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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pming" data-source="post: 7159395" data-attributes="member: 45197">Hiya!What you are describing...how you DM and how the player(s) play...is a classic example of "old skool" clashing with "n3w school".How you DM, your 'style', is very much an "old skool" style. In this style, the players are the ones that have to tell the DM they are doing anything 'significant'. Now, that 'significant' stuff is stuff that could/would be something that commoners would not really do or worry about...because they aren't being hunted by an evil demon cult, a pissed off black dragon, a band of elite assassins tasked with killing them, or any number of other myriad things. Does the farmer lock his door when he goes to bed? Maybe, maybe not...he's a farmer. He probably tries to remember, but forgetting isn't likely to result in his death, all things considered. Now, the PC's not barricading a dungeon door as they try and rest up in a 30'x20' room? That's something the players NEED to tell the DM. What if there is a hidden danger in the room the PC's don't know about? With "old skool" DM'ing, the way you are, the DM is not there to "make sure the players get through the story". An OSDM is unconcerned about weather or not the PC's live or die; whatever happens it will be part of the story because the story is created by the players (primarily, at least).  The problem you are having is that you are playing with a (few?) players who are expecting a "n3w school" DM; one that is there to facilitate the players moving through the story.To the NSPlayer, anything that is not stated should always favour the players. If it is 'better' for the PC's to have removed the rope or barricaded the door...then they did. If it is 'better' for the PC's to have left the rope up or not barricaded the doors...then then didn't. The reasoning is that if the PC's are hindered significantly (or killed), then they can't "continue the storyline as presented in the adventure path"...therefore the DM should favour the players/PC's.I am not one of those n3w school DM's. I'm an unashamed old skool "killer" DM. Death can be fairly common in my games. Or not... It all depends on the players. Because of this style, we have seen some amazing heroics as well as some heartbreaking tragedies. If I was to always favour the PC's...well, things become VERY much 'less heroic'. It's hard to see something as heroic when the outcome was mostly guaranteed one way or the other. And losses? Pft! Either they are very minor, or easily remedied. No. Not for me. Old Skool Killer DM all the way baby! <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D"  data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" />So...what you have is, as I said, a "clash of styles/expectations". You are OS, the player(s) are NS...and never the twain shall meet. Unfortunately. Unless, of course, one side is willing to seriously and honestly give the other style a shot over a decent amount of time; say, a year. That's what I had to do with my current group. Four of the 7 had to learn how to play OS style. It was bumpy the first 4 or 5 months, but after that, they now say they much prefer OS...at least for most games we play (definitely any D&D-type game). You and the player(s) will have to come to a decision on what style you want to go with. Be warned though! Some people just can't "get into" the other style (had some players quit over the years because of this). But it's probably worth a sit-down with the other players to talk about "expectations of play" (re: OS vs NS style).^_^Paul L. Ming</blockquote>

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