Cairn 2e - Dungeon Events - Splitting the Party

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First time posting, so I hope this format works.

Running a Trouble in Twin Lakes game. The group is having a lot of fun. We’re on session 7 now and have finally made it to the dungeon.

When there was the first chance for the party to split, they did. From my understanding, each group now has its own dungeon event roles if they choose to stay in the area for a second turn, return to a previous area, make noise, etc.

What happens when group B goes into a room that group A has already been in? This would be the first time this group has been in the room. The way the dungeon is laid out, there’s a lot of opportunity for the groups to split up, explore an area, then swap. At the table, I allowed this, but then it felt kinda like gamy.

For example:

  • There’s a fork, Group A goes to Room X, and Group B goes to Room Y.
  • Room X and Room Y end up being connected
  • Group A spends a turn exploring Room X
  • Group B spends a turn exploring Room Y
  • Then they swap rooms

Curious how others have handled this.

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Always ask yourself, “does this make sense in the fiction?”
If it makes sense for the second party to trigger a DE roll, whether by crossing over another party’s path, or any scenario, then DO IT.
I always let PCs split the party. It is almost always a bad idea. However, I do try reward smart planning, so if they are splitting up to search rooms more quickly, and not crossing between (which to me feels like it would make a lot of noise), then more power to them. Reward smart players.

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I appreciate the reply, Yochai.

I imagine the muscle for how to rule on interesting first will grow over time.

The ruling felt off when reflecting on how the session went. There’s still a part of me that’s hesitant to be rolling the dungeon events, but that’s part of the fun.

Loving the game by the way. I have recommend the the box set for Carin 2E to a few new GMs. Thanks for keeping things approachable.