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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 9226098" data-attributes="member: 42582">I can't comment on general propositions - but I can report that I've never played 4e in a pick up context or with strangers. I played it with an established group. And we didn't use the assumptions of organised play (=, as best I can tell, railroads). We used the assumptions of player-driven GMing set out in the 4e books.We played 4e face-to-face, using tokens on paper maps, and piling on other tokens to keep track of effects.And I think this is one reason why 4e was not popular with many RPGers who enjoyed 3E and post-Gygaxian AD&D.In 3E and 2nd ed-style AD&D, the GM has largely unlimited power over what happens outside of combat, and very extensive power over what happens in combat. Even without fudging, the GM can decide where NPCs/creatures move, who they attack, etc.4e D&D creates a framework for non-combat resolution (skill challenges, which as per my conversation upthread with [USER=6671663]@Autumnal[/USER] belong to the same family of resolution systems as extended scene resolution in HeroWars/Quest, Maelstrom Storytelling, Burning Wheel etc), and in combat it gives the players a lot of capacity to shape how things unfold (with CaGI being a poster-child for that). Then there are player-authored quests, magic item "wish lists", etc.It does not default to GM-driven play.</blockquote>