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<blockquote data-quote="redrick" data-source="post: 7296592" data-attributes="member: 6777696"><p>For myself, an evil glowing altar in an evil temple is not meant to be a puzzle to be solved by the players. My goal would be to make sure that everybody at the table understood, as a player, that touching the altar is going to carry a lot of risks. I would then put the burden on the players to play their characters as they see fit. So, a character with no knowledge of Arcana and a low intelligence might say, "huh, I wonder what this big glowing thing is, I guess I'll touch it and find out!" Or they might say, "Umm, I don't know what that is, but I'm scared! Ugg no like glowing altars!" A wizard with high arcana might say, "Yep, definitely a cursed altar. Best stay clear." Or they might say, "Hmm, altar in evil temple. Arcane, infernal engravings. Brown, rusty flakes, most likely dried blood. I'm going to conduct a series of tests, first of all by tapping on it with my fingers."</p><p></p><p>That's how that encounter would be run. As a challenge to the imp of the perverse. And who knows, maybe the altar is actually a captured, converted good altar, just waiting for the touch of an innocent soul to free it from its cursed enchantment?</p><p></p><p>D&D doesn't really have an "Idea" roll like some games. The, "Umm, I'm stuck, what do I do?" A player might say, "Hmm, does my knowledge of arcana or religion give me any ideas about how best to behave around a glowing altar in an evil temple?" In which case I might let them roll the check and them give them some advice. I dunno.</p><p></p><p>My experience, as a player and a DM, is that many players <em>like</em> to play stupid.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="redrick, post: 7296592, member: 6777696"] For myself, an evil glowing altar in an evil temple is not meant to be a puzzle to be solved by the players. My goal would be to make sure that everybody at the table understood, as a player, that touching the altar is going to carry a lot of risks. I would then put the burden on the players to play their characters as they see fit. So, a character with no knowledge of Arcana and a low intelligence might say, "huh, I wonder what this big glowing thing is, I guess I'll touch it and find out!" Or they might say, "Umm, I don't know what that is, but I'm scared! Ugg no like glowing altars!" A wizard with high arcana might say, "Yep, definitely a cursed altar. Best stay clear." Or they might say, "Hmm, altar in evil temple. Arcane, infernal engravings. Brown, rusty flakes, most likely dried blood. I'm going to conduct a series of tests, first of all by tapping on it with my fingers." That's how that encounter would be run. As a challenge to the imp of the perverse. And who knows, maybe the altar is actually a captured, converted good altar, just waiting for the touch of an innocent soul to free it from its cursed enchantment? D&D doesn't really have an "Idea" roll like some games. The, "Umm, I'm stuck, what do I do?" A player might say, "Hmm, does my knowledge of arcana or religion give me any ideas about how best to behave around a glowing altar in an evil temple?" In which case I might let them roll the check and them give them some advice. I dunno. My experience, as a player and a DM, is that many players [I]like[/I] to play stupid. [/QUOTE]
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