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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Elder-Basilisk" data-source="post: 311231" data-attributes="member: 3146">Re: this is interestingI would look at this as silly quandries to deal with. In heroic literature, the hero almost never has to travel back to his trainer to learn how to handle the foes he'll face rescuing the princess. He develops his skills along the way. (For example, in the Silmarillion, Turin Turambar started out as the unproven son of a great warrior and ended up one of the greatest of mortal warriors and war leaders. He never decided he had to go back and visit Thingol to gain his levels. He remained in his fortress with Beleg and the bandits, travelling out to strike at Morgroth's forces. Or he was on the run. Or he returned home to Nagrothrond victorious. Or he went to the villages he was defending in the end. His quandries were along the lines of: "Do I pursue Nienor and the orcs who have captured her or fight the dragon now?").When I'm DMing, I make interesting quandries for my players without resorting to artificial ones like the "need" for training to go up in level. For instance, they may be on a quest to return a companion's body to his family when they see a town of their nation's allies under siege by a mixed force of orcs and humans. Do they investigate and find out what's going on, aid the town, or find a way around the town so that they can continue with their quest? Or they arrive at the border of the land they seek and see a warrior being pursued by a detachment of soldiers. Do they aid the warrior, knowing that it will delay their quest? Or they're in a town which they know to harbor an evil death cult. The liege of the town is conducting a witch hunt and burning suspected cultists. Do they help him find the cult? Do they lecture him on the need for tolerance? And then what do they do when they find a letter from the bishop (on a dead messenger) that indicates he thinks the Lord is going too far? Do they deliver the letter to the archbishop? Do they turn it in to the Lord?There are plenty of ways to give the PCs interesting quandries that aren't artifacts of the gaming system like the need to train and gain levels. Quandries that are artifacts of the gaming system are annoying. Quandries that arise from the PCs interacting with the various forces of the world are interesting.(As you might guess from that post, I don't use training except for gaining levels in a new class (especially prestige classes). I give out the experience at the end of each session and if the PCs level, they can level up then and there.)</blockquote>

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