Between The Spaces We Know (ooc and questions Vlll)

[Inferno]

Oh! In that case I'm sure everything will be fine...

[Inferno]

Sorry, Pixie and Scott. That's three and a half days. I'll NPC Ingrid and Telkis. Onward.

[Inferno]

Hey everyone,

A new player in my "Secret of the Sleestaks" game asked me a question that I thought was worth sharing:

DM does dice rolls for the PCs, correct? Or do we need to roll for things like finding hidden doors?

Hi Jemmus,
In general, I roll whenever a PC wouldn't know whether they've succeeded or not. And I usually don't post those results in "Behind the DM Screen."

For example, if a PC rolls and succeeds in a search for concealed doors, and I say they found none, the player knows none exist. Whereas if the DM secretly rolls and says the PC found none, the PC doesn't know if any doors exist, which is more realistic. They just know they didn't find any. Likewise Find Traps, Hide in Shadows, Move Silently, Ranger Tracking, etc. I handle all those kinds of rolls. Just describe the PC action and I'll handle the roll. I also roll for PC initiative, so the outcome doesn't inform PC decisions on what actions to take.

But in combat, the PCs know whether or not they succeeded in hitting. So PCs roll to hit. Likewise most Saving Throws and Attribute Checks, damage dice, CLW dice, Bend Bars/Lift Gate, Open Door, Pick Locks, Climb Wall, etc.

Make sense?

[ChubbyPixie]

What are we gonna do? I don't think the cultists are evil, just, uh... misguided.

You've created a very good moral conundrum here, Inferno.

Or maybe they are evil. Did we ever check? I feel like we did.

[Inferno]

Or maybe they are evil. Did we ever check? I feel like we did.

Thanks. Adding to the moral quandary, the spell "Know Alignment" doesn't exist in any of my games.
And "Detect Evil" only detects great supernatural evil.

[Urson]

...And of course, Jerome is of the opinion that being "misguided" into attempting human sacrifice is Evil.

[ChubbyPixie]

I mean... fair. Human sacrifice is iffy, at best. But they have children and stuff. Can't we just do a mind wipe or something?

[Urson]

"Nits grow into lice."

[Inferno]

Telkis enters the narthex of the chapel as quietly as he can, hugging the north wall as he penetrates to the edge of the candlelight and peers into the darkness that is the nave.

A minor clarification: The darkness on the map, in this case, represents that which is not visible from the crack in the southernmost door. The nave may or may not be lit.

[ChubbyPixie]

Ah, got it.

[Urson]

to see if his friends are accosted in any way before following them.

For Jerome's part, he's hoping they are accosted- he's ready to bust some heads and righteously slay some unbelievers.

[Urson]

...Get a hunch, bet a hunch...

[OGRE MAGE]

You mean like.......joining up with a werewolf pack?

[Urson]

*scowls in lycanthrope*

[OGRE MAGE]

And he TOTALLY redeems himself!

Nice one man!!!

[Urson]

Like I said: get a hunch...

As for Pyotr, that wasn't really playing a hunch. That was just roleplay. These days, Pyotr would be diagnosed with anxiety disorders- plus, he'd recently seen both his parents picked off the deck of their fishing boat by a huge, unknown tentacle. His fears went away in wolf form, so he made the choice.

[Inferno]

As for Pyotr, that wasn't really playing a hunch. That was just roleplay.

Here's a can of worms:

I've heard it said that roleplaying means the willingness to do something that will get your character killed because it's what that character would do.

As opposed to an old school philosophy which values PC survival (and therefore, advancement) above all else, and the sign of a "superior player." Gary Gygax falls firmly in this second camp. Old TSR modules could be "tournaments" where players score points for surviving, and completing tasks efficiently, like a wargame. Chaosium's Call of Cthulhu might be the most famous game to challenge this approach, offering that PC loss (i.e. being murdered or driven mad) can be as fun or more fun, and that roleplaying is its own reward.

As a player, I'm naturally inclined to the first camp (the willingness to get my character killed/roleplaying is its own reward). Not because I believe it's better or "right." I don't even think it's intentional. It's just how I find myself doing it.

I also don't see one true path on this as a DM. Especially for this game, which blends Gygaxian old school D&D with Lovecraft.

[Urson]

EDIT

IMHO, good roleplay usually leads to PC survival and growth, just because people always act in their own best interest. Even noble self sacrifice is usually done because the character anticipates an eternal reward, based on their religion.
In Pyotr's case, his percieved "best interests" led to joining the pack, because it meant the end of his fear.

EDIT: I realized after I posted this, that I might be trampling on someone's real-world beliefs. If I did, I apologize.

[Urson]

He stays with the group, but silently wonders if the singing was coming from beyond the curtains and not from beyond these doors.

That's a good idea, OM.

[Scott308]

How high up were the candles in the chandelier? Were there any we saw that were obtainable? And lit?