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Message: <blockquote data-quote="LostSoul" data-source="post: 6206964" data-attributes="member: 386">That is a good question.  If the PCs have positioned themselves to know that dragons are coming and going, then the DM should tell them.  Something like this happened in my last Burning Empires game (which is an indie game).The PCs were hunting down the "lieutenant" of a violent revolutionary.  The revolutionaries hang out in the remnants of old mining pits called "the scrubs" or SCRBs.  The PCs went down there and were met by some "toll guards" who were blocking the entrance.  I threw in some colour - how it smelled, how the guards were dressed in rags, dirty, with clubs and knives instead of lasers, etc.  (Scene framed.)Now before this happened, the PCs (and NPCs) had a lot of "downtime" - where not much was going on, no scenes were framed, and characters have the ability to train/practice their skills.  One of the PCs trained some -Wise skills (knowledge skills) relating to the revolution and its leader.  So when the PCs went to hunt him down, I had that PC roll her "Bright Revolution-wise" skill.  (Conflict means we have to roll the dice, and the lieutenant did not want to be found.)I did not have her roll to convince the toll guards to let her pass - her PC had been down there often enough, as was established during the "downtime", so she was fictionally positioned to easily bypass the toll guards.  The conflict wasn't with them, it was with the lieutenant and tracking him down.They spoke with the guards, they offered a rat (as pure colour), and the guards let them through.  (Said yes - no conflict, don't roll, just move along.)I had no backstory detailing where the lieutenant was.  I am not sure if the player to stated her intent that they'd find the lieutenant at a nearby bar the PC was familiar with, or if I did that.  Doesn't matter; either way would have worked.  Anyway, her PC's intent was to find out where the lieutenant was.  (Success on intent is important.)I told her - as one of my DMing responsibilities - what failure would mean: They'd find the lieutenant, sure, but he'd be warned by someone before they got there.  (Fail forward.  There's a little more to this, but I'd have to go into Burning Empire's maneuver and scene mechanics to explain it.)The player rolled, the PC failed.  They went to the bar where the lieutenant was known to hang out.  As they walked into the bar, they saw a guy whispering in the ear of the lieutenant and pointing at the PCs.  The lieutenant motioned for the PCs to approach.  (Scene framed - though this was all part of the same "Building" scene in terms of Burning Empire's maneuver mechanics, but that's not important.)This is why Burning Empires tells players to clearly state their "Intent" - what they want out of a roll - and their "Task" - what their PC is doing to get it.  It helps cut down on this sort of confusion.  If the intent was to get the drake to fly away, I think it'd be fair game to have it do whatever it wanted later on, including taking his revenge.  If the intent was to get the drake to leave and prevent it from attacking the city, then that's what would happen on a successful roll.How you determine which intents are valid is an interesting area of discussion.  In the Burning games, that's one of the DM's responsibilities - to make sure they're not too big ("I want the drake to become my ever-lasting servant") or too small ("I want the drake to hesitate for a single second").  It's a difficult task, though it can be fun/rewarding when you get it just right.</blockquote>

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