I am part of the most incompetent adventuring group.

[Saeviomagy]

As a DM, I tend to always have an "emergency combat encounter" waiting in the wings. Usually at some point early on in the campaign, I set some group/organization against the PCs, so that the PCs can expect repeated attempts by this group to kill them.

YMMV, but I didn't think the goblin ambush was particularly out of place. I do feel for Dagger75, though. It's hard to feel like a hero when the goblins are always beating on you.

Except for the fact that the plan had been finished and decided, and the PC's were staking the place out (I think... now it's looking more like they went "stuff this, let's go for a drink").

An ambush like that could easily have NOT thrown the plot astray - like the PC's follow the badguy to wherever he's going and THEN get ambushed. Or the villain they're following leads them into an ambush, or something similar - the key being that their stakeout works AND THEN random action occurs. I really don't think that throwing the random encounter at them while they're in the middle of something potentially productive is a good thing to do, especially when you then need to throw them a bone to get them back into the adventure.

 

[Herpes Cineplex]

The one concrete bit of advice that I can offer is that when the opportunity to tackle a problem presents itself, pick "Act Quickly" over "Plan Completely". A mediocre plan enacted quickly is more fun than the perfect plan that takes several hours to come up with, any day of the week.

And in my experience, "Act Quickly" seems to work just as well in the long run as "Plan Completely" anyway, so you might as well go for fun.

I mean, even the best "Completely Planned" things we've tried in game have always (ALWAYS) had some complication arise which requires a large part of the plan to be scrapped, throwing us back to Act Quickly anyway. I have yet to see an in-character plan go off without a hitch.

(In all honesty, though, I don't know whether this means that every group I've played with sucks at planning, or every GM I've played with will go to any length to upset a PC's plan, or just that I'm too cynical.)

--
i wouldn't be surprised by the first, and strongly suspect the second because the third is true
ryan

 

[Lord Pendragon]

An ambush like that could easily have NOT thrown the plot astray - like the PC's follow the badguy to wherever he's going and THEN get ambushed. Or the villain they're following leads them into an ambush, or something similar - the key being that their stakeout works AND THEN random action occurs. I really don't think that throwing the random encounter at them while they're in the middle of something potentially productive is a good thing to do, especially when you then need to throw them a bone to get them back into the adventure.

My point is that you need to look at it in terms of session pacing, rather than story pacing.

Let's say this group games for 4 hours per session. They get going, and they spend 3 1/2 hours discussing how to get into the ball, waffling, etc. The DM notices that time is almost up and they've gotten nothing done. They've gotten to roll no dice. Just a lot of discussion on how best to infiltrate the ball.

At this point the DM can choose to let the discussion run out the session, leaving the players possibly disappointed (I probably would be). Or, he can throw in a combat encounter to at least end the session on an exciting note.

Yes, this does mean that he'll have to see what can be done about getting the PCs into the ball the next week (or seeing the NPC they needed, etc.) But that's next session. And who knows? The players might come up with something clever themselves by the time the next session rolls around.

I'm not saying this is what the DM was thinking or what happened in this instance, but I do know that I'd make such a decision in a heartbeat. My players can sometimes be their own worst enemy when it comes to a satisfying session. It's part of my job to try and give them a good game in spite of themselves.

 

[Macbeth]

Yes, this does mean that he'll have to see what can be done about getting the PCs into the ball the next week (or seeing the NPC they needed, etc.) But that's next session. And who knows? The players might come up with something clever themselves by the time the next session rolls around.

This kind og\f setup also allows for the players to spend time online (via message boards or email) or in person planning for a week before their next session. By putting in a 'non-random random encounter' you've made the current session exciting, and made a good reason to leave the entire next week of real time (or longer, depending on how often sessions are) for planning.

 

[Morpheus]

This kind og\f setup also allows for the players to spend time online (via message boards or email) or in person planning for a week before their next session. By putting in a 'non-random random encounter' you've made the current session exciting, and made a good reason to leave the entire next week of real time (or longer, depending on how often sessions are) for planning.

Unfortunately, the PCs rarely email one another. I'm ecstatic when they respond to my emails telling them when the game is... :\

 

[Macbeth]

Well, if your players are on EN World Anyway, you might consider starting a thread (or a private forum, see Morrus for info on that) for them to post in. Bard Stephen Fox has a private forum for our game, and it helps get people acting between sessions, both roleplaying and planning.

 

[Chimera]

Even after I flat out said "Guys, its not gonna work, they arne't going to take her, every one of the victims was a demihuman!" the response I got was "Well, it still should've worked"

This was THE most exasperating thing about my last group of idiots*...er, players.

I would flat out tell them that their plan would not work and why, and instead of abandoning it and doing something else, they would INSIST on doing it anyways, then scream and argue with me about it.

People, when the GM tells you something isn't going to work, take his flippin' word for it!



* All now former friends for reasons that mostly had nothing to do with gaming.