New to EN World, have some general questions about being a DM

[abruno1974]

Hi all,

I just joined this forum, and I hope I have put my post in the right spot/discussion area.

I've just recently started up a little 3.5 Edition D&D group with myself as the DM. And I was looking for some ideas/advice on a couple of situations.

The first situation I have is that one of the players is ultra conservative. Every room he enters he searches every part of the wall and floor for hidden doors, traps, and treasure...taking 20 all the way. I rule that for him to search a 25x25 room (5 squares X 5 squares), it takes him 2 minutes for each square on the floor and the wall...so 2 minutes per each of the 25 squares on the floor, (50 minutes), and then another 2 minutes per 5 foot section of wall on the permiter, another 50 minutes...for a total of 100 minutes. This raises a couple of questions. First, does that mean he's going to find every trap by taking 20 (assuming his skills are high enough to spot them with a 20 roll). Second, other than his torch going out more often, should there be some type of consequence of taking all this time in deliberation? We've only played a few sessions, but this seems to come up a lot.

Speaking of traps, I'm not sure how to award experience for disarming traps/locks. From what I've read in the DM Guide, it appears that I should give him an amount of XP equal to the CR of the trap/lock...so, a CR 2 lock or trap bypassed would be the equivalent of a CR 2 encounter...which would seem to be way too much.

That's about all I have for now, and I would greatly appreciate any wisdom that can be shared with me (including the proper place for this post if I'm in the wrong forum).

Thanks!

 

[Clueless]

Random encounters are rolled by hour in an area as I recall.... Also, if you put some sort of time restriction on their work (get in before guards rotate etc.) that may force them to speed things up.

Otherwise - let it be.

It's not much skin off the players backs for the extra oxygen needed to say "I take a 20" at the table really, and it may save their characters lives. To save time at the table instead of him saying for each and every square on the map 'I'm going to...' over and over again - just look at him and say "Going slow?". If he says yes - assume he's doing his normal routine - and tell him how long it takes, what he finds, and roll your random encounters.

The party could even develop an in-character reputation as a cautious, methodical (even *gasp* obsessively professional) group that deliver the goods slow - but *reliable*. That may change the sort of jobs prospective employers offer them...

Now - note, the take a 20 is handy for *finding* traps. Not so handy for disarming them (which is what you get your XP for). Remember, taking a 20 is effectively 'I roll a 1. I roll a 2. I roll a...' all the way up to 20. You can see why choosing to roll a 1 on a *disarm* trap may be unwise.

As for how much XP to award - I honestly tend not to apply that sort of XP bonus as much. Actually, to be truthful - unless someone plays a class where it really matters to know what the XP total for a character is - I tend to just eyeball it and make sure the players level at a reasonable speed compared to my plot and my judgment of their desire to get more goodies. At the end of a few sessions, I'll just say 'Level up' and that's it. That keeps my players focused on their characters, my plot, and their current situation - instead of their calculators.

 

[Thunderfoot]

Clueless is pretty on with the previous post except for the disarming traps part - you cannot nor should you attempt to 'take 20' in a situation where failure may result in injury or death. As for the conservative style of play, remember that as an adjudicator that your jobs to ensure that the game is run correctly, smoothly and is fun for everyone. While this may be annoying and time consuming, if the other players are bothered by it, let them handle it in game or out of game, it doesn't matter.

If it annoys you, take a deep breath, count to 10 and ignore it. His conservative approach is probably well founded, by way of example, lets say the players DO get fed up and tell player X to cut it out; so player X does. The first time the party is decimated by an undetected trap, they will be begging for X to search again. If you feel that the activity is spoiling your best laid traps, guess what it is, that's why the skill set is available.

Now some advice - Try not to fall into the easy trap of a novice DM and think the game is about you versus them, it isn't. As a DM you have the job (and yes, it is work) of creating, breathing life into and making believable the world in which the players campaign. Each player could be equated to an "actor" in a movie, playing their part and focusing on that one task. You are the writer, direector, producer, folly artist (sound effects), music director and lighting coordinator (mood), character actors (Major NPCs), extra actors (minor NPCs), animal trainer (monsters and NPC animals), set designer (maps), props department and ultimately promotions (you have to sell it to the players or else they won't get it.) I realize on the surface that it looks like a lot and it is, but it isn't impossible, many of us have done it daily, weekly or monthly for years, it just takes practice. Asking for help is awesome, many of us (myself included) had nowhere to turn to other than the trial and screw-up method. You'll do fine, maybe not at the next session, maybe not for years from now, but one day someone will say, this is the best campaign I've ever been in, and it will all be worth it. Trust me, I've been there too.

Happy Gaming.

 

[mara]

Random encounters are one way to demonstrate the importance of moving quickly; however, just be careful that you don't accidentally reinforce the overly-cautious behavior by having the first thing the character touches in haste be trapped.

-Mara

 

[Varianor Abroad]

Random encounters are one way to demonstrate the importance of moving quickly; however, just be careful that you don't accidentally reinforce the overly-cautious behavior by having the first thing the character touches in haste be trapped.

Quoted for truth. This is a prior game's behavior pattern. Your player is afraid you're going to fry his PC in his greasy little juices. You can opt to wave your hand toward the ceiling and state "No traps. You're safe. Now what?"

 

[Herobizkit]

Another idea would be to run a more city/wilderness campaign with minimum concentration on dungeons. This is the style I have developed for my gaming groups over the years. With no dungeons to obsessively search for traps, your rogue can relax some.

Of course, there's the possibility that the Rogue is only trying to make use of his skills as he thinks a Rogue should. Try to put more emphasis on role-playing/NPC interaction, but remember to make those Search rolls significant (like Indy Jones-style "make the snatch/trade or set off the trap" kind of stuff).

 

[Clueless]

City games are a favorite of mine - but that's cause I get a little Shadowrun in my DnD and vice versa.

 

[Blackwind]

First of all, I think the random encounter thing is probably spot on. But just to be sure -- what kind of dungeon is this? Is it a vast underground cavern complex, where creatures are few and far between, or a heavily-trapped tomb just crawling with mooks?

If the dungeon is inhabited, and especially if it is actively guarded, then your player's obsessive-compulsive search routines are liable to be interrupted quite frequently by wandering monsters. On the other hand, if this is some dusty cavern devoid of life, I can see where the PCs might feel like they have all the time in the world. In the latter scenario (and especially if there *are* a lot of traps) then this behavior is probably justified. But if there are intelligent creatures living in the dungeon, they (the creatures) are going to find the PCs and eat them -- rather soon, I think.

So, a little context would help. If you post more info about your dungeon, people will be able to offer more specific suggestions. Also, Clueless is right about taking 20 on disarm checks. You probably shouldn't allow it.

 

[Deuce Traveler]

Just curious, but are you AB3?

 

[Piratecat]

Quoted for truth. This is a prior game's behavior pattern. Your player is afraid you're going to fry his PC in his greasy little juices. You can opt to wave your hand toward the ceiling and state "No traps. You're safe. Now what?"

This is what I'd do; I'd make sure that he grows to trust me as a DM, by making it utterly clear there are no traps when traps aren't one of the exciting parts of the adventure.

Needless to say, if you decide to do this, don't then make him sorry by adding one!