Stop Looking At Your Character Sheet

Player characters are wonderful things. They have an array of abilities, talents, and special powers that can deal with almost any situation. But not every situation needs the application of your favorite ability.

Sheet courtesy of Lubien Giagulliel​

Problem-solving can take many forms, and not everything is about what special abilities you have. With so many abilities, it is easy for players to fail to see the wood for the trees. So the Gamemaster should remind them sometimes that their characters can still walk, talk, and look at stuff without needing to make a dice roll or use a superpower.

The Dungeon Dining Room Dilemma​

What reminded me of this was a moment in my Dragonlance game. The player group were in a mystic dungeon being tested by the gods. They came across a dining room, the only exit for which seemed to be a plate section of floor that needed to drop down to reveal an opening on a lower level. The room itself was well decorated, with a hearth and a dining table full of food.

The way out of the room was actually very simple. Anyone eating the food would become magically heavy, and if enough of the characters ate something they could all stand on the plate and gently drop down to the exit. The effect would fade in about an hour. Did my players try that? Take a guess.

Now, to be fair, just as you learn “never split the party,” it’s a pretty good rule to “never eat or drink anything you find in a dungeon.” But there are plenty of times that isn’t true, and in module X2 Castle Amber the food gives you psychic powers! What became painful for me was that the players didn’t even consider the food to be an option and began staring at their character sheets to see what special power or ability would unlock this mystery.

Sure, the food might have been a trick, but while the player characters were happy to face monsters, dragons, and even an evil goddess, one of them taking a few experimental bites was considered way too dangerous. This was despite me reminding them that no decent dungeon would rely on one character having exactly the right spell or ability to allow them to pass. Yet still, they stared at their character sheets.

So, after what seemed like days, with them trying all manner of spells, abilities, gymnastics, and cheerleader-worthy attempts at piling people up, they finally found an answer. They used a high-level monster summoning spell to call the heaviest monster they could find, in this case a “Celestial Bison.” This poor intelligent beast was glad to be called to the prime material plane. He was ready to lend all his holy strength and power in the service of the good gods and do battle serving the greatest heroes of Ansalon…

Instead they just said, “Can you just stand over there, mate? Cheers.” Bound by the ancient pacts of service in the cause of justice and right, the bison agreed, and together with the combined weight of the PCs (and a GM at pretty much the end of his tether), it was enough to sink the platform. But the bison wasn’t happy about it (although, to be fair, it was funny).

Look Around You!​

So, what I’d like to remind players is that not every problem needs the sometimes rather blunt tool of superpowered abilities and magic. If you take a look around, and maybe experiment, the answer is usually in front of you. No Gamemaster worthy of the name sets up a room that you can’t get out of. In a sense, every dungeon is a series of escape rooms, so the clues are always there

Now, on the flip side, this means the Gamemaster does need to remember that the players are not in the room with their characters. They can’t see anything that the Gamemaster doesn’t describe. But even if you mention the dining table stocked with food, you might not have done it right.

Everything should be described with the same importance it appears to have in the room. You might not want to give things away too much by emphasizing the dining table. But if it is a huge table the length of the room, the characters will automatically notice it as important (or they should…).

As such, it is on the Gamemaster to spend some time emphasizing how large and noteworthy it is. It’s also fine to offer the odd clue for the same reason. While sometimes the players might be thick, they might also have made assumptions due to the description they had from the Gamemaster.

The Importance of Communication​

Remember that it is also incumbent on the players to ask the Gamemaster about their environment, not make assumptions when they have misheard or aren’t sure. So if the Gamemaster says there are windows in the room, ask how big or high up they are before you start talking about jumping out of them.

So, while communication is vital, and any situation needs to be clear for all parties, not everything is solved with a special ability. There is an old adage, “when you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail,” and player characters are carrying a lot of hammers. So if you are having problems, stop looking at your character sheet and wonder what you might do in such a room if you had no abilities whatsoever; that might be the answer.

 

[Staffan]

Unattended food in a dungeon?

 

[Campbell]

Even the creative solution used as an example was the application of something on the player's character sheet...

 

[Corone]

I get that food is often bait, as I mentioned. But I still think my point stands given that the very oddness of the food suggests it has some function to fulfill in the game. By all means be wary, by all means be careful. It could well be a trap and it’s fair to take care. But to just say ‘oh everyone knows you never do that’ and ignore it completely is not sensible. Any ‘rule’ about what you should or should not do in a dungeon can be broken at any time, often specifically because these tropes are so ingrained.

 

[payn]

I get that food is often bait, as I mentioned. But I still think my point stands given that the very oddness of the food suggests it has some function to fulfill in the game. By all means be wary, by all means be careful. It could well be a trap and it’s fair to take care. But to just say ‘oh everyone knows you never do that’ and ignore it completely is not sensible. Any ‘rule’ about what you should or should not do in a dungeon can be broken at any time, often specifically because these tropes are so ingrained.

I be weary and careful by using the things on my character sheet to verify if something is deadly or not.

 

[gumi]

It sounds like your players don't trust they can make "bad choices", either.

Which is your fault as a GM.

Players who feel comfortable with their game make broader choices. They do split the party. They eat the food. They try levers to see what happens until they're "taught" to not do that by consequences.

Every. Single. Member. Of every party I have ever been in or run for would have had someone try the food. I think you should instead consider why players didn't.

Additionally? Your puzzle didn't make sense.

 

[Bill Zebub]

I get that food is often bait, as I mentioned. But I still think my point stands given that the very oddness of the food suggests it has some function to fulfill in the game. By all means be wary, by all means be careful. It could well be a trap and it’s fair to take care. But to just say ‘oh everyone knows you never do that’ and ignore it completely is not sensible. Any ‘rule’ about what you should or should not do in a dungeon can be broken at any time, often specifically because these tropes are so ingrained.

Which is why telegraphing is vital, in my opinion.

As a GM I have often feared giving away too much and handing the solutions to players, who will then feel cheated of having solved it themselves. But really, in practice, I have found that because I already know the solution my gut feel for the 'right' level of hint is still woefully inadequate for the players, and when I feel like I am giving it away too easily the players are still thrilled to have solved it.

Here's an example of how I might telegraph the food scenario from upthread:

• Investigation of the plate would reveal that a single person can make it move slightly, and more people makes it move more, but still only a little bit. I would want them to come to the conclusion "we need more weight".
• Describe how some (many) of the flagstones in the floor are cracked, as if something extremely heavy had been put down. Further investigation would reveal that the cracked stones lead in a path from the table to the pressure plate.
• When they eat the food, don't say "You suddenly get really heavy" but describe how they feel different, like maybe moving through water or something like that. However, the first player that moves around the room cracks a floor tile.
• Previously, and elsewhere in the dungeon, I would want to leave at least one, maybe two, clear indications that the food can be eaten. (Not sure off the top of my head how I would do that, though.)

If you think that's giving away too much, that's my instinct, too. But, again, my experience suggests that the players will still have a blast "solving" it.

 

[TiQuinn]

As a GM I have often feared giving away too much and handing the solutions to players, who will then feel cheated of having solved it themselves. But really, in practice, I have found that because I already know the solution my gut feel for the 'right' level of hint is still woefully inadequate for the players, and when I feel like I am giving it away too easily the players are still thrilled to have solved it.

Agreed. 9 times out of 10, what I considered to be obvious and simple to me was not so to the players. I’ve felt that over explanation and obvious clues fare far better and are more satisfactory to players than explaining the solution after the fact, even if the players realize they missed something. There’s no satisfaction in seeing people fail a puzzle for me.

 

[payn]

Which is why telegraphing is vital, in my opinion.

As a GM I have often feared giving away too much and handing the solutions to players, who will then feel cheated of having solved it themselves. But really, in practice, I have found that because I already know the solution my gut feel for the 'right' level of hint is still woefully inadequate for the players, and when I feel like I am giving it away too easily the players are still thrilled to have solved it.

Here's an example of how I might telegraph the food scenario from upthread:

• Investigation of the plate would reveal that a single person can make it move slightly, and more people makes it move more, but still only a little bit. I would want them to come to the conclusion "we need more weight".
• Describe how some (many) of the flagstones in the floor are cracked, as if something extremely heavy had been put down. Further investigation would reveal that the cracked stones lead in a path from the table to the pressure plate.
• When they eat the food, don't say "You suddenly get really heavy" but describe how they feel different, like maybe moving through water or something like that. However, the first player that moves around the room cracks a floor tile.
• Previously, and elsewhere in the dungeon, I would want to leave at least one, maybe two, clear indications that the food can be eaten. (Not sure off the top of my head how I would do that, though.)

If you think that's giving away too much, that's my instinct, too. But, again, my experience suggests that the players will still have a blast "solving" it.

There is definitely an art to it. I was playing Mysterium once and had perhaps the worst teller I can imagine. This fella was handing out clues that made absolutely no sense outside of his own context. For example, "I gave you the sand card to let you know that the murder weapon was an iron. See, since one time I was on vacation at a beach house, it had an ironing board, so, I always think of irons now when I see sand". A bit of an extreme example, but it highlights how a designer might think they are providing obvious clues, when they are not thinking in the perception of others.

 

[TiQuinn]

I was playing Mysterium once and had perhaps the worst teller I can imagine.

Oh wow, perfect aside - I have seen more people bounce off that game than most others and it’s for those same reasons.

 

[billd91]

There is definitely an art to it. I was playing Mysterium once and had perhaps the worst teller I can imagine. This fella was handing out clues that made absolutely no sense outside of his own context. For example, "I gave you the sand card to let you know that the murder weapon was an iron. See, since one time I was on vacation at a beach house, it had an ironing board, so, I always think of irons now when I see sand". A bit of an extreme example, but it highlights how a designer might think they are providing obvious clues, when they are not thinking in the perception of others.

Wow. You even see things like that come up in party games like Codenames. You'll give a clue that, you think, links pretty much exclusively to a couple of cards on display and someone will have some weird association and screw it up. It's almost enough to think some people just don't speak the same language.

Once when I was giving a clue I said Packers (we are in Wisconsin) because it linked to a couple of cards (I can't remember exactly what they were) - a couple of players on my team were on the right track to make the right picks, but one got them veered off in a completely useless direction and got the others to go along with him and we ended up losing. But, I suppose I have to make allowances that he's from Chicago originally and is a Bears fan and so can't be considered a right-thinking individual...