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If the goal of the game is to have the players role-play in an imaginary world, couldn't you say any choices that the game sets up that work against that goal is just poor design? Your example seems to hit the nail on the head: the player is playing the game by choosing options the game sets up...

Looks cool. Not much else to add. It seems like a pretty complete game, easy to jump into.

There is gold in the dungeon and you are broke.

I think it may be railroading if the previous choices of the players are pointing in one direction but the DM throws this encounter out regardless of the direction of play. Ignoring the choices the players have made in order to use the encounter. I think I have played in games like that but I...

Oh, yeah, I see it now (I think). I feel that without those dice rolls I am going to be determining if the PCs succeed or not. I don't want that responsibility. I make wandering monster checks as the mechanics dictate not because I think it's adding to the verisimilitude of the game or the...

I am not sure why it's not an answer to the original question (why is "bouncyness" necessary for the PCs to ride in and save the day). I don't mean to say that this mechanic the only way to make the game revolve around the choices the players make, it's just what I chose to go with. Maybe I'm...

Agreed. I was thinking that the player's decision to go to the town after hearing the rumours would indicate to the DM that they're interested in that scene. I agree. I wasn't thinking about such a simple choice, I was picturing it in the overall course of game play: goblins are breeding in...

I want to make it difficult for NPCs to resolve their own conflicts. It helps the game revolve around the choices the players make. Plus, it makes it difficult to "win" by recruiting NPCs and having them do everything for you. A few points: 1. I don't want to have the responsibility to have...

I was thinking that something else in the game led to this scene. 1) I was thinking of something along the lines of a skill challenge to get to the town before the plot to attack it has taken place. Or perhaps interrogating a prisoner - does he tell them that there is a plot afoot? and if so...

This sort of thing would happen in my game. However, since I want to run a western (science-fantasy post-apocalyptic western!), I made up a quick and easy system for NPC-NPC conflict. I figure out what the encounter level of the NPCs is, roll 3d6 for each side, add a few very abstract...

I think a lot depends on how the DM decides to frame the situation in option 3. If it was the result of choices the players made previously - in a skill challenge, let's say - then I think the case can be made that the players had agency. If it's out of the blue then I think you're leaning...

That is a good question. I am not sure what the answer is. In my game I want the players to be able to determine whether or not they arrive in the nick of time based on time-related choices, e.g. rest, level up, carouse/study/pray, work, research, or adventure. I want the players to make...

You're right, I was the only one who brought up games full of uninformed decisions. Yup. I wonder if there are any pitfalls to be aware of here. Maybe just basic DM stuff like "have NPCs act appropriately" and "make interesting settings for the PCs to explore".

Why? and how?

I thought that was what the discussion was about: For me, (ii) means that it's an uninformed decision. The last line ("And so the players make an essentially random choice, with one of the choices meaning auto-fail.") really sounds like an uninformed decision. That's clear. The only point...

What are the players actually playing at that point? If a game is full of uninformed decisions, what's the difference from the player's perspective between making a choice and using a die to randomly pick? The players have no agency - no ability to affect the outcome.

There should probably be more. You wake up with your hair a different colour. (If you have no hair, it's grown back.) Roll 1d8 on the ROYGBIV spectrum; on an 8, roll twice - you've got some nice highlights. You can speak the language of any monster whose skin, carapace, or otherwise general...

Here is the link to the blog post that has the first result evilbob put down. I guess there are two ways of looking at the carousing table: a roll to see what would most likely happen that weights the results accordingly, or a roll to generate something interesting which doesn't need to be...

I use wandering monsters as a way to give time a cost in the attempt to make time a real resource that players can use. The time cost isn't in the fight or conflict itself, it comes down to wandering monsters draining resources. Those resources are usually HP and therefore healing surges; less...

I think you want to use sblock and /sblock tags around the text you're trying to hide. You've got PHP code instead. Anyway. I enjoy having time as a resource in my games, either as a player or DM. I don't think it's too much work. I take notes about what the PCs are doing and I keep track...