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<blockquote data-quote="Chaosmancer" data-source="post: 8380234" data-attributes="member: 6801228">I have been told repeatedly that the major element I am ingoring in making exploration challenging is a time limit. I must have a ticking clock to pressure the players to push on and rush and take risks. However, how did you determine that ticking clock? If you make the clock for a party without a ranger, and then the ranger gets them there far faster and without error... then the ticking clock wasn't providing pressure. I actually am writing/running a &quot;Quest&quot; where a group of people are controlling a single character. I gave them a &quot;ticking clock&quot; in that they had 1 year to complete their first mission. I intentionally set this up as not something to provide them any pressure, because six months later and I don't think we've even had a month of game time. The story isn't focused on that and they are dealing with a lot of things and progressing a lot of plots without needing to focus on that, but they can't forget it. But, the challenge of that mission isn't the clock. The clock is just so we don't forget about it. However, in the example of the party needing to get somewhere to disrupt a ritual, we have a double problem. See, if a party without a ranger can reach the location, and still have enough time to disrupt the ritual... then the ranger allowing them to arrive even earlier, and have even more time not only removes the pressure of the clock but also makes the adventure itself easier. Both aspects were made far easier, because the clock said they had more than enough time. But, if the party can't reach the location without a ranger... then you've begun curating the game. You've made sure that the challenge is able to be overcome with the resources they have, and the ranger's ability is simply making it possible, passively, for them to do what they could have done without the ranger.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Chaosmancer, post: 8380234, member: 6801228"] I have been told repeatedly that the major element I am ingoring in making exploration challenging is a time limit. I must have a ticking clock to pressure the players to push on and rush and take risks. However, how did you determine that ticking clock? If you make the clock for a party without a ranger, and then the ranger gets them there far faster and without error... then the ticking clock wasn't providing pressure. I actually am writing/running a "Quest" where a group of people are controlling a single character. I gave them a "ticking clock" in that they had 1 year to complete their first mission. I intentionally set this up as not something to provide them any pressure, because six months later and I don't think we've even had a month of game time. The story isn't focused on that and they are dealing with a lot of things and progressing a lot of plots without needing to focus on that, but they can't forget it. But, the challenge of that mission isn't the clock. The clock is just so we don't forget about it. However, in the example of the party needing to get somewhere to disrupt a ritual, we have a double problem. See, if a party without a ranger can reach the location, and still have enough time to disrupt the ritual... then the ranger allowing them to arrive even earlier, and have even more time not only removes the pressure of the clock but also makes the adventure itself easier. Both aspects were made far easier, because the clock said they had more than enough time. But, if the party can't reach the location without a ranger... then you've begun curating the game. You've made sure that the challenge is able to be overcome with the resources they have, and the ranger's ability is simply making it possible, passively, for them to do what they could have done without the ranger. [/QUOTE]

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