How do you like your adventures - focused or freeform?

[Quasqueton]

How do you prefer your adventures (as DM or Player)?

10 would be something like rescue the princess, slay the dragon, acquire the artifact.

0 would be something like exploring a dungeon, wandering the wilderness.

Quasqueton

 

[Hussar]

Considering that I'm DMing the World's Largest Dungeon, I suppose I should answer zero. However, even in the WLD, there are numerous hooks in each region with lots of side quests and the like. Essentially, each region has it's own focus and the entire thing has a focus as well. So, I lean towards a seven.

 

[Raven Crowking]

7 -- PCs go in wiht a set goal, but might change that goal while there.

 

[Ashrum the Black]

I like to keep things as open as possible, but at the same time, it's always been the focused quests that seem to leap into my mind as some of the most fun I've played in. Against the Slave Lords, The Giants series, even the ToEE. They leap to my mind, and I never really consider the modules where we just decided to go wandering around the forest and clear it out of beasties.

As a matter of fact, if that's what we ended up doing I generally found it to be pretty dull and went looking to interject some plot in as a player. Looking for conspiracies and such to get the DM's juices flowing so to speak.

-Ashrum

 

[lacedaemon]

I would say zero not as in running a dungeon but I set up the world as a DM tell the players what they know from their skills work out with them why they are in a group and then let them do whatever they want they should be driven by there characters and not be me sending them places.

 

[Plane Sailing]

I enjoy running and playing in campaigns which are in the 8-10 range.

Unfortunately the current DM likes running in the 0-1 range. We're about 10th level and still scrabbling around trying to find things to do, I get a little frustrated that there are no great quests, no great work to be done in that campaign world!

 

[Ed_Laprade]

Didn't vote. I'll take my adventures any way I can get them. So long as it's a good one I don't care if the GM spent two years or two minutes setting it up!

 

[lacedaemon]

I enjoy running and playing in campaigns which are in the 8-10 range.

Unfortunately the current DM likes running in the 0-1 range. We're about 10th level and still scrabbling around trying to find things to do, I get a little frustrated that there are no great quests, no great work to be done in that campaign world!

You should decide on a plan or plot and run with it directing the DM in the direction you and your characters would like to go.

 

[Talic]

Its great as a player to have options in game and the feel of your choices making or breaking your current plot/goals. But on the other hand, its really hard for the players to know what to do when the DM says "ok, go where you want, do what you want." I think players need some prodding of which direction to go(I know I do) -even if pointing to multiple possible hooks and stories- and are generally perfectly willing to go along with whatever story(s) the DM has planed. The Character/player knowledge gap is usually just way to wide for the players to start things rolling on their own.

It's important for the DM and his story to be able to adapt the adventures to player actions and decisions, but I think its much prefered that he have some general story in mind over make it up as you go. Even the best DM can't come up with answers to all the players whims on demand with the "do what you want" method and still keep it consistantly interresting and cohesive.

So I voted 7.

 

[lacedaemon]

Its great as a player to have options in game and the feel of your choices making or breaking your current plot/goals. But on the other hand, its really hard for the players to know what to do when the DM says "ok, go where you want, do what you want." I think players need some prodding of which direction to go(I know I do) -even if pointing to multiple possible hooks and stories- and are generally perfectly willing to go along with whatever story(s) the DM has planed. The Character/player knowledge gap is usually just way to wide for the players to start things rolling on their own.

It's important for the DM and his story to be able to adapt the adventures to player actions and decisions, but I think its much prefered that he have some general story in mind over make it up as you go. Even the best DM can't come up with answers to all the players whims on demand with the "do what you want" method and still keep it consistantly interresting and cohesive.

So I voted 7.

One of the things I do is when we start a game they are already together or come together for a specific purpose in any adventure they will come accross possible stories and plots that they can ignore or follow. I have run games with players who when they have been asked where they want to go and what they want to do have looked like startled rabbits. To run a good freeform game you need the players who can play in one.

You need to keep detailed notes as the game goes on incase the player asks something but not too detailed people dont have perfect memories and players should be making their own notes.