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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Celebrim" data-source="post: 6107146" data-attributes="member: 4937">To a certain extent yes, because I'm not sure that my game ever plays out like you describe and you aren't describing the game that actually happened.  For one thing for example, I've already made it clear I'm not really interested in playing out shopping expeditions in this circumstance.  You want to buy 6 spears.  That's 30 seconds of game play.  If you cue that you are interested in buying a masterwork spears, that might take a bit longer because now you want to get something other than ordinary resources.  But even then, we're talking adding maybe two or three dice rolls to the resolution, and not lots of RP with shop keepers.As for the 10 applicants, I suppose 40 minutes of table time is reasonable but I find your description of this as "Doing the right thing" sort of humorous.  Where I really have a problem is this:This is just terrible scene framing on all sorts of levels.   If the criminal is so easy to spot and recognize, why does everyone wait until he's with the PC's to spot him?   If I do want to do a reveal on the criminals background, why do it at the least interesting moment?  I mean that's like a 1 in a 1000 coincidence or something.  Why use DM fiat to create a coincidence that doesn't provide for an interesting story development or interesting player choices?   I can think of like a dozen better ways to do that reveal.  For example, the criminal may confess he's a criminal and provide a sympathetic story, and then beg the PC's for mercy or to help him hide from the authorities.  The PC's can now decide, turn the criminal in for a reward of resources (100 g.p. reward maybe), or decide to trust the criminal and risk angering the authorities?   And either way, now we have put aside some plot points for future story lines.  Or perhaps the criminal isn't noticed by authorities (again, it's really wierd they only spot him now), and so it isn't revealed that he's a criminal until some later dramatic point - like after the party has acquired a large treasure (he tries to steal it), or after the party encounters bandits (where his presence leads to the option to avoid the encounter because they are friends of his).  Or perhaps the criminal simply 'does his job' and proves a trustworthy fellow, and then after dismissing the guy and returning to town they see a wanted poster for the guy with a reward of 10,000 gold peices.  And now I'm like, "Do you want to be interested in this story".  And again, I can think of dozens of more interesting ways to play this complication.  And then the resolution you provide is so railroady.  Ok, so why did the authorities take everyone in?  Did the party not get a bluff or diplomacy check to tell the entirely reasonable story they'd just met the man and had no idea he was a wanted criminal to avoid this complication?  Could not a PC party potentially intimidate a group of mere town watchmen into letting them go after they turn over the hireling?  Could the party not have seen the danger coming and evaded it before the confrontation was immediate?  It doesn't seem like this resolution should necessarily lead to complexities or that it necessarily should involve 20 minutes of table time, and if its does then it shouldn't boil down to, "You are given a stern talking to and then released.", because I could play that out a lot faster than that.  And if I wasn't going to use the criminal to do anything, why did I introduce him in the first place.  That just violates Chekov's rule.You keep trying to treat 'killing the Grell' as your goal.  It makes it seem like you are playing 'Orc and Pie' and killing the Orc is your goal.  What is your goal actually here?  Why did you fight the Grell in the first place?   I mean, I know you've turned this into a personal vendeta because there are dead PC's, but before that happened what were you trying to do?  Without knowing things like that I can't tell you how I'd try to tie the recruiting of mercenaries to your goals.   And frankly, if the players don't have something more intersting to offer in terms of goals than 'we want to kill the grell', I'm going to get bored in a hurry.    I don't know.  I know what the odds you would try to hire someone again is, but I'm not sure about groups in general.   I hope to God I'm not as incompotent as the DM of your imagination when it comes to providing hooks for play.I don't see it.  I think  you are taking ludicrously negative interpretations of things that people are saying.  Nagol didn't remotely say what you claim he's saying.</blockquote>

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