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You're doing what? Surprising the DM
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<blockquote data-quote="JamesonCourage" data-source="post: 6110320" data-attributes="member: 6668292"><p>That's true. Nothing is inherent in either encounter.</p><p></p><p>What? The players say "I go through the desert to get to the city" and I interrupt the travel with the nomad / refugee / mercenary scene, and the players react to it. That's fundamentally the same as "we go into the city and to our goal in it" and me interrupting it with a siege / quarantine scene.</p><p></p><p>What I'm discussing is Hussar's "nuclear option", where he wants to skip scenes, and his stated desire to skip the desert scene, even though no context had been established. He did not know if it was relevant, but wanted to skip it.</p><p></p><p>Now, I get why he'd like to limit the number of complications, and resolve stuff. That part makes sense to me. But, I would imagine that this would extend to the siege as well, and he hasn't objected nearly as much to that, and that baffles me. Because I don't see what relevance the siege has, inherently, that the desert encounter can't have. As always, play what you like <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p></p><p></p><p>I wanted to XP this section, but can't yet. I get this part, and you explained it very well. Thanks.</p><p></p><p>Again, though, haven't you framed this in a way that you purposefully made the siege relevant to you? And, on that note, can't you frame the desert scene with nomads in such a way that it is relevant to you?</p><p></p><p>Well, you can tie them to your goals. That's what I guess I'm saying. You don't need to, but you don't need the siege to matter, either (the city has been under siege many times in recent decades, has great food stores, a wonderful garden, magic to make food and water for its people, and the siege is only a cautious quarantine when nothing is actually wrong and the people know it, and the siege lets people in without issue, even though you can teleport past them or fly over them anyways).</p><p></p><p>Okay, three things, I think. One, what you find contrived (or not) I can only guess. You've mentioned before just how fickle people's suspension of disbelief is.</p><p></p><p>Two, you're offering a nomad scenario that nobody else has offered, and then saying you wouldn't like it because it's contrived. What about my nomad scenario? If the siege isn't too contrived, certainly refugees aren't too bad, right?</p><p></p><p>Third, and most importantly, you accept the desert potentially being relevant. This is a huge thing in my view. This seems to have been outright objected up to this point, though more forcefully (or stubbornly) by pemerton. Your objection seems to be based on your suspension of disbelief, not on relevance. And that's totally cool, and so much more enlightening. Thank you for your post. As always, play what you like <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="JamesonCourage, post: 6110320, member: 6668292"] That's true. Nothing is inherent in either encounter. What? The players say "I go through the desert to get to the city" and I interrupt the travel with the nomad / refugee / mercenary scene, and the players react to it. That's fundamentally the same as "we go into the city and to our goal in it" and me interrupting it with a siege / quarantine scene. What I'm discussing is Hussar's "nuclear option", where he wants to skip scenes, and his stated desire to skip the desert scene, even though no context had been established. He did not know if it was relevant, but wanted to skip it. Now, I get why he'd like to limit the number of complications, and resolve stuff. That part makes sense to me. But, I would imagine that this would extend to the siege as well, and he hasn't objected nearly as much to that, and that baffles me. Because I don't see what relevance the siege has, inherently, that the desert encounter can't have. As always, play what you like :) I wanted to XP this section, but can't yet. I get this part, and you explained it very well. Thanks. Again, though, haven't you framed this in a way that you purposefully made the siege relevant to you? And, on that note, can't you frame the desert scene with nomads in such a way that it is relevant to you? Well, you can tie them to your goals. That's what I guess I'm saying. You don't need to, but you don't need the siege to matter, either (the city has been under siege many times in recent decades, has great food stores, a wonderful garden, magic to make food and water for its people, and the siege is only a cautious quarantine when nothing is actually wrong and the people know it, and the siege lets people in without issue, even though you can teleport past them or fly over them anyways). Okay, three things, I think. One, what you find contrived (or not) I can only guess. You've mentioned before just how fickle people's suspension of disbelief is. Two, you're offering a nomad scenario that nobody else has offered, and then saying you wouldn't like it because it's contrived. What about my nomad scenario? If the siege isn't too contrived, certainly refugees aren't too bad, right? Third, and most importantly, you accept the desert potentially being relevant. This is a huge thing in my view. This seems to have been outright objected up to this point, though more forcefully (or stubbornly) by pemerton. Your objection seems to be based on your suspension of disbelief, not on relevance. And that's totally cool, and so much more enlightening. Thank you for your post. As always, play what you like :) [/QUOTE]
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