this post was submitted on 06 Jan 2024
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Serious question, who here actually tries to create such paranoia in their players? It's probably one of the biggest reoccurring memes around here and I don't entirely get it.
Is this the tone some people are actually trying to create and if so, why?
It could just be I have a very narrow group of people I've played with, but this doesn't necessarily seem a tone I'd be striving for.
I had a DM hide mimics and traps everywhere and then get pissed at us for "wasting" so much time checking everything for traps.
my personal rule is to only lay a trap that has clear potential to be discovered in-game, with a context clue, and not an ambiguous "roll for perception" out of nowhere.
randomly dropping an anvil on a player is a dick move.
telling players they're walking through an active construction site of a new smithing conglomerate, with an unfinished forge 10 meters above them, at least sets the tone and let's them know caution is a reasonable option.
also sets up some weird intrigue that could easily turn into a sidequest.
The confusion lies in calling them a GM. Sounds like they were just a dick
In a lot of ways, yes. It was my first time playing D&D, so I didn't really know any better.
Generally, such paranoia is only for a single adventure (I had a haunted mansion my friend did where that paranoia was well done), or a one-off scare/surprise we can all have a good laugh about later.
Yeah, if you try to make it a regular thing, I think you need to expect your player count to be less and less regular in correlation.
I think that's a terrific answer!
I had a sort of opposite problem the last time I ran a campaign. my players came into the game super paranoid, probably from reading stories about tricky DMs, and it made my life pretty difficult.
I did set up traps and misdirection, but only when there were exactly enough clues to figure it out. I learned that the major problem with that method, is that what's obviously a clue to me wasn't always obvious for them. so, I was thought of as a tricky DM. then, after I softened up, my sessions looked too easy and obvious.
honestly, it's just a really difficult balance. I eventually got it to a good place for everyone, but everyone really does have a preferred level of deceit, and it isn't easy to cater to a group of 5 with varying levels of expectation
My life is so stressful. I like to giggle with friends when I play games. This would give me so much anxiety and end relationships.