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Hi, all-- I think I can speak with some authority on WotC's nearly annual layoff cycle. In addition to being a victim of it, I survived several rounds in which better people than I were let go. I can probably be forgiven for feeling that WotC's attitude toward their employees is somewhat...

Hi, all-- This has been a terrific conversation--one of the most interesting I've been involved with in something like five years of visiting EN World on a daily basis. You all have given me a lot to think about, and I've learned quite a bit. (After 30 years of GMing, I still enjoy learning how...

Wow! What a can of worms. I'll just clarify my point with this: By "free," I meant "does not cost you any money." Unless, of course, you think you are giving money to WotC by providing them with commercially valuable content. In which case, I caveat with "so long as you do not post...

I think the GM and players were frustrated because they spent hours doing things that did not advance them toward their goals (the players labouring under the apprehension that they were advancing, only to slowly realize they were spinning their wheels). And those hours did not result in...

Hi, all-- I've stumbled upon the rumour, in one or two places, that you can't use the WotC community features unless you're a paid DDI subscriber. This is NOT TRUE. The forums are free and open to the public just as they've always been. And all the new community features are also free and open...

Only if you assume "outline" is synonymous with "script."

This is a good point, and it made me think a bit. I certainly don't want to think that I "steer" my players excessively, nor do I feel, in the story-oritented campaigns I've played, like I've been "steered." I think a good story-oriented GM also doesn't think in terms of steering the PCs. He...

Some time ago--maybe a year--a guy posted a thread about an event in his campaign. The players were approaching a castle. There was a drain that appeared to go into the castle. Some of the players decided to explore the drain. The party was split, the adventure was sent off the rails, and an...

Even given your caveat, I'm not sure I agree. I can't speak for my players, but as a player myself, I don't spend much time musing on my GM's intentions as separate from the in-game events.

Heck, yeah. The game needs to have twists and turns that are unforeseen even to the GM, in my opinion. Keeps the world alive and keeps the GM's job interesting. The story-oriented GM sits down with his notes after that session and asks "How does this affect things? How do the antagonists react...

I just want to call this out, because I think at this point in the conversation some big misperceptions can hang on small differences in language: It's really important to point out that I don't see these two concepts as mutually exclusive. If the players do not buy into the core conflict of...

I think we're in pretty close agreement on many of the qualities of a good GM. Note, though, that I wasn't saying the above was particularly storyish or sandboxy--I was merely supporting my point that plot does not equal railroad. I guess we might just have to disagree on this one. Certainly...

I don't really know Morrowind, so I can't comment directly. But I will concede this: It's certainly possible, I believe, for an enterprising GM to outline 10, or 100, or 1,000 plotlines, place them in a sandbox environment, and then take advantage of story structure tools with the result of a...

Of course not. But exactly how many plot threads are you going to outline from the beginning of your campaign? 50? 10? 5? 2? If the answer is 1, is it still a sandbox? How do subplots fit into all of this? If you're managing 1 main plotline and, say, 4 or 5 related or dependent plotlines, is...

This is really well put; I wish I'd thought of stating it that way. It goes to the heart of my original point (that plot does not equal railroad). Plots can be explored, just like maps. A GM worth his salt doesn't force players through a set of preconceived scenes with preconceived outcomes any...

You've touched on it yourself when you've talked about, for example, foreshadowing. Putting those statues in front of the medusa's lair lets you foreshadow on the encounter or perhaps adventure level. But it's hard to do it on a larger scale if you aren't willing to work from an outline for the...

Acknowledged. Still, even among a predisposed sample, a strong positive reaction can be meaningful. If the game sucked, or was truly boardgamey, or was just meh (especially at its price point), I'd expect to see signs of that through the bias. I'm certainly not saying it's for everyone (what...

So, my take on things after a quick read of this entire thread is that opinion is sharply divided--among people who haven't actually tried the game. Among those who have, it's (not without exception) very positive. And very much "it's an RPG, not a board game." Can't wait to try it myself!

Au contraire. I've posited that most people experience a great similarity between roleplaying and other fictional environments, and their expectations reflect that. If you are going to deliver an experience that diverges from their expectations, and you don't let them know, you shouldn't be...

Correction: What "D&D campaign" formerly meant to you. I also played D&D in the 1970s, and I don't agree that one was rigidly confined to your style of play, then any more than now. The hobby was young; nobody had years and years of experience to draw upon--and certainly nothing like the...