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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Felon" data-source="post: 3054051" data-attributes="member: 8158">If you don't think D&D constitutes "high fantasy", then your definition of the term deviates wildly from the norm. Grim n' gritty it ain't.That's a very good point, and I find it commendable that you'd stop by to participate in a thread that started by quoting you out-of-context. Yes, the SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) approach to the dungeon gets tedious. On the other hand, if dungeon dangers are effectively thwarted by SOP more often than not, then the dungeon might be the root of the problem, not the players' approach to tackling it. The question is, why are they taking that approach? Are they doing it because they enjoy being methodical, or does it just happen to be the most effective way to succeed? If they enjoy being methodical, then maybe this isn't really a problem at all. If they're doing it out of perceived necessity, then it's time to re-examine those dungeons. Are characters faced with ignominious death at every turn? Even a single 100-foot deep pit that drops into a vat of acid in the middle of a hall is enough to justify extreme caution. If the only way to avoid this Reflex-save-or-die deathtrap (which is not a very heroic way to go) is to prod with a 10-foot pole, then as a player I'm inclined to do that. Even without the pole, the rogue is going to scour every 5-by-5 square in front of him. Having said that, there are certainly a couple of ways to keep players on their toes. First and foremost is to keep things fast-paced so they don't have time to run through a checklist. Give them a life-or-death deadline that doesn't allow them to proceed laxidasically. Have guards patrol the corridors regularly, carrying horns to sound an alarm if they encounter intruders. Those are the conditions heroes typically have to operate under; they can't always proceed on their own terms.The other is to simply bear the checklist in mind and arrange hazards so that the SOP winds up looking like a POS sometimes. After all, the guys who design elaborate dungeons probably know about that checklist as well. Why would they design all of their deathtraps so that a poke from ten feet away would be enough to bypass it?  They'd make one of their pits thirty feet wide. They'd  make some require a few hundred pounds of pressure to activate. They'd design some not to activate while anyone's standing just outside of the hazard zone. The SOP shouldn't be worthless (players should benefit from being prepared), there just need to be enough curveballs that they disengage the auto-pilot.</blockquote>

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