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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 6988324" data-attributes="member: 42582">This is true. But presumably it's equally true that, from their reactions to things that you did consider interesting, something interesting would arise. So it's not as if you lose out by focusing on the stuff you expect to be interesting. (Unless you misjudge, of course, but that's an inevitable risk of GMing.) There are two ways I prefer to incorporate this sort of stuff.One is as part of the narration, rather than as a consequence of action declaration and resolution (ie "As you are riding along, you notice [such-and-such-a-thing], rather than "OK, so you've dismounted to fill your waterskin - you notice [such-and-such-a-thing]). If foreshadowing is worthwhile, then I don't feel it should depend on the vagaries of the players describing their dismounting from their horses.The second is as a consequence for action resolution that is already in play. Eg in my BW game, the PCs were crossing the Bright Desert to the Abor-Alz hills, and the elven ranger failed his check (Orienteering is the relevant BW skill). The consequence that I narrated was that the waterhole they arrived at in the foothills had been deliberately fouled - it turned out, upon investigation, that this filthy thing had been done by a (wastrel) elf.You could have the foreshadowing similarly be consequent on a successful check; or even as a trade-off for a fail ("Failed your riding check? OK, the fall does 6 hp of damage, but as you lie there in the grass nursing your injuries, you notice [such-and-such-a-thing]")The enchanted stream seems a trickier case, insofar as it's not a natural outcome of a failed check (it seems a boon rather than a problem) but nor is it the natural outcome of a successful check (the PCs aren't looking for an enchanted stream, after all). I would probably introduce that, if I wanted to use it, as part of the narration of the PCs camping. (Eg "You find a small stream that you can camp nearby." Then the players probably declare some low-key action involving the stream - washing, watering horses, or whatever - and that's your way in.)For me, that sounds like a successful Nature or Survival-type check in the context of an escape ("Surely we crossed a stream in this lush forest - we want to head back to it to throw off pursuit" - success means yep, they find the stream and head down it; failure means either (i) there's no stream, or (ii) they don't make it back there in time - GM's choice).</blockquote>

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