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<blockquote data-quote="Celebrim" data-source="post: 4706065" data-attributes="member: 4937">I love contrarianism.No.&nbsp; 'Situations' never have 'hooks' in that sense.&nbsp; A person used to a heavily scripted game would get in big trouble in a sandbox game because he would continually mistake mere intelligence, mere information, for a 'hook' that just wasn't there.By 'hook', I mean, the DM comes up with some in game device by which he communicates to the players, &quot;I would like you to go this way so that we can enjoy the adventure I have prepared for you.&quot;, and the player generally agrees because it is implied that it is profitable for the players to do so, and indeed that if they don't do there might well not be any session tonight and we can just go home.One of the big sources of tension in 'Knights of the Dinner Table' is that the group always runs directly away from B.A.'s 'hooks' so that he can never actually run an adventure.&nbsp; They end up having adventures, but they are never the ones B.A. plans.&nbsp; The frustration B.A. has is that he wants to run these highly scripted high concept adventures (the sort that get published), but his players are so independent minded and so antagonistic that its impossible to get them out of the sandbox.&nbsp; They never just go with the flow.&nbsp; They always derail the train, whether intentionally or unintentionally.&nbsp; Of course, the irony is that B.A. is actually a very skill extemporaneous DM and so the players always end up having alot of fun, and eventually the plot (such as it is) gets thick enough that B.A. is having alot of fun too.&nbsp; But B.A.'s inability to ever really use any of the material he prepares is a source of continual frustration to him.When a 'sandbox' DM informs the players ICly, that there is a dragon in the hills or a haunted catacombs under the city, he's not throwing a 'hook' at the players.&nbsp; He doesn't really expect or not expect them to go there.&nbsp; He's just filling them in on things that the players would know or discover about the world they are in.&nbsp; Taking the information about a dragon being in the hills above the city as a 'hook' can lead to wildly 'level inappropriate' encounters.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Celebrim, post: 4706065, member: 4937"] I love contrarianism. No. 'Situations' never have 'hooks' in that sense. A person used to a heavily scripted game would get in big trouble in a sandbox game because he would continually mistake mere intelligence, mere information, for a 'hook' that just wasn't there. By 'hook', I mean, the DM comes up with some in game device by which he communicates to the players, "I would like you to go this way so that we can enjoy the adventure I have prepared for you.", and the player generally agrees because it is implied that it is profitable for the players to do so, and indeed that if they don't do there might well not be any session tonight and we can just go home. One of the big sources of tension in 'Knights of the Dinner Table' is that the group always runs directly away from B.A.'s 'hooks' so that he can never actually run an adventure. They end up having adventures, but they are never the ones B.A. plans. The frustration B.A. has is that he wants to run these highly scripted high concept adventures (the sort that get published), but his players are so independent minded and so antagonistic that its impossible to get them out of the sandbox. They never just go with the flow. They always derail the train, whether intentionally or unintentionally. Of course, the irony is that B.A. is actually a very skill extemporaneous DM and so the players always end up having alot of fun, and eventually the plot (such as it is) gets thick enough that B.A. is having alot of fun too. But B.A.'s inability to ever really use any of the material he prepares is a source of continual frustration to him. When a 'sandbox' DM informs the players ICly, that there is a dragon in the hills or a haunted catacombs under the city, he's not throwing a 'hook' at the players. He doesn't really expect or not expect them to go there. He's just filling them in on things that the players would know or discover about the world they are in. Taking the information about a dragon being in the hills above the city as a 'hook' can lead to wildly 'level inappropriate' encounters. [/QUOTE]

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