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About Morally Correct Outcomes in D&D Adventures [+]
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<blockquote data-quote="Oofta" data-source="post: 8936978" data-attributes="member: 6801845"><p>So this is tough to answer, not just for me but others as well. But I'll do my best.</p><p></p><p>Thing is I don't plan out conclusions. I don't worry, or even think much about what options the PCs have. I set up locations, actors, motivations and actions. The locations will be influenced by many things, but primarily it's to set the mood and stage. Is it in a city? Wealthy part of the city or the slums? A city can have it's own personality and culturewhichmayplay into options.</p><p></p><p>Then we get to the actors. Actors, for my purposes can be individuals, groups, or unknowable entity. Actors have descriptions like a gnome wearing a heavy leather apron covered in stains wearing a band around his head that has multiple lenses that can be dropped down and a crown of snowy white hair sticking out the top in random directions. An actor could be the local wererat guild that is having a power struggle for leadership or the noble family running out of money but trying to maintain their status.</p><p></p><p>Then there are motivations. The gnome is doing experiments, trying to understand the regenerative abilities of the wererats hoping to make a potion that will let people heal and even regrow limbs. What he is attempting is what he sees as the pursuit of knowledge and giving people hope, if a few street people have to have limbs cut off to see if they can be regrown, that's just the price of progress, right? That noble family is using their (waning) influence to support the gnome. The matron of the family is only thinking of the profits they could make but the son truly wants to help people. He suspects something is going on, but is willfully ignorant.</p><p></p><p>The actions include things that have happened in the past. The gnome, with the help of the noble family, has been kidnapping wererats and trying to extract the parts of their disease that grant regeneration. He's been testing things out on people living in the streets. The group has been hired by a someone secretly representing the wererats to investigate, the noble son is starting to get suspicious, a few of the people that were previously treated have started showing violent tendencies.</p><p></p><p>So ... what's the good ending here? Stopping the gnome? Do you work with the wererats and if so, which faction? The gnome's formulas do work sometimes and at least a few street people have had limbs regrown. What if the people being experimented on know the risk going in but are so desperate they still volunteer? A few wererats have been killed, but the gnome has been careful to take the worst of the worst, wererats that are themselves far from innocent and the kidnapping of wererats has actually made them more cautious which also helps the downtrodden.</p><p></p><p>A lot of my scenarios are much more straightforward, but this is something I could see doing. Do you expose the noble family? Exposing the matron will ruin the family, the son was trying to do good, exposing the matron will bring down the whole house. Do you continue to work with the wererats even though they're a far worse scourge?</p><p></p><p>I do my best to avoid trolley car problems, and try to allow for anoption that would be considered a happy ending. I don't worry too much about philosophical debates of good and evil. Would the majority of my group (including me) consider it "good"? If the answer is yes, then I'm satisfied. </p><p></p><p>I don't think there is one true definition of good and evil that is not subjective and biased. I just accept that as good enough for a game.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Oofta, post: 8936978, member: 6801845"] So this is tough to answer, not just for me but others as well. But I'll do my best. Thing is I don't plan out conclusions. I don't worry, or even think much about what options the PCs have. I set up locations, actors, motivations and actions. The locations will be influenced by many things, but primarily it's to set the mood and stage. Is it in a city? Wealthy part of the city or the slums? A city can have it's own personality and culturewhichmayplay into options. Then we get to the actors. Actors, for my purposes can be individuals, groups, or unknowable entity. Actors have descriptions like a gnome wearing a heavy leather apron covered in stains wearing a band around his head that has multiple lenses that can be dropped down and a crown of snowy white hair sticking out the top in random directions. An actor could be the local wererat guild that is having a power struggle for leadership or the noble family running out of money but trying to maintain their status. Then there are motivations. The gnome is doing experiments, trying to understand the regenerative abilities of the wererats hoping to make a potion that will let people heal and even regrow limbs. What he is attempting is what he sees as the pursuit of knowledge and giving people hope, if a few street people have to have limbs cut off to see if they can be regrown, that's just the price of progress, right? That noble family is using their (waning) influence to support the gnome. The matron of the family is only thinking of the profits they could make but the son truly wants to help people. He suspects something is going on, but is willfully ignorant. The actions include things that have happened in the past. The gnome, with the help of the noble family, has been kidnapping wererats and trying to extract the parts of their disease that grant regeneration. He's been testing things out on people living in the streets. The group has been hired by a someone secretly representing the wererats to investigate, the noble son is starting to get suspicious, a few of the people that were previously treated have started showing violent tendencies. So ... what's the good ending here? Stopping the gnome? Do you work with the wererats and if so, which faction? The gnome's formulas do work sometimes and at least a few street people have had limbs regrown. What if the people being experimented on know the risk going in but are so desperate they still volunteer? A few wererats have been killed, but the gnome has been careful to take the worst of the worst, wererats that are themselves far from innocent and the kidnapping of wererats has actually made them more cautious which also helps the downtrodden. A lot of my scenarios are much more straightforward, but this is something I could see doing. Do you expose the noble family? Exposing the matron will ruin the family, the son was trying to do good, exposing the matron will bring down the whole house. Do you continue to work with the wererats even though they're a far worse scourge? I do my best to avoid trolley car problems, and try to allow for anoption that would be considered a happy ending. I don't worry too much about philosophical debates of good and evil. Would the majority of my group (including me) consider it "good"? If the answer is yes, then I'm satisfied. I don't think there is one true definition of good and evil that is not subjective and biased. I just accept that as good enough for a game. [/QUOTE]
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