Curiosity

[Ed Reppert]

As a GM, do you try to encourage curiosity in your players? As a player, does your character get curious when she runs into something she hasn't seen before, or is it always "run in, kill everything that moves, grab the loot, move on to the next encounter" and if there's nothing to kill "this is boring, let's move on"?

An example: Your party finds a room in which, in the corner to either side of the door is a statue of what looks like a priest. In front of the party, on the wall opposite the door, is a table on which are a few coins and a statue of a man, from the waist up, holding out his hands, palms up. Would you as GM encourage your players to try to find out what they could about what these statues represent? Would you as a player try to Recall Knowledge about what you see? Or would it not occur to you to do that?

[breithauptclan]

As a player, I certainly try to explore all of the options available in anything I encounter.

The biggest way that I have seen that get shut down is if everything that is described is trying to kill the party. Eventually after getting put at a disadvantage enough times for being curious, the players will stop doing it.

On the exact opposite - the best way to encourage that exploration feel is to spend time and effort describing things that are not hostile. Especially things that are in what would normally be considered a 'dungeon' area. If the players get rewarded for being curious, they will continue to do so.

[Ched Greyfell]

I try to avoid playing with murder hobos, and new players that exhibit those tendencies don't tend to last long in my gaming groups.
The entire lure of TTRPGs for us is cooperative storytelling. If we wanted run in and kill, there are plenty of those types of games out there. But when we play Pathfinder, it's all about being curious.

[Ed Reppert]

I'm watching one episode now where the GM and the players are talking, ostensibly it's downtime, the PCs are going to various shops and buying stuff, but the only guy they've talked to so far is the town sheriff, and that talk didn't go too well. :-)

Ah, well, let's see what happens next.

[HumbleGamer]

Depends the context.

If we are playing an AP, as a player, I tend to consider alternatives, but without pushing it too much outside what is supposed to be the plot.

As a DM, I allow my players to choose alternative ways, as long as they are not deliberately pushing it against the plot.

On a homebrew campaign I see no issue in either exploring or allow players to explore.