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<blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 8592555" data-attributes="member: 42582">Imagine a D&amp;D game that places a big emphasis on hidden information. In that game, part of the skill of play includes learning that information - for instance, by scouting, or collecting rumours, or whatever. So if there is an Orc Captain who is tougher, or better-armoured, than usual, that is a bit of information that the players can in principle obtain. Changing it willy-nilly would be undermining the players' play. Just the same as changing the tiles in a tile-layout-based boardgame would be. (I just played Mystic Wood this morning with my kids!)At some D&amp;D tables, the hidden information approach is typical. (This seems to be the approach Gygax advocates in his DMG and PHB, and that underlies modules like Keep on the Borderlands and White Plume Mountain.)Of course, at other tables hidden information plays a lesser role. If the only hidden information that matters to play is the current encounter's stat blocks and map, then changing what has been prepped in advance of introducing it into the current encounter is no big deal. This is mostly how I approached my GMing of 4e D&amp;D.If hidden information isn't relevant at all, and the key play priority is a series of satisfying story &quot;beats&quot;, then changing stuff during combat resolution to help ensure those beats occur would be fine. I personally don't play or GM that way, but have known other tables to favour that approach. I think it's fairly widespread among the current D&amp;D community.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="pemerton, post: 8592555, member: 42582"] Imagine a D&D game that places a big emphasis on [i]hidden information[/i]. In that game, part of the skill of play includes learning that information - for instance, by scouting, or collecting rumours, or whatever. So if there is an Orc Captain who is tougher, or better-armoured, than usual, that is a bit of information that the players can in principle obtain. Changing it willy-nilly would be undermining the players' play. Just the same as changing the tiles in a tile-layout-based boardgame would be. (I just played Mystic Wood this morning with my kids!) At some D&D tables, the hidden information approach is typical. (This seems to be the approach Gygax advocates in his DMG and PHB, and that underlies modules like Keep on the Borderlands and White Plume Mountain.) Of course, at other tables hidden information plays a lesser role. If the only hidden information that matters to play is [i]the current encounter's stat blocks and map[/i], then changing what has been prepped in advance of introducing it into the current encounter is no big deal. This is mostly how I approached my GMing of 4e D&D. If hidden information isn't relevant at all, and the key play priority is a series of satisfying story "beats", then changing stuff during combat resolution to help ensure those beats occur would be fine. I personally don't play or GM that way, but have known other tables to favour that approach. I think it's fairly widespread among the current D&D community. [/QUOTE]

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