/tg/, I need your help. I've recently gathered a few friends

Make it lead somewhere. Improvise.

>>52892925
I really don't feel comfortable with that, for several reasons. But first of all, I would like to make clear that whenever I put a problem or puzzle in front of the players, I don't expect them to get MY correct idea. Sometimes I have thought of more than one answer for it, sometimes I haven't even bothered thinking about it, since I know that I can't think of all possibilities beforehand and they can come up with something I haven't thought about that is actually a very good/cool idea (maybe even better than mine), and I'm 101% prepared to accept that as if it was the correct answer all along.

But now, if everything they do succeed, no matter how stupid/dumb, they will just get lazy and start doing things without even thinking about it. And that is really not the behavior I want to encourage. Its not that I want them to do what ~I~ would do, but I want them to do something that at least someone would do.

The place does lead to somewhere. They are trying to go through a door in a tomb after they just permanently sealed it closed after failing HARD on solving its puzzle.

Here some info that they explicitly know:
> There is probably more than one way to get where they want to go. (so even IF that is a way to go, they could find a easier one somewhere else)
> What they are looking for can't be directly in that room, because its supposed to be in a different floor of the dungeon.
> Its the final door in a tomb of an ancient king which they haven't found the coffin yet - therefore is not really hard to assume that is what is behind the door (there could be also loot, but still not what they are looking for)

Also, if they think meta-game, maybe the door that got permanently sealed is not the only passage to take to the main quest's objective. I'm not expecting them to think that way, but I wonder how no one realized it yet.

Shameless self bump 1/5

Shameless self bump 2/5

Well, my first thought was that you were railroading but after reading your full story it doesn't seem that way. I think the problem is that your players aren't understanding what you are trying to explain to them.
If they keep trying to interact with your puzzle, make it clear that it is broken or disabled. If they are forgetting important context or information there is nothing wrong with reminding them.
If they really want to accomplish something and you don't want to just let them have whatever they want, you can use a technique some people love and some people hate called "failing forward". Just be sure to make it clear that getting what they want creates some other kind of complication for them possibly worse than their previous obstacle so that you aren't robbing them of tension by just giving them something when they failed.

There are many ways to create an interesting and engaging tabletop experience. I am personally of the school of though that it is better to preserve drama and engagement than logical consistency or even a consistent setting. If something's gotta give, go with what makes for a better and more memorable experience for everyone involved.

>>52894404
To be more clear, an example of failing forward in your situation might be that they force the door to the tomb causing part of the structure to collapse trapping them from leaving the way they came. Now the only way out is to travel deeper into the tomb with an angry ancient king harrying them along the way whispering how they'll never escape and using his superior knowledge of the tomb to ambush them. Optional spectral attacks through walls and raising undead guardians as needed.

Obviously I don't know all the details of your situation so this probably isn't directly applicable but you can get the general idea.

Suddenly, Ninjas!

No, seriously. Make something that will overwhelm them if they stay at the dead end force them to move.

Hey guys. First of all, thanks for the replies :)

> make it clear that it is broken or disabled.
Last session I made the rogue roll an intelligence check, and with that said "your character concluded that is likely that the mechanism is now disabled" or something like that

>If they are forgetting important context or information there is nothing wrong with reminding them.
Maybe I should pay more attention to that, and make sure they do know everything. But for instance, more than one player have said "well guys, i think there should be more than one way to get where we want" and "i think we might have fucked the puzzle up"

But seems like they know it, but then put that sort of information aside and completely ignore it LOL

> some people love and some people hate called "failing forward"
Why some people hate it? Can you give me some pro and cons? In my mind, sounds like a nice trick

> it is better to preserve drama and engagement than logical consistency or even a consistent setting
I think I'm a bit bound to have things that make logical sense. But lately I have decided to try as much as possible not to fix anything before it actually happens in the game. EX: If I decided an interesting/userful NPC is on place X but they decided to go to place Y instead, i might just decide the NPC is on Y now just so they can interact with it.

>>52894503
>>52896394
What I wonder (and would truly appreciate a more experienced opinion on the matter) is that if I overuse this kind of technique I will mold the player's behavior into something like "we should always try everything until the place actually falls down". I just think it would be nice if I could somehow "teach" the players that sometimes sit back and brainstorm a new approach could be a good idea.

>>52897372
Remember that risk should be a factor in D&D, so they can fail and perish if they don't step out of their rut.

Make the world a living world, and people going on dangerous adventures will die if they don't keep their wits about them.

Besides, it's a cool character moment, I believe.

File: Fixed.png (2MB, 900x1200px) Image search: [Google]

2MB, 900x1200px

>>52892904
i've fixed the image because that perspective bothered me so much

>>52898048
Holy shit thank you.

>>52898217
no worries spread it around so the original ceases to be

>>52897800
Nice doubles.

> will die if they don't keep their wits about them
I agree, but I also think there are other consequences if they screw up besides life-threatening ones. For instance, this time I chose to permanently seal the door after they failed the puzzle as a punishment for failure, sort of. Sounds shitty saying that way, but I thought it would be really rubbished if they could have a second try, because that takes away the tension of making the right decision (if you know you can try again and again even if you fail).

I think that was a good decision but deep inside I'm a bit afraid that might also bore them a bit (even though I still think it was an important lesson).

>>52898048
>>52898217
>>52898693
lol

>>52899908
Sorry about the accidental saging OP didnt even realise

>>52892904
I had a similar experience when a friend of mine tried to DM a one off using a Gygax designed dungeon that had been updated to 5e. The characters my small group built were all very interesting, but all had a good amount of investment in their combat ability rather than trapfinding or insight.

Of course, being a gygax dungeon, we ended up doing fuck all for hours on end, poking around and backtracking without having a single combat or NPC interaction. Talking with everyone after we had called it a night, we came to the conclusion that the punishment for making a wrong turn should be a more active obstacle, rather than the passive boredom of a dead end.

Additionally, players are naturally inclined to assume that a blank brick wall is a secret door, and that every kobold hovel will have a store of treasure somewhere in it. At points where players seem to be stopping everything to ransack an empty corridor, give them a short combat and a partially hidden but relatively easy to find material reward, gradually building up to a massive score at the end of the dungeon. It's all about punishment and reward, and making sure that you're communicating with your players through their environment.

Best of luck!