capsicum's page

Thank you all for the advice. There clearly are many different ways to do this.

But as was said, I am looking for a way for my group to have the most fun, so given the options I hear about and the preferences of my group, I'll probably do it like this (after talking with them):

If they are moving normally, I will do an automatic hidden roll for each character for each trap using the character specific perception modifier. If they want to search more carefully than this, then they have to say so explicitly, and they can take re-rolls, etc, for a given area. If they run or otherwise move more quickly, then they don't get any automatic checks.

I think this is what will make my group enjoy the game most. They don't worry about the rogue or dwarf automatic bonuses. We have both kinds of characters in the group, but it does not matter for them. And at this stage, anything which keeps things simple and fast is good. Play for us is still really slow, with us having to refer back to the rules all the time.

Hello,

I did some searches and found some old discussions, but I did not get a good answer to my question.

What is a good and fun way to play perception checks, for traps especially? We are pretty new to Pathfinder and RPGs in general and I am the DM.

As I read the core rules, players have to look for traps explicitly. If they don't, they will walk into the trap. Fair enough, but then, that sort of forces the players to play it really safe, like "I look for traps at this square. I move to the square. I look for traps at the next square. I move to the next square..."

That's hardly fun. Alternatives I am thining of are:

- Just let it be like that, presuming that the scenario is written so that the players have reasons to be suspicious of traps where they are likely to be.

- Roll perception checks automatically. (This is what the players would prefer.)

- Give them some kind of warning, like "this dungeon is dangerous, so be careful".

Any ideas? How do you more exprienced DMs deal with this?

Ok, thanks, those are good points regarding the deity, so I won't have the cleric lose his power.

Thanks all for the advice.

The party is four characters, with balanced spread of classes. I instructed them to create a party like that to make sure it would be balanced and work in play. And, yes, these are people used to video games, so that is part of it I think. Some of the players are a bit of min-maxers competitive to their personality and way to approach a game in general. I don't mind too much though, after all it's their game and it should be fun for them.

It's just that I think the fun of a table top RPG is the depth which goes farther than what can ever be possible in a computer controlled game, and I would like the players to experience more role playing and less mechanistic, optimized play.

But since I am new to pathfinder I was afraid that the game might be designed to be so challenging that frequent rests are needed. It's good to know that this is not the case and I can challenge them a bit more.

What I will do is to let the damsel in distress die. She's been without access to food and water for a week now. One of the player characters is a lawful cleric, and I'll let his deity be upset by this behavior, so the cleric loses his powers. That should teach them to take it more seriously. ;-)

I'll bring in a couple of villager NPCs to help them out since losing the cleric might otherwise make it too tough to get through. I also like the suggestion of putting in some healing aids in the loot.

Hi,

I am new to Pathfinder, having played a bit of other RPGs when I was younger. I am now the DM for a few friends, all new to RPGs. We are playing Crypt of the Everflame to get started.

Is it normal in Pathfinder to constantly camp to heal and recharge spells? The player characters have been told that a woman has been captured by the monsters and needs help, but they are not in any hurry, just dismissing the NPC when he tells them he is afraid for his sister.

I think they have spent like a week of in game time in the dungeon by now. They do one or a few encounters, and then pause to heal for a day before moving on. I think it's out of character, but on the other hand, the encounter rate is pretty high and the characters do get worn out quickly.

Is pathfinder balanced to be played like this?

Thanks for any advice.