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<blockquote data-quote="iserith" data-source="post: 7162812" data-attributes="member: 97077">For something to be a gotcha, it needn't be deadly.If you don't catch on to every single clue the DM drops, then you'll miss some and be surprised. Which seems to be exactly what you want.As for the enemy spy, yes, I'll drop clues. You may or may not catch on. He's a good spy if you don't. He's not so good if you do. But that's not all that important. What's important is what you do with that information, if you figure it out. Or that if you don't figure it out and he gets the better of you, you can look back and facepalm about having overlooked the clues that were dropped by the DM. You'll know that I gave you a fair shot at figuring out and you simply failed.Your comments in this post and others seem to indicate that the players will always catch on (or at least you will), but that's not true in my experience. Sometimes they will and they feel good about paying attention and acting to avoid randomness and bad outcomes. Other times they will feel good about being surprised by the sudden plot twist that wasn't just sprung on them but, in hindsight, was building for some time. There is no downside here.I'll telegraph the pit trap. If you don't need the clues, then it shouldn't be a problem for you that I do that, right?Telegraphing, foreshadowing, and the like isn't about the DM protecting the character. It's about providing the players with enough information to make meaningful, informed decisions in fair challenges in order to reduce randomness and have control over their destinies. A great deal of experience in this regard has shown that they don't always make the best decisions even when informed. So there is your balance right there.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="iserith, post: 7162812, member: 97077"] For something to be a gotcha, it needn't be deadly. If you don't catch on to every single clue the DM drops, then you'll miss some and be surprised. Which seems to be exactly what you want. As for the enemy spy, yes, I'll drop clues. You may or may not catch on. He's a good spy if you don't. He's not so good if you do. But that's not all that important. What's important is what you do with that information, if you figure it out. Or that if you don't figure it out and he gets the better of you, you can look back and facepalm about having overlooked the clues that were dropped by the DM. You'll know that I gave you a fair shot at figuring out and you simply failed. Your comments in this post and others seem to indicate that the players will always catch on (or at least you will), but that's not true in my experience. Sometimes they will and they feel good about paying attention and acting to avoid randomness and bad outcomes. Other times they will feel good about being surprised by the sudden plot twist that wasn't just sprung on them but, in hindsight, was building for some time. There is no downside here. I'll telegraph the pit trap. If you don't need the clues, then it shouldn't be a problem for you that I do that, right? Telegraphing, foreshadowing, and the like isn't about the DM protecting the character. It's about providing the players with enough information to make meaningful, informed decisions in fair challenges in order to reduce randomness and have control over their destinies. A great deal of experience in this regard has shown that they don't always make the best decisions even when informed. So there is your balance right there. [/QUOTE]

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