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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Theory of Games" data-source="post: 9669609" data-attributes="member: 7042201">Wow really? I would never ask players what setting they want. Setting IMO belongs to the GM.Seems like your players drag you from one sandbox to the next on a whim. I could never do that.That's pretty long for casual play. I tend to mirror the players: if they're excited about a campaign, it fuels my creativity. When they get bored, I start suggesting something else. My average campaign is about 6-12 months or so. That's start to finish.Same. Group dynamic is everything IME. Then there's games I tried to run that fell apart because I learned to hate the system (4e, Marvel Heroic, Shadowrun).When I start a campaign I usually have the whole thing done except for some scene details I left "open" so I could adjust them later depending on my mood or new ideas. I can't start a campaign without knowing how the ending might look. I need to know the end, even if the players go in the opposite direction and that ending never happens - I want to know how it could end. It gives me something to pursue. In-between sessions/scenes I'll note how the PCs have changed the setting with their actions. Players love that - "making a difference". It's like candy for them. So I give them 99% agency: they can do whatever they want, BUT the campaign is about "X" so they can do whatever, but they also have to stay focused on "X". Ultimately. NPC attitude change towards the PCs, right? Instead of a railroad, it's an escalation of consequences.I hate world-building. I did it when I was a new DM and the players could care less. IME all most players care about is their character and I can't fault them for it. But I'm not wasting my time building a setting then. I use published settings. It's easier prep-wise. I just give the players all the setting info and some rumors right up front and let 'em run with it. There's always a BBEG. I can't imagine a campaign without one. The BBEG is my GMPC: they drive the action. They are always doing something behind the scenes. Usually, they are plotting the demise of the PCs. And I usually don't wait until the "climactic final scene" to have that BBEG fight. I like that fight in the middle of the campaign - right when the PCs least expect it. If things go bad for the BBEG, they can escape and come back later stronger than ever.I don't worry about the players surprising me anymore. I give them enough agency so that I expect the unexpected. I tell them that if they can save the day in two sessions, great - now we can move on to the next campaign. I mean playing ttrpgs is a group conversation where anything can happen. So I just let it happen. Main thing is to have fun, right?I like your way. It's easy and looks like fun for everybody involved <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f44d.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt="(y)" title="Thumbs up    (y)"  data-smilie="22"data-shortname="(y)" /></blockquote>

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