.

I don't consider hunting treasure to be an objective, unless it's a specific treasure we believe is there.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

Only if we haven't finished our objectives.

I don't consider hunting treasure to be an objective, unless it's a specific treasure we believe is there.

The OP did specify that the objective had been achieved.

And yeah, some dungeons are big enough that just wandering around opening all the doors really doesn't work as an objective (Rappan Athuk, anyone?)

The Auld Grump

 

[unan oranis]

He - now let's try it from the DM's view:
What happens when the silly PCs pull the chain?

My answer - the door the PCs came in through closes and locks if the PCs did not wedge it open, but the secret door unlocks, leading...? If they did wedge the door open then the chain only moves a little bit, and the door makes a small noise as it hits the wedge. (I call this a 'Bad Guy Has An Exit' approach - the door closes and locks, not to keep the PCs in, but assuming (perhaps wrongly) that it will help keep them out.)

The Auld Grump

Good one.

I'd have it be a dungeon self destruct mechanism, with the secret door being a console to deactivate the countdown.

Players either try and jam the system, or run for it.

 

[On Puget Sound]

The chain was already pulled, during the fight. I pulled it when a monster was standing under it, just to see what might fall on its head.

 

[On Puget Sound]

This is a very very old question. Here's a much earlier version:

You live in a garden full of fruit trees. Your deity has told you to eat anything you want except that one tree over there, the tasty-looking one in easy reach. You've been in this garden for a long time, and tried all the other fruits, named the animals, done everything interesting there is to do.

Do you taste the forbidden fruit? If you do, what should the GM... err, deity... have happen? And is this fair?

 

[TheAuldGrump]

For some reason I now have an image of a halfling taking a running leap, grabbing the chain, and spinning in a big circle yelling WHEEEE!!!!!

Damn halflings!

The Auld Grump