Originally Posted by
Jason
If the players do not understand the significance of something, and the characters who live in the game world would have understood the significance, then it is up to the GM to tell the players what their characters would know, before they make any decisions.
Just as it's up to the GM to tell the players what their characters see, smell, and hear because the players can't see, smell, or hear it, a GM must explain to the players knowledge their characters would have about how their world works that the players don't have because they don't actually live in that world.
You can't rely on them being as familiar with how the game world works as you are - in a sense you are the game world.