Exploration in RPGs

[GreysonWulffe]

In our real-life games, our GM never lets us miss any important detail. If he uses a roll for us to "find" it in-game, the outcome merely determines the circumstances of us finding it - whatever is that outcome, we always find that important detail.

• Success means we find it without issue. The Ranger finds the tracks.
• Big-time success means we find it, along with something particularly useful to us. The Ranger finds the tracks and learns their exact numbers.
• Failure means we find it but there's a complication. The Ranger finds enough tracks to point them in a general direction, not all the way to the exact location.
• Big-time failure means we find it but we're immediately plunged into a dangerous situation. The Ranger finds the tracks, and they lead right into an ambush.

We generally see it as a bad idea to put a chance of failure in finding a thing that's important to progressing the story.

[cailano]

On 5/2/2023 at 8:30 PM, GreysonWulffe said:

In our real-life games, our GM never lets us miss any important detail. If he uses a roll for us to "find" it in-game, the outcome merely determines the circumstances of us finding it - whatever is that outcome, we always find that important detail.

• Success means we find it without issue. The Ranger finds the tracks.
• Big-time success means we find it, along with something particularly useful to us. The Ranger finds the tracks and learns their exact numbers.
• Failure means we find it but there's a complication. The Ranger finds enough tracks to point them in a general direction, not all the way to the exact location.
• Big-time failure means we find it but we're immediately plunged into a dangerous situation. The Ranger finds the tracks, and they lead right into an ambush.

We generally see it as a bad idea to put a chance of failure in finding a thing that's important to progressing the story.

I like the idea of making clues impossible to miss. I don't persotuse that system but I do try to provide alternative ways to get the same information.