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<blockquote data-quote="Majoru Oakheart" data-source="post: 4581108" data-attributes="member: 5143">The thing about mysteries is that it HEAVILY depends on your group.&nbsp; I have a group of players that if you throw them a mystery they immediately seem to lower in intelligence sometimes.For instance, you'll say: &quot;You need to find the contact at the casino in order to speak to the mobster.&nbsp; You arrive at the casino.&nbsp; What do you do?&quot;&nbsp; And suddenly the only thing they can come up with is &quot;Ummm...I talk to the first person I see...I ask them if they know the gangster.&quot;I'd like to blame the story(since, I am also running Dawn of Defiance and a lot of RPGA) but at a certain point, I think the players need to actually think in order to solve a puzzle.&nbsp; Sometimes that means being stumped for a short while and really having to think.&nbsp; I agree that it CAN be frustrating to feel like you hit that wall and just have no options.&nbsp; But I've found it's even more satisfying when you eventually figure out what you were missing.&nbsp; At least, IMHO.Whenever the goal isn't spelled out for them in a way that is so obvious it hurts, then they easily get distracted by red herrings(even after being told out of game by me &quot;You really don't think this guy appears to know anything&quot;).&nbsp; They even start coming up with new ways to get distracted from their goal.&nbsp; For instance, AFTER finding out that the woman they've been talking to has no connection to the mobster whatsoever, they want to have a casual conversation with them about their life...then they want to invite the woman back to their room for drinks.&nbsp; They completely forget they are even looking for the mobster.Those are the things that seem to cause more trouble for me.&nbsp; I've started having to beat them upside the head with a clue bat on a regular basis.&nbsp; If the game isn't on rails, then it goes nowhere.&nbsp; If the adventure is based around a logical series of actions and events leading to the answer then my players will likely take the most ILLOGICAL action they can find and make in near impossible for them to find the answer.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Majoru Oakheart, post: 4581108, member: 5143"] The thing about mysteries is that it HEAVILY depends on your group. I have a group of players that if you throw them a mystery they immediately seem to lower in intelligence sometimes. For instance, you'll say: "You need to find the contact at the casino in order to speak to the mobster. You arrive at the casino. What do you do?" And suddenly the only thing they can come up with is "Ummm...I talk to the first person I see...I ask them if they know the gangster." I'd like to blame the story(since, I am also running Dawn of Defiance and a lot of RPGA) but at a certain point, I think the players need to actually think in order to solve a puzzle. Sometimes that means being stumped for a short while and really having to think. I agree that it CAN be frustrating to feel like you hit that wall and just have no options. But I've found it's even more satisfying when you eventually figure out what you were missing. At least, IMHO. Whenever the goal isn't spelled out for them in a way that is so obvious it hurts, then they easily get distracted by red herrings(even after being told out of game by me "You really don't think this guy appears to know anything"). They even start coming up with new ways to get distracted from their goal. For instance, AFTER finding out that the woman they've been talking to has no connection to the mobster whatsoever, they want to have a casual conversation with them about their life...then they want to invite the woman back to their room for drinks. They completely forget they are even looking for the mobster. Those are the things that seem to cause more trouble for me. I've started having to beat them upside the head with a clue bat on a regular basis. If the game isn't on rails, then it goes nowhere. If the adventure is based around a logical series of actions and events leading to the answer then my players will likely take the most ILLOGICAL action they can find and make in near impossible for them to find the answer. [/QUOTE]

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