Over the years I have read countless opinions on
the subject and it always comes down to a blame game. Bad Dungeon Masters blame
game designers for not providing them with an efficient module that expressly
details what each monster will do in the myriad of possible situations that
happen during actual play. While terrible game designers will loudly complain
that everyone playing their module must be an idiot because clearly they’re
unable to run a good game.
Forget that noise.
Instead of complaining you should do something
about the problem at hand. Your monsters should be active participants in the game reacting to the actions of the players. If the players are breaking
down walls and causing a huge ruckus then the monsters should be working
together to set ambushes that mess those
kids up.
/rant.
/rant.
I blame the Lazy Game Master and the sense that you can just grab a module, whip out the dice and the characters, and run 'till you drop. The truly serious Game Master takes the map and a circle protractor, sits down with the module's map, and figures out how far the hearing range of a goblin is, or a lich, or an Owlbear and draws radii to KNOW if something will hear activity. Then the characters learn to be quiet and sneaky and not disturb the sleeping of monsters. I have little tolerance for lazy GM's.
ReplyDeleteI'll be honest, I've never once thought about sound carrying through a dungeon and said, "I need my protractor."
DeleteBut the thought has merit.