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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Clint_L" data-source="post: 9508347" data-attributes="member: 7035894">The first was a neurodivergent kid who came to D&D camp with his fully loaded Darth Vader mask and I was more than happy to do whatever it took to engage him. The second is an ELL student who just wants to make friends and doesn't have great English. Now he has friends to sit with at lunch.I have bigger fish to fry than worrying about whether the D&D campaign matches my preconceived notions, especially with beginners. I just want them to engage, start learning, have fun, put their phones down, and hopefully make some buddies.In general, I used to come into campaigns with a story I wanted to tell. Now I try to come in with the attitude that I get to facilitate a story we will generate together. If I put aside my own expectations of what the story should be, I can't be disappointed and will likely be entertained.Here's an example that [USER=29398]@Lanefan[/USER] will recognize: I was hosting a game of Dread that included him and some members of his VERY long running D&D group. The premise of the game was college rafting trip gone wrong - kind of a Deliverance meets Danger at Dunwater scenario. Anyhow, I asked players to prep a character, and one designed a character who was secretly a vampire.My first (private) reaction was "well, no, that's not what I had in mind for this story." But then I thought about it...and so what? Just because it wasn't my idea and could take the story in a radically different direction didn't mean it wasn't an awesome idea that could be a ton of fun. The only real issue, aside from my ego, was that a fully powered vampire could obviate a lot of the scenario (super strength, being able to turn into mist, and all that), so I told the player sure, but did she mind de-powering her vampire for those reasons, and she was more than happy to oblige.The game was super fun, the vampire angle added a whole new element to it and a surprise ending that I could never have predicted, and made the game better for everyone. And all I had to do was let someone else be creative.I firmly believe that everyone should go with what works for them and their group. If you prefer tight narrative control, then bless. I'm not advising anyone to do anything, but I can report back that the more I let go of my own preconceptions about how the story should be, the more fun I've had helping to create it.</blockquote>

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