Recent content by PrecociousApprentice

There was a thread around here a few days back about whether you could raiload a willing player. It was forked from this thread. There was no consensus. There were claims about railroading that were all over the place. This is exactly the same every time it comes up. Some people want to say that...

The thing is, there are three arguments going on in this thread. 1) All prep is good vs not all prep is good. 2) Having a reason for placing an encounter/element in your campaign is good vs. having a reason in mind is railroading. 3) Planning inherently creates better games than improv vs...

Except that improv at the table is collaborative, and so is much more efficient than time spent on prep before the game. On top of that, you only have to come up with the stuff that the characters do. Ignoring this is why you are having a problem understanding.

Prepping makes the rails. Whether you insist on placing an element in play or you do not place an element in play, by deciding what is "playable" you have created rails to some degree. It was the prep that did that. No matter what or how you prepared. You made the rails. This is actually part of...

Seems like, in light of the fact the the PHB2 was on the WSJ bestseller list, maybe WotC might have a good reason to not guess the demand accurately. PHB2 was a really big seller, bigger than previous books. It was obviously more anticipated than they realized. Why does there have to be ulterior...

I think that I would echo Fallen Seraph here and also elaborate on what you said Lanefan. What you wrote in your post is getting exactly at what the subtle difference is. Fallen Seraph points out the you do need to plan so that you can stay at least one step ahead of the characters, and the...

Imaro, I would like to address the statement you made about the type of communication that I outlined above only happening in a perfect world. I think that saying that it only happens in a perfect world is a disservice to gamers. I think that it not only happens, but it can easily happen more...

The other big distinction is that with improv, you don't need to come up with anything extra. Pre-planning gives the advantage of plenty of time to consider, with the drawback of needing that time to consider. Otherwise you might as well have just done it at the table, and ensured that you would...

Cadfan gives a great warning for potential worldbuilders. This warning shoud be disregarded at your own peril. Woas gives some great advice. This is the most often ignored peice of advice by self professed worldbuilders. Ignoring this will not make your game better. I would add that each...

EDIT: Double post/

I like the analysis so far Alex319. I probably need some more time to digest the implications, but I think that this has generally been what I have felt for some time, I just hadn't written it out explicitly. I think I also need time to make sure that your ideas aren't being substituted in my...

No problem. This is a perfect example of how reasonable people can reasonably dsiagree. It is OK if you like things different. Here is where we disagree. Deciding on goals and themes are not hard, shouldn't take long, and are actually necessary for players to get a consistent and cohesive idea...

I am certainly not ignoring the inside out method. You definition is pretty consistent with the definition of worldbuilding in the 3.5 DMG. There definitely has been an attempt to redefine and reclassify things to create distinction, and yes, the distinction does exist. That is the point, and is...

@Kask- At no point did he say require. You seem to be putting words in his mouth. Emphasis mine. I think that this kind of thing is what the OP is making a case against. The advice has been: 1) Campaigns need a World. 2) See the chapter on worldbulding for advice on how to create a detailed...

100% improv is hard to pull off well. 0% improv is really hard to pull off well, and almost surely requires player compliance. Somewhere in between is going to be the optimal solution. Casual gamers would probably be better served by being taught how to improv better than by being taught to...