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Message: <blockquote data-quote="jimmifett" data-source="post: 5641145" data-attributes="member: 55006">The DM is a tool. Plain and simple. It doesn't matter if the players are experienced or beginners. DMs should be enabling. If a player can come up with a plausible solution to an obstacle, even vaguely plausible (yet cool) solution, the DM should be rewarding the player with creative thinking. He should be giving clues throughout the game. If the party goes stomping around the underdark w/o trying to be quite... "You hear the sounds of your passing, footsteps, shuffling of robes, jostling of metal, reverberating off the cave walls. You hear something like distorted conversation ahead..."allow a perception or dungeoneering check, meet DC: "You recognize the words as your own from not but a moment ago. The distance your sounds have traveled during thier echo must be quite far." The DM has not only clued the party into the fact that they may want to be more quite, that sound travels far, but also given rich flavor to the experience. Like someone else said about the pass thing: The party should encounter a checkpoint or something where they see citizens presenting passes. Now it's up to the players to figure out how to deal with the pass situation. I'll presume that you're not using minis from the asking of which enemy you want to attack. You're response of "the closest enemy" should have been sufficient. You attacked the closest enemy to you. If DM wanted to be such a nitpick about it, he should have layed out the scene as such:"As you travel down the road cutting through the forest, you approach a large fallen tree blocking the path. Several goblins with crude weapons, ranging from clubs to spears rush out from the forest between you and the fallen tree, as well as rushing to your rear to prevent escape. Several more goblins, armed with shortbows, take position behind the tree, using it as cover. The meanest looking of the goblins, carrying a makeshift piece of steal called a Dogslicer calls out in his gutteral speech "Well well well, look what we have here. Fresh meat! Get 'em!" Now you know there are melee and ranged combatants, and that you are boxed in by the tree, the forest, and the rear combatants. You have some flavor to the scene. For good measure, a DM might include other interesting pieces of terrain that could be useful on a nature or perception check if the player decides to look around. May an old dead tree being held up by vines that you could slices and drop on enemies, or at least drop across the road for your own cover. Again, not immediately available info unless a player asks. On a battlemat, it might be drawn and catch a player's eye, otherwise, it's up to your imagination. Player: "I look around to see if there is anything on the side of the road or forest that could be usefall, like a large rock or something." DM: "ok, give me a perception or nature check"  You really should DM for your group of beginners. Don't worry about being inexperienced. If something comes up that you are not sure on, offer the player a hi-low roll or flip a coin to resolve what happens, and explain you'll look up that thing in detail after the session. You keep the game moving, you learn, and you set precedence for the rest of that session until the rule can be clarified. Next session, at the start, you bring up that one thing that happened, let them know the go forward ruling, and your players will respect you and appreciate the game more.</blockquote>

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