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Foreshadowing Effectively
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<blockquote data-quote="iserith" data-source="post: 7311904" data-attributes="member: 97077"><p>If they're not used to being able to run into monsters beyond their current capabilities, you could just be direct about it and tell them it's possible, but that you will make an effort to foreshadow such challenges. If they pay attention, you might say, they can mitigate the risk.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>In my experience, it will probably be more obvious to you than it is to them, so I wouldn't worry about "trying to beat it into them." That's likely just a thing you feel because you know what's coming with perfect clarity whereas they don't have that clarity. I would say you're obligated to telegraph threats as DM, but once you've done so, you've fulfilled your obligation and now it's on the players to use that information or not. If they misinterpret or disregard a clue to their own peril, that's on them.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I don't put much stock in the "three-clue rule." It's just an arbitrary number. If some (real) time has passed since you dropped a clue, maybe throw in another clue that session shortly before trouble kicks off that may remind them of the previous one. Players do bear some responsibility for paying attention and making decisions. If you are faithfully describing the environment and they don't heed the warnings, again, that's on them.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I generally telegraph any hidden threats (traps, monsters) just before the scene or in the midst of it, depending on the setup, with some exceptions. For plot elements or the like, that generally gets foreshadowed well in advance. This builds tension and allows the players to have a chance to change their fate if they are paying attention and making good decisions. It also avoids the problem of feeling like they are the victim of a "gotcha," since even if they are surprised by the trap, monster, or plot element, they can think back to those clues that were sprinkled about previously and know that they received fair warning. I have found that when the DM thinks about foreshadowing and telegraphing, he or she also ends up being better at describing the environment all around which is a good skill to have considering it's fully half the DM's role.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="iserith, post: 7311904, member: 97077"] If they're not used to being able to run into monsters beyond their current capabilities, you could just be direct about it and tell them it's possible, but that you will make an effort to foreshadow such challenges. If they pay attention, you might say, they can mitigate the risk. In my experience, it will probably be more obvious to you than it is to them, so I wouldn't worry about "trying to beat it into them." That's likely just a thing you feel because you know what's coming with perfect clarity whereas they don't have that clarity. I would say you're obligated to telegraph threats as DM, but once you've done so, you've fulfilled your obligation and now it's on the players to use that information or not. If they misinterpret or disregard a clue to their own peril, that's on them. I don't put much stock in the "three-clue rule." It's just an arbitrary number. If some (real) time has passed since you dropped a clue, maybe throw in another clue that session shortly before trouble kicks off that may remind them of the previous one. Players do bear some responsibility for paying attention and making decisions. If you are faithfully describing the environment and they don't heed the warnings, again, that's on them. I generally telegraph any hidden threats (traps, monsters) just before the scene or in the midst of it, depending on the setup, with some exceptions. For plot elements or the like, that generally gets foreshadowed well in advance. This builds tension and allows the players to have a chance to change their fate if they are paying attention and making good decisions. It also avoids the problem of feeling like they are the victim of a "gotcha," since even if they are surprised by the trap, monster, or plot element, they can think back to those clues that were sprinkled about previously and know that they received fair warning. I have found that when the DM thinks about foreshadowing and telegraphing, he or she also ends up being better at describing the environment all around which is a good skill to have considering it's fully half the DM's role. [/QUOTE]
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