So after a good 2 year break from GMing (with the exception of a couple one-shot adventures), I've started running Rise of The Runelords. A few problems have cropped up, and I am wondering how to handle these situations.
First off, Doors.
The party has no rogue, but even if they did, I'm not sure we wouldn't have the same problem. A door stands between the party of adventurers and the next location they intend to go to. Here is how the dialog between GM and Players might go:
GM: "Ok, you are in front of the tower, about 20' from the front door."
Player: "Is the door locked?"
GM: "How are you going to determine that?"
Player: "Well, does it have a lock on it?"
GM: "You are all about 20' away from the front door, are all of you going to go right up to the door, or just one of you, to examine the door".
Players: "we draw our weapons and get ready for a fight, the Oracle goes up to the front door"
GM: "it's a sturdy wooden door, there is a keyhole below the knob."
Oracle Player: "Is it locked?"
GM: "How are you going to determine that?"
Oracle Player: "I search for traps" (rolls D20) "a 19 perception!!"
GM: "hang on, you don't get to roll that. Tell me you are searching for traps, and your Perception modifier, I'll roll and tell you if you found anything."
Players: (roll eyes) fine, I search, +5 perception.
GM: (rolls) "you don't notice any traps."
Oracle: "Is the door locked?"
GM: "I don't want to start assuming your actions, you step up and turn the door knob?"
Players: "For crying out loud!!! The heck with it, I scream a battle cry and kick the door down!!! Do we have to play out every detail!?!?!"
GM: "What do you want me to do, just cut scene narrate everything until initiative is rolled? Let's do it your way, you all are standing in front of the tower, Oracle runs up to the door and grabs the door knob. Electricity courses thru him from the door knob, and a pit trap opens below his feet. Then, you're all going to say "wait, we would have done things differently, we wouldn't just run up to the door like that"
So, if I prompt them for checks and ask for details, they start metagaming taking combat formation and triple searching everything.
Next, combat positioning and initiative.
We use miniatures and always some sort of drawn out combat grid. In one example, the PC's finish off a monster in a cavern. PC miniatures are spread out from whatever their last position in combat was before the monster died. One PC picks up his miniature and moves it to one of the walls that has something interesting carved into it. Another is drinking a healing potion, the rest are doing nothing. A bad guy, who heard the battle, sneaks to one of the cave entrances next to a big stalagmite and points his bow at two of the PCs who are near each other. Bad guys position near the Stalagmite is perfect, has two lightly armored PC's in line of site, one ranged PC is totally blocked by the Stalagmite and one fighter type is farthest away with a stalagmite of his own blocking line of site and providing an obstacle from charging. The bad guy announces "Drop your weapons!!!"
But now everyone grabs their miniatures, "oh that's not where I would be, I'd be over here somewhere" "Oh yeah, I would have been closer, like here." Now, they are in perfect tactical position, and the bad guy would be foolish to ambush them in this circumstance. I say "wait, you didn't say that you were moving anywhere, where your miniature is is where you are." Players respond: "You should have asked us where we are at before you started the encounter." After some resistance from me, they get frustrated and say "fine! that's where I am! I guess I had packed up all my weapons in my backpack too! Maybe I should be prone at the guys feet! Whatever!"
So, I try to launch a surprise encounter and NOW everyone wants to be specific about their position NOW that they KNOW something is going to happen. I tried to explain to them that my asking for their exact positions would be an obvious tip off that it was important and something was going to happen. They would then "metagame" and try to take advantage.
Other than having some fairly troublesome players to deal with, what else can I do to not have to go thru this every time?
(And sorry for my sub par writing skills... no my strong suit.)