Dungeon Master of Disaster
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Post by Dungeon Master of Disaster on Jan 26, 2020 0:56:03 GMT
D&D players can and should pay a price for acting like they are in video-game world rather than a detailed fantasy reality.
Recently my players found a letter that contained the most important clue in our TEN-YEAR CAMPAIGN, but they missed it . . . because no one bothered to ask who signed it.
And to anyone who thinks I should have just blurted it out, ask yourself how they could have forgotten to ask something so obvious, whether the gameplay will get better or worse if I just supplied the clue, and why I would cheat myself of another ten years of campaigning if that's what they want and deserve...
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daxredhammer
Adventurer
 
Posts: 73
Favorite D&D Class: Tinkerer
Favorite D&D Race: Minotaur
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Post by daxredhammer on Feb 6, 2020 8:58:07 GMT
I agree with you, but I have to ask, did you just read the letter to them or did you give them a copy of the letter to physically see? I usually do the latter and if they miss it then, it is definitely on them.
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Post by DM Onesie Knight on Feb 22, 2020 23:19:25 GMT
Hammer's got a point. Yeah, you want to encourage your players to think of your world as a living, breathing, fully detailed slice of life, but it takes a powerful imagination to think of fine details entirely in the theater of the mind.
If you gave them a physical prop of the letter, then there's no way they'd miss the signature. Without that, they might struggle to fill in details you aren't giving them. Don't feel bad to spoon feed them a little bit if it makes the story smoother.
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Post by joatmoniac on Feb 23, 2020 6:41:02 GMT
I agree that figuring out a way to break the mindset that can come from long term video game play is a needed thing for most D&D tables, and it is hard to find a one size fits all method to accomplish that. Also, I know at least half my table wouldn't think to ask that at any point, and they have played a metric ton of D&D, haha.
The idea of a physical prop is the way to go when you can make that happen, and then it is 100% on them if they don't notice things on the item they have in their hands.
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