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<blockquote data-quote="GMMichael" data-source="post: 7956614" data-attributes="member: 6685730">I'd take away an XP from you if I could, as payback for putting the idea of a meatball sundae in my head.I wonder if the possibility, itself, that the GM is mixing random gen. with intelligent design is enough to get players to investigate the ivory monkey.&nbsp; If not, the fact that it could be a magic item is; players love that stuff.&nbsp; Of course, if the players ignore it and move on, you could always make it grow to its full-golem-size and attack from behind <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f913.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":geek:" title="Geek&nbsp; &nbsp; :geek:"&nbsp; data-smilie="30"data-shortname=":geek:" />That's the fun I'm interested in.&nbsp; It's a little taste of on-the-fly chaos from behind the screen, instead of the usual flow from the front of it.&nbsp; But what if it's full-flavored, like a meatball sundae?&nbsp; What if the next dungeon room could be a pit into Hel?&nbsp; Then the GM's stakes are much higher: the equivalent of being a PC and watching your character die.&nbsp; The GM's game is about to die, if he doesn't find a valid way for the PCs to negotiate the situation.Now, the PCs, of course, will help shape that outcome through their decisions.&nbsp; But the GM has to make it flow.&nbsp; If Megatron (yeah, it was a really unlikely set of rolls) doesn't immediately try to disintegrate them with his scope (yes, that's actually what it was), he'd better have an interesting reason for doing so.&nbsp; Or, if he just starts shooting, it has to feel Hel-and-Megatron deadly to the players, even if the GM is actually pulling punches.Never?&nbsp; &quot;Appropriate&quot; and &quot;fairly&quot; must have a pretty interesting connotation if it doesn't include keeping the party alive.&nbsp; Note that &quot;party&quot; does not protect individuals <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f608.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":devilish:" title="Devil&nbsp; &nbsp; :devilish:"&nbsp; data-smilie="29"data-shortname=":devilish:" /> Thanks for mentioning the sandbox.&nbsp; You just reinforced my marketing approach on this.&nbsp; But more to the point, isn't it weird how applying random generators - effectively filling in the blanks for the GM - requires more skill from the GM?&nbsp; Or is it just different skills?Yeah, I think random generators can be awesome too.&nbsp; I guess it just struck me as odd that D&amp;D would give you all the random monsters you (or the weird frog with your hand in it) could swallow, but not the random dungeons to go with them.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="GMMichael, post: 7956614, member: 6685730"] I'd take away an XP from you if I could, as payback for putting the idea of a meatball sundae in my head. I wonder if the possibility, itself, that the GM is mixing random gen. with intelligent design is enough to get players to investigate the ivory monkey. If not, the fact that it could be a magic item is; players love that stuff. Of course, if the players ignore it and move on, you could always make it grow to its full-golem-size and attack from behind :geek: That's the fun I'm interested in. It's a little taste of on-the-fly chaos from behind the screen, instead of the usual flow from the front of it. But what if it's full-flavored, like a meatball sundae? What if the next dungeon room could be a pit into Hel? Then the GM's stakes are much higher: the equivalent of being a PC and watching your character die. The GM's [I]game[/I] is about to die, if he doesn't find a valid way for the PCs to negotiate the situation. Now, the PCs, of course, will help shape that outcome through their decisions. But the GM has to make it flow. If Megatron (yeah, it was a really unlikely set of rolls) doesn't immediately try to disintegrate them with his scope (yes, that's actually what it was), he'd better have an interesting reason for doing so. Or, if he just starts shooting, it has to [I]feel[/I] Hel-and-Megatron deadly to the players, even if the GM is actually pulling punches. Never? "Appropriate" and "fairly" must have a pretty interesting connotation if it doesn't include keeping the party alive. Note that "party" does not protect individuals :devilish: Thanks for mentioning the sandbox. You just reinforced my marketing approach on this. But more to the point, isn't it weird how applying random generators - effectively filling in the blanks for the GM - requires more skill from the GM? Or is it just different skills? Yeah, I think random generators can be awesome too. I guess it just struck me as odd that D&D would give you all the random monsters you (or the weird frog with your hand in it) could swallow, but not the random dungeons to go with them. [/QUOTE]

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