The Stairs!

[Wik]

The Situation:

You are in a group consisting entirely of 1st level adventurers. You are on your first adventure, in your first dungeon. You explore the dungeon for only a few minutes, encountering nothing, when you come across a staircase leading down to a lower level.

Do you go down, or do you continue exploring the first dungeon level?

 

[Mark CMG]

If only one direction can be isolated by spiking a doorway, we do so and then explore the other. If both can be isolated, spike the way to the stairs and stay topside for a while. If neither can be cut off, still stay topside . . . and watch our backs.

 

[The_Warlock]

Oooooooh, STAIRS....

 

[innerdude]

I'd answer that, but my first-level halfling (we're playing BECMI, right?) has already ran down the stairs, aggroed the ghouls and ghasts, and ran back up.

Sorry.

=)

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

So, wait ... We have to go down a level to go up levels? How does that make sense?

 

[fba827]

if we've found nothing else on the current level, then yes go down.

i wouldn't want to waste time on an empty level and i'm not going to sit there waiting for someone to roll a 20 on their spot/perception/whatever check to find the super secret door that the dm put there to make us waste our time looking for it.

else, if i suspect nothing is down there either (for whatever story related reasons that might make me think that) then i'd say "never mind, this place is already been cleared -- look at this first level as evidence -- let's go home/next adventure/etc.

 

[Chainsaw Mage]

The Situation:

You are in a group consisting entirely of 1st level adventurers. You are on your first adventure, in your first dungeon. You explore the dungeon for only a few minutes, encountering nothing, when you come across a staircase leading down to a lower level.

Do you go down, or do you continue exploring the first dungeon level?

What kind of a NOOB goes down to level two without first killing everything on level one?

 

[Chainsaw Mage]

So, wait ... We have to go down a level to go up levels? How does that make sense?

In the same way that lower Armor Class = harder to hit makes sense.

 

[Wik]

if we've found nothing else on the current level, then yes go down.

i wouldn't want to waste time on an empty level and i'm not going to sit there waiting for someone to roll a 20 on their spot/perception/whatever check to find the super secret door that the dm put there to make us waste our time looking for it.

else, if i suspect nothing is down there either (for whatever story related reasons that might make me think that) then i'd say "never mind, this place is already been cleared -- look at this first level as evidence -- let's go home/next adventure/etc.

To clarify:

You haven't explored the first level yet. In fact, the first room you've encountered on the first level is a stairway down to level 2. But there are plenty of passageways, doors, etc. that you haven't yet looked down on level 1.

For what it's worth, we're assuming edition-neutral but "classic D&D" feel, here, so the assumption is lower dungeon level = more treasure but harder fights.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

More serious answer: If there isn't a way to easily isolate the stairs (e.g., close and barricade the door, put a dwarf in front of it, etc.), then I'll happily move down them.

Otherwise, I just know that we'll hang out some on the first level, get in a couple fights, get some nice treasure, and be horribly ambushed by the harder monsters who came up the stairs on our way out, now that we're deliciously tenderized.

Of course, that just means there'd be an awesome set of loot right inside the door for my backup character, Patryn the Second, who looks eerily familiar ...