Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 grendel111111 Sep 09, 2015 21:35:42	SOP (or Standard Operating Procedure), and how it can be good for your game.   There has been much talk lately of how SOP is something to be avoided. They players shouldn’t just go through a list of things that they want to do to avoid danger each time they think danger is there. For me there are several good things about SOP which can speed up the game and get us to the “good stuff”. In any adventure there will be things that are done over and over again and this is where SOP can really speed up play.   Marching Order: Every time you head off down a new corridor you need to let the DM know what order you are traveling. So after 10 minutes of discussion you come to the same order anyway. SOP: set marching order for 5’, 10’, and 20’ wide corridors (or when traveling outdoors). When the corridor changes width then you shift to a different marching order. No need to discuss it all over again. You still have the option of overriding it (the fighter says “I took a real beating from that lone kobold in the last room I think I need to take a break from running point until I can rest”), so we change the order because the situation is not standard any more. Another common situation is setting up camp. Rather than discussing each time who is going to do which job you have a SOP. So when the party says to the DM, “we set up camp.” it’s already known that the elf will take the first watch, and the dwarf and mage will take the second watch. That the tents will be set up facing each other and that the mage will cast alarm as a ritual in the area around the camp. (in case anyone gets past the guards). In the same way when breaking camp the mage has one of his actions is to always put up mage armour, so they don’t get ambushed and the mage is left high and dry as an easy target. The ranger carefully removes all indication of us being there and as we head out she hides our tracks.   So a SOP takes up time for the characters (setting up camp takes 30 min game time), but almost no time at the table (“we set up camp”, “Ok, the camp is set and secured in the usual way”). The DM can ask additional questions if the situation is unusual or the players can note if they are deviating from their routines in any significant way.   So how does this apply to traps? When you are in a dungeon situation the party can have a set of SOP’s. The thief most likely checks any lock for traps, check in front of the door for any pressure plates, checks under the door to make sure there are no trip wires, checks the handle before grabbing it. SO this becomes a SOP. No need for the thief to list a string of actions that he does each time he gets to a locked door. Saying that he is going to open the door carefully implies that he will do all his trap checking like any good thief would. These things however take time “in game” and so if they are being perused he may decide to forgo SOP and just get through the door as fast as possible. So the thief says he will open the door, and the DM replies that as he bends down to inspect the lock (Part of his SOP of lock opening so he doesn’t need to state it every time, or worry that he might forget it one time) he sees a glint of light shining off something in the lock, a sure sign that there is something lodged I there. This tells the thief that the lock is trapped and he can choose what to do now going forward. But it avoids the problem of the incompetent trap maker (who isn’t able to even try and hide a trap) and the dungeon littered with previous victims (which someone didn’t bother to clean up while they reset all the trap. It assumes a basic level of competence on behalf of the adventurers. They know not to randomly open doors in an old crypt without checking for traps first.   You can also have a SOP for approaching corridors that you think are trapped. Eg: when you think a corridor is likely to be trapped (back entrance to a castle/ old tomb where you have already encountered traps before) you can say we approach it as a trapped corridor. The DM and players know that means you are moving very slowly, rogue at the front (Highest perception and dungeon delver feat), checking low for and pressure plates and prodding ahead with the fighters polearm, because they forgot to bring a wooden pole. The DM knows if there is a trap or not, if there is none you quickly make it to the end of the corridor, if not, how the trap is found and by whom becomes clear. It may involve a perception check or not. The extra time might attract more monsters to the area but having a SOP for checking a corridor or chest or anything else very rarely will take more table time.
#2 Awakened_Gazebo Sep 09, 2015 22:02:28	Agreed, most of my characters in different RPGs make use of some sort of SOP. I think many real life civilians think that when you have SOPs you must use them all the time, with no deviations in them, but in reality SOPs are the standards from which you deviate when neccessary, thats an integral part of SOP. They make it easier and faster to explore a dungeon, talk to NPCs, kill NPCs when they arent cooperating and walking patrols/talking to local nationals/killing insurgents in real life.
#3 Imaculata Sep 10, 2015 1:27:13	I'm not a fan of standard operating procedures. If marching order matters, then the DM should simply ask the players then and there how they'll proceed. Why ask for marching order if nothing is going to happen? I only ask the players what their marching order is, if they are in a location where it definitely matters. This makes my players want to discuss their marching order, and think about what dangers may lie ahead (which builds suspense).   Same for camping. If it doesn't matter who stands guard, then skip it. Move on to the next morning. But if they are in danger, that is when you ask for who takes the watch. I don't think that what ever surprise I have in store for them is negated by the fact that I ask for their order of watch.   As for who sets up their tent and such. That is just fluff, and if you feel like it, you can skip that too. But when we're talking about standard operating procedures, we're generally talking about actions that really matter. Such as using perception, checking for traps, listening at the door, etc. I think that when you reach the point where the players can simply repeat the same process over and over again to grind their way through your dungeon, you may be doing something wrong as a dungeon master. Do their actions carry so little weight? Are traps now such basic templates, that it's simply a matter of rolling dice and everyone doing their standard thing? What happened to story telling?   I hate gotcha moments myself, so I do assume a basic level of competence on behalf of the players. But I don't assume they take the usual actions. I ask them what they do. If they ask me if a door is locked, I ask them if they want to try to pull the handle and find out. If they want to be more cautious, they can tell me how they wish to check the door. I never assume that they just open the door, nor do I assume that they just check for traps. I ask them what they wish to do, and try to make every decission matter.
(Reply to #3) grendel111111	Imaculata wrote:
#5 AndrewJO Sep 10, 2015 2:11:17	I love this idea, I'm definitely going to use it in games I DM. I'd also like to add "what equipment are you wearing/holding" to SOP. It annoys me when the sword and board fighter says "I shoot it with my bow" in the first turn and I have to argue with him that removing his shield requires an action.
#6 iserith Sep 10, 2015 5:48:45	Imaculata wrote:
#7 sleypy Sep 10, 2015 6:07:01	SOP are great. It saves so much time. I know in my old Sunday group It got tiresome of constantly stopping to work out the marching order taking up a minute or two just to have us all standing in the same order with maybe a 10' deviation between 6 people and a handful of henchman. shifting around minis and rehashing the same discussion over and over when little changes can waste a lot of game time and it it happen around the time that initiative is also getting rolled to make combat setup take you out of the story even more than it already does.