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<blockquote data-quote="sheadunne" data-source="post: 6113670" data-attributes="member: 27570">If the GM planned for this to happen, then it is expected the goal is not to go to the city, it is then to go 100 miles away from the city, in this case the desert. If the DM told you the goal is the city, then there is a miscommunication between goals. Which is what I believe others are saying and which I explained in my post. The purpose of the planar travel is not exploration or investigation, that was made clear when the DM told the players that their goal was in the city. They weren't out looking for a romp in the abyss. As I explained, if the DM had told the players that the goal was to find information that would lead them to the item (which happened to be in the city, although they hadn't known that at the time) then it's a perfectly acceptable and interesting occurrence. But if the DM says, &quot;The thing you need is in the city&quot; and then expects you to spend hours running around the desert talking to people for which you have no reason to talk to because you know the goal is in the city, then that's a problem.Goal A - Snatch and GrabGoal B - Explore the AbyssThe Players were expecting Goal A and got Goal B. That's a miscommunication and a problem.The misfire relates to the use of the spell for plot purposes. There is an expectation that following the plot leads to achieving goals, not to pointless encounters. There's a huge difference between a 5 mile walk and a 500 mile trek across the desert. This isn't a reflection on whether an exploratory trek through the desert is fun or not. I find them quite fun, especially when I encounter things like &quot;B4 The Lost City.&quot; But then exploration needs to be the goal and point of the scenario, otherwise it's just a distraction and I'll use all my resources avoiding it (which would defeat the intention of the desert if it was there for a purpose). All that's required to make the desert interesting is the DMing changing how they share the information. &quot;Look for clues to the item's location in the desert&quot; versus &quot;get to the city to retrieve the item.&quot;</blockquote>

[QUOTE="sheadunne, post: 6113670, member: 27570"] If the GM planned for this to happen, then it is expected the goal is not to go to the city, it is then to go 100 miles away from the city, in this case the desert. If the DM told you the goal is the city, then there is a miscommunication between goals. Which is what I believe others are saying and which I explained in my post. The purpose of the planar travel is not exploration or investigation, that was made clear when the DM told the players that their goal was in the city. They weren't out looking for a romp in the abyss. As I explained, if the DM had told the players that the goal was to find information that would lead them to the item (which happened to be in the city, although they hadn't known that at the time) then it's a perfectly acceptable and interesting occurrence. But if the DM says, "The thing you need is in the city" and then expects you to spend hours running around the desert talking to people for which you have no reason to talk to because you know the goal is in the city, then that's a problem. Goal A - Snatch and Grab Goal B - Explore the Abyss The Players were expecting Goal A and got Goal B. That's a miscommunication and a problem. The misfire relates to the use of the spell for plot purposes. There is an expectation that following the plot leads to achieving goals, not to pointless encounters. There's a huge difference between a 5 mile walk and a 500 mile trek across the desert. This isn't a reflection on whether an exploratory trek through the desert is fun or not. I find them quite fun, especially when I encounter things like "B4 The Lost City." But then exploration needs to be the goal and point of the scenario, otherwise it's just a distraction and I'll use all my resources avoiding it (which would defeat the intention of the desert if it was there for a purpose). All that's required to make the desert interesting is the DMing changing how they share the information. "Look for clues to the item's location in the desert" versus "get to the city to retrieve the item." [/QUOTE]

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