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<blockquote data-quote="Schmoe" data-source="post: 3773837" data-attributes="member: 913"><p>I'm honestly a little confused at your troubles, as I always seem to have plenty of unexpectedness when I DM. But I guess the best advice I can give is: "Don't be afraid of change."</p><p></p><p>Take a game night and plan for that night to focus on the consequences of the character actions more than the plot. And by this I don't just mean "did the PCs rescue the damsel?", but more "did the PC's scare off the last goblin in the tribe? What will that goblin do now?". </p><p></p><p>Put the main plot in the background. Sure, it's important for the PCs to rescue the damsel, but there's all sorts of other stuff going on that can have interesting repercussions. Take your focus off of the damsel plot and think about that goblin for a moment. Come to a conscious decision. The goblin could become enslaved by a lamia in the next cave over and spill the beans about the juicy adventurers nearby, or it could just be eaten by wolves. The important thing is that it gets you thinking off the beaten path, which can lead you to unexpected places.</p><p></p><p>Another way to spice things up is to simply present a problem, and an environment, and then let the players loose. At the beginning of the night you don't really know how the players will solve the problem, beyond the vague notion that the tools are available somewhere in the environment. If it becomes clear that the players are down one track to a cool solution, but you hadn't really planned for the tools to be available, then improvise!</p><p></p><p>Hopefully I haven't misinterpreted and these solutions help. Like I said, though, I have more than enough unexpectedness in my games, and I'm running the Shackled City Adventure Path!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Schmoe, post: 3773837, member: 913"] I'm honestly a little confused at your troubles, as I always seem to have plenty of unexpectedness when I DM. But I guess the best advice I can give is: "Don't be afraid of change." Take a game night and plan for that night to focus on the consequences of the character actions more than the plot. And by this I don't just mean "did the PCs rescue the damsel?", but more "did the PC's scare off the last goblin in the tribe? What will that goblin do now?". Put the main plot in the background. Sure, it's important for the PCs to rescue the damsel, but there's all sorts of other stuff going on that can have interesting repercussions. Take your focus off of the damsel plot and think about that goblin for a moment. Come to a conscious decision. The goblin could become enslaved by a lamia in the next cave over and spill the beans about the juicy adventurers nearby, or it could just be eaten by wolves. The important thing is that it gets you thinking off the beaten path, which can lead you to unexpected places. Another way to spice things up is to simply present a problem, and an environment, and then let the players loose. At the beginning of the night you don't really know how the players will solve the problem, beyond the vague notion that the tools are available somewhere in the environment. If it becomes clear that the players are down one track to a cool solution, but you hadn't really planned for the tools to be available, then improvise! Hopefully I haven't misinterpreted and these solutions help. Like I said, though, I have more than enough unexpectedness in my games, and I'm running the Shackled City Adventure Path! [/QUOTE]
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