Interesting Situations: PC choices and plans

[howandwhy99]

In response to the cave entrance: remember, entering a hidden space the party perceives only seems like a binary choice. If their objective is to "walk into the cave", their goal is their strategy.

However, maybe entering the cave is their objective, but they want to do so in a creative manner. All sorts of options may be open to them. They simply need to get imaginative. For example:
- they search the area for other entrances, which may attach to the same cave.
- they try and pinpoint where the cave descends to and create their own tunnel to the same spot.
- they use another means of movement like teleporting. Here they may think they have seen the location before, which they take to be "inside the cave" and port there.
- They send in an NPC to scout the cave entrance to learn what's inside to see if it will change their current objective.
- They ask around for NPCs who have already been in the cave to question them about what is inside, other entrances, prominent depictions for teleporting, etc.
- A caster calls upon a deity to divine the insides of the cave.
- A spell is used to scout out the area before bodily entering.
- The party enters the ethereal plane and manifests within the cave before materializing.
- they tarp the entrance and smoke out the interior with fire, perhaps hoping to evacuate air breathers inside.
- they collapse the cave with an earthquake effect and excavate the rubble to "explore the cave".
- They talk to the cave entrance with a stonetell spell hoping to learn about the cave and cave entrance's past.
- they decide it is too difficult, uninteresting, whatever, and change their objective.

 

[GSHamster]

A couple years ago, there was a meme/idea running around that a DM should do her best to "say yes" to the players' schemes.

The idea is that you shouldn't try and shut down their ideas. If they propose an idea, unless it is glaringly wrong, you should default to letting it work if they execute it successfully.

If you follow this train of thought, you don't really need to predict how the situation will be resolved. Present the players with the situation, let them figure out a plan, and default to letting that plan work (throwing reasonable DCs and obstacles that they have to overcome in their path, of course).

 

[TarionzCousin]

Running a campaign in 2E Waterdeep, my players decided that the snobs at the expensive weapons shop needed to be taught a lesson. So they rented a warehouse nearby, used their non-combat proficiencies (Engineering, Dwarf Stonecutting, and other stuff I don't remember) to dig a tunnel from the warehouse to the weapon shop. They spent about ten hours between one session and the next trying to foresee every contingency.

The fact that the big statue was a stone golem never occurred to them.

They ended up running for their lives, having managed to grab one sword from a case. Then they left town for a few months.

 

[The Shaman]

Running a campaign in 2E Waterdeep, my players decided that the snobs at the expensive weapons shop needed to be taught a lesson. So they rented a warehouse nearby, used their non-combat proficiencies (Engineering, Dwarf Stonecutting, and other stuff I don't remember) to dig a tunnel from the warehouse to the weapon shop. They spent about ten hours between one session and the next trying to foresee every contingency.

The fact that the big statue was a stone golem never occurred to them.

They ended up running for their lives, having managed to grab one sword from a case. Then they left town for a few months.

"You must spread some Experience Points around . . . "



Would someone please be so kind as to share an XP with TC for me?

I can definitely relate to the players spending hours "trying to foresee every contingency" - and missing something glaringly obvious.

 

[Evilhalfling]

most memorable PC plans -

I had an octagonal spinning room with 4 visible doors. Every other spin it stopped on the diagonals instead of cardinal directions. The PCs were sent in to lure a powerful foe out into an ambush. At least that was the plan they were given but I didn't think it would be possible. More likely PCs would end up fighting him themselves. (the foe was also exploring the dungeon complex for the first time)

They used a hovering dragon familiar so they could find the exit quickly, despite the spins. After seeing the other chambers were dangerous, they just camped in the middle until the foe emerged.

The dash for the exit included one PC throwing his sword at another PC. This allowed him to teleport adjacent, then the target PC grabbed him and jumped through a gate.

Having lured the foe out the PCs saw no need to continue exploring the complex, and headed off after pirate treasure instead.

 

[Barastrondo]

I disagree that the answer is "less prep." I think preparation is very important, but it's in what you prep.

I've described my style as 'prep to improvise,' which means my prep is focused on being able to make things up at the table in response to what the adventurers do and creating encounters and events rather than 'adventures.'

I won't belabor this thread by repeating what I've covered elsewhere - if you're interested the linked posts will explain my approach in more detail.

Cannot give xp, must spread around.

But I can reinforce this. I used to actually hate running urban adventures because I believed there was no way to effectively prepare for them. Then eventually I figured out it was just about what I could prep, and what I felt comfortable ad-libbing. And what you can prep is the situation.

So now when I know the PCs are going to hit a new city, I put in, oh, the equivalent of a page or two of notes in a Moleskine-sized notebook. Some of these notes are set dressing: sample tavern names, what the major wards are, some visual hooks. Some are things like "what is a good name and hook for the 5 NPC types the PCs might run into: a watch captain, an innkeeper, a bully-boy," etc. But the others are basically situations: who are the five most powerful movers and shakers in the city, and what is something interesting about each of them? Once I have that done, then potential relationships start to suggest themselves (is there perhaps a connection between the House that's trying to bring an assassin's guild under their thumb and the Prince's machinations?). And boom, when the players start interacting with things, the situation is likely to suggest interesting reactions.

Back in the days of 2e, one of the most impressive improvised plans I've seen was the PCs infiltrating and taking over a pirate ship via casting silence 15' radius on a fishhook. I didn't expect it, but it was a very effective way for the PCs to get into the thick of things, and then wind up in some alarming fights belowdecks when the enemy caught on. They were ultimately successful, and they kept the ship. It was glorious.