zakael19's latest activity

Before I would resort to railroading, I’d just prompt them to make a decision. I’d summarize the options they’re considering and then...

I think it is okay to "break the 4th wall" at some point and pull everyone out of character in order to talk about things above board...

Gawd, can't wait to get the dead tree version into my hands

The Hunter in my group was shredded by the death curse of an animated form of battlefield rage and carrion crows tonight, which brought...

Naw, the only thing that matters in this context is how the player feels as they are engaged with the campaign - in the moment and on...

For sure. I think at least some portion of GM railroading comes from insecurity: that is, being uncertain about being able to flow with...

I made the distinction between “a railroad” as a noun and “railroading” as a verb up thread. I think it’s an important one. Linearity in...

Okay... so we're a few sessions in now, and the game has been very enjoyable. We've muddled through the rules a bit at times out of the...

Anything wholly produced by AI is not copyrightable under US law. The line of "sufficient" human contribution is a little fuzzy right...

So effectively, abstract that further to a party wide skill challenge. The familiar might be one way of acquiring knowledge for the...

As a DM I have gotten so bored of the familiar-scouting-the-entire-dungeon metagame that I nerfed the spell to have its telepathic...

This is why I've turned "figure out the right-ish answer" puzzles into entirely optional bonus stuff! Players see them there, feel smart...

My general view is that if the GM is establishing the stakes, establishing the situation, establishing the theme and establishing the...

Draw Steel! has a downtime activity that's basically that yeah, "gather info to set up for the next objective." Here's an example of a...

Right, this is the response of somebody who likes and gets the design ethos. But you have to have a broad understanding of the design...