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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Celebrim" data-source="post: 5170608" data-attributes="member: 4937">No, in my recollection, I've never done it.  That's not because I'm a perfect DM by any stretch of the imagination.  It's because the first X times I encountered this technique was as a PC and it blew chunks, and on the general rule that I should always strive to be the DM I would like to have I never touched the idea.  I admit to being tempted from time to time.  I understand the temptation to do it, but I generally resist it by saying to myself, "That would make a pretty cool twist.  I'll have to remember to use that twist in the future in a future adventure or campaign.  However, I've got a cool twist now, so lets concentrate on doing what I can to make this idea work."One other thing I've learned over the years is that when you do screw up as a DM, it helps to admit it and work out with the players how they would like to fix the screw up.  So I'm not even sure that my recommendation to use this as a kludge fix in rare cases is good advice.  My gut says that it might be worth the risk, but I would even advise caution even in that case.Sure.  It happens.  But equally often, if you stick with your plans and you have decent plans, you are going to get serendipitous synergies as well.  That running gag that the player is making about buying various NPC a fish is going unexpectedly turn really funny when the player asks an NPC what sort of gift that another NPC would appreciate, and you can deadpan the answer, "Well, she has a fondness for fish." (Minor example from my most recent session.)  In the same way that you get players unexpectedly off on red herrings and off the path, you are going to get players unexpectedly finding paths and unexpectedly reinforcing your themes and narratives.  And that's great, and as DM would trade those experiences for anything.  About the only thing better than that vicariously experiencing the player's wonder at something you created.  That's like internal high-five self moments.  You never are going to get there if you don't trust yourself some.  One of the biggest problems I have as a DM is playing scared and not trusting myself.  One of the most important DM skills is maintaining your composure and your faith in the story and yourself to get through any problems.  It comes with experience.  It comes with doing it every week or every other week for years.  I really have to try hard to avoid the temptation to explain myself to the players when they look confused, when the game is momentarily stuck, or when something inexplicable is going on you get this urge to lift the curtain for a while and show them the clockwork and say, "See, it really does all make sense."  Because yeah, you want the player to think well of you.  But there is always a better way in my experience.  You got to be able to push through the fear, and if you do, then not only do you encourage yourself to trust yourself, but you start building that trust between you and the players where they know that even though things are wierd right now, its all going work out in the end if they just stay in character and keep struggling.Just for a second, remove the assumption that you can hide your 'chumming' from the players and get away with it.  Players of RPGs in my experience are very clever people, and all the assumptions about fudging behind the screen seem to assume you can just get away with it (with an adult audience).  But really, you aren't going to hide this for long, especially if you think you are being really clever by doing so.  You may think you are getting away with fudging dice, or railroading, or nerfing challenges, or chumming, but most of the time the player has just agreed to along with the illusionism for the same reasons that alot of players make the unspoken agreement with the DM to always bite the hook.  But think for a moment what you are communicating when you 'chum' like this, both to yourself and to the players, and I think you'll see why I think nothing really good can come of it being done with any regularity.</blockquote>

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