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<blockquote data-quote="Crazy Jerome" data-source="post: 5733007" data-attributes="member: 54877">We like to run games that are tough on the characters.&nbsp; Meanwhile, our normal group of players consists of mostly middle-aged people that probably didn't get enough sleep last night, and are dealing with everything from toddlers to teens wandering randomly through the gaming space.&nbsp; Something had to give. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink&nbsp; &nbsp; ;)"&nbsp; data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" />&nbsp;Our solution was that if the players start doing something that to the DM (usually me) might be boneheaded, we will stop for a moment and review what the characters know.&nbsp; The interesting thing about doing this, though, is that is hasn't always led to, &quot;Oh well, since you put it that way, we won't camp here.&quot;&nbsp; Or even, like it did at first, &quot;Oh no, he raised an objection.&nbsp; Something horrible will happen to us if we camp now.&quot;&nbsp; Rather, since the situation is usually tough enough, having a list of the known facts doesn't always give a clear best answer.&nbsp; This raises the tension instead of diminishing it.&nbsp; &quot;Oh now that we thought about it, it is risky to camp here, but not all that great to press on, either.&nbsp; We are so up the creek without a paddle.&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp;I might feel different if I had my first D&amp;D group instead, who were all tactical and operational savvy.&nbsp; This group is great at solving mysteries, not so hot tactically.&nbsp; My goal is to be as much of a rat bastard DM as I can be while still giving them a reasonable chance to survive. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin&nbsp; &nbsp; :D"&nbsp; data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" /></blockquote>

[QUOTE="Crazy Jerome, post: 5733007, member: 54877"] We like to run games that are tough on the characters. Meanwhile, our normal group of players consists of mostly middle-aged people that probably didn't get enough sleep last night, and are dealing with everything from toddlers to teens wandering randomly through the gaming space. Something had to give. ;) Our solution was that if the players start doing something that to the DM (usually me) might be boneheaded, we will stop for a moment and review what the characters know. The interesting thing about doing this, though, is that is hasn't always led to, "Oh well, since you put it that way, we won't camp here." Or even, like it did at first, "Oh no, he raised an objection. Something horrible will happen to us if we camp now." Rather, since the situation is usually tough enough, having a list of the known facts doesn't always give a clear best answer. This raises the tension instead of diminishing it. "Oh now that we thought about it, it is risky to camp here, but not all that great to press on, either. We are so up the creek without a paddle." I might feel different if I had my first D&D group instead, who were all tactical and operational savvy. This group is great at solving mysteries, not so hot tactically. My goal is to be as much of a rat bastard DM as I can be while still giving them a reasonable chance to survive. :D [/QUOTE]

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