The Stealthy Game A GM Plays With Himself

[Water Bob]

On paper, I like the Move Silent/Hide vs. Listen/Spot dice battles that should occur between the hunter and his prey in a game.

But, really....

Isn't this really a game that the GM plays with himself?

I wouldn't want to alert the player that something may be stalking their characters, so I wouldn't allow the players to roll their Listen and Spot checks. For the obvious reason, I'd roll that.

At the same time, I move the NPCs and monsters as part of my job being the GM, thus, I roll the Move Silent and Hide throws.

I'm just dicing with myself!

Is there a better way to simulate a critter sneaking up on the group?

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

DM: "Make a listen check"
Player: "Ok. Um, I got a 12. Why?"
DM: *Checking his papers* "Hm... Ok, no reason."

...Do this from time to time, literally for no reason. that way the players don't know if there is something tracking them, or not.

 

[Vegepygmy]

Isn't this really a game that the GM plays with himself?

I don't consider a few behind-the-screen rolls to be a "game." It only takes a few seconds, and then you either announce that (one of) the PCs have spotted something or you announce that they've just been ambushed. I don't see any reason to fret about whether that can be simulated better.

 

[Greenfield]

Any time anyone is on watch, I ask them to roll both Spot and Listen, even if there's no encounter.

I do the same when someone is scouting ahead, or taking the rear guard position when they travel. My players are used to it.

When they aren't explicitly "on guard", then they Take 10, with the -5 Distracted penalty.

I never dice against myself if I can help it. It's distracting for the players, and makes for a boring game.

Two simple rules to remember, over all, as a DM:

1) Players like to roll dice.
2) Players don't like to roll too many dice.

Dice keep them involved. Too many dice rolls bleed of the energy of the moment and bury it in game mechanics.

 

[mc.jesus]

I've quickly taught my players to be cautious and always be on the lookout, now they usually roll whenever they set forth, but if they forget they forget.


This happened by them falling prey to the same pit trap not 1, not 2, but 3 times. Twice of which they were attacked and one of those times captured.

 

[Omegaxicor]

I agree with RUMBLETIGER (was CapsLock on?) when they walk down a corridor, once or twice an adventure, early on once per two adventures, just to keep them on their toes.

The problem if you do it too often is that they begin to ignore it, not necessarily a bad thing but may cause arguments

 

[ahayford]

In these types of situations I would only have the players roll to detect, and not "simulate" what the NPCs are doing. I consider this part of my story telling tools. At the same time, if the players have an extremely high perception, or the sneaking character isn't particularly adept at sneaking, I wouldn't allow him to succeed.

 

[Water Bob]

I don't consider a few behind-the-screen rolls to be a "game." It only takes a few seconds, and then you either announce that (one of) the PCs have spotted something or you announce that they've just been ambushed. I don't see any reason to fret about whether that can be simulated better.

To play the stealth rules exactly as written, though, it's kinda hard to do that. EACH character gets a Spot and/or Listen check EACH round.

So, if you've got, let's say, 4 PCs walking down a trail, and you've got some critter--let's call it a panther--stalking them as prey...

That's a heck of a lot of dice rolls that I think will take longer than a few seconds.

We're talking EIGHT dice throws (to hear or spot the predator, one per character) everytime there's a chance for the party to hear or see that which follows them.

AND, these throws aren't normally against a DC but an opposed roll by the critter. So, now we're throwing TEN dice throws, behind the screen, everytime the critter can be spotted or heard.

That's a lot to manage.






And, this brings up another question. You're not in combat rounds, so how often do you perform the checks?

Spot, I guess you roll anytime the stealthy critter doesn't have 100% cover. Listen, I guess you'd roll anytime the critter moves.

Still, that's a lot of things to manage by the GM.

Any time anyone is on watch, I ask them to roll both Spot and Listen, even if there's no encounter.

The problem with this is that the character knows the outcome of his roll.

If he rolls poorly, then he's on guard anyway because he knows that if there is something out there, he didn't detect it.

If he rolls well, he can relax knowing with certainty that there's nothing out there because, if there was, his throw would have detected it.

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

I agree with RUMBLETIGER (was CapsLock on?)

Note the lowercase "i".

 

[xigbar]

I assume my players aren't listening/looking for something if they don't explicitly say so. If you're on an adventure, and you're being serious about it, you'd better be on danger mode when you're in the dungeon/wilderness, so I expect the player's attitude to reflect this alertness.