The Unseen Servant forums

I realized something today about how my mind is working when people post multiple intentions.
Nuonne posted a couple of options but after I read his first question about if the "Troglodyte is dead" and he rolled an attack roll I zoned out about everything else he had written.

When I DM face to face I realize I never really allow people multiple choices on intentions. So I think my brain was operating in that same vein in regards to Nuonne's post. Certainly players can ask questions easier when face-to-face and I think this was Nuonne's intention, ask questions and take actions based on what was best.

I have noticed now I have done this "zone out" more than once and it certainly causes chaos.

I never try to talk players out of conclusion they draw and I try to play beyond the rules. So I think when Nuonne asked "Is the Troglodyte dead?" I am assuming his character his going to check to make sure.

Perhaps when you give me multiple options I feel like I am deciding for your character, I feel more comfortable with a "This is what my character does."

So I am asking for opinions about posting multiple intentions.

We can always go with the ask questions approach. Whatever way is best for you. I've played in PbPs where the DM wanted multiple intentions b/c, for them, it speeded play. But I can see how it can be cluttering as well and thus cause confusion for both player and DM.

I can go either way though.

I always try to break down multiple intentions like this:

If this happens, character does this.

If that happens, character will do that instead.

Does this make it any easier on you?

I find myself doing conditionals when I am unsure of the surroundings. That is because either I am not reading previous posts completely (my fault), or previous posts are ambiguous or seem conflicting such that I am unsure as to the exact situation.

What would be helpful, for me, would be at the beginning of a new round of combat, a summary of which of the opponents are still standing and what characters are able to attack them. For instance in this round, I am unsure given Etruna's position if she is even capable of attacking an opponent this round. I go ahead and post an attack just in case. If I knew for certain that she wasn't capable of attacking, I could possibly use the round for some non combat related activity. However, I could also see that becoming a burden for Solinor to summarize the combat opportunities for all the players.

I want to thank you guys for the input.

After thinking about it, you guys go ahead with the multiple intentions. After realizing how my brain was working I think I can overcome my limitation.

Maybe the PbP game suffers here more so than a FtF game may, in regards to not having a battlemat/minis and being able to see where everyone/everything is versus the "visualization" thing. Maybe when asking for next round intentions, a post with a quick summary each round of what the characters just did/accomplished and what they are facing/seeing/engaged with and/or if they're even able to attack, etc. would cut down on the confusion/interpretation parameters. If a pc is unsure about a situation, then something like what Zeb stated would seem appropriate and logical.

In Nuonne's case, he wanted to make sure the trog he was facing was dead or at least unable to attack before moving on to the next available hostile. Since he wasn't sure if that hostile was finished off, him giving you two potential intentions/courses of action cuts down on the time/posts it takes to ask for clarification and then decide. Does give the dm more to sort out but moves the game forward quicker, imho.