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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Someone" data-source="post: 1866137" data-attributes="member: 5656">In my experience, players go on a tangent when they don´t have a clear goal, or the means to archieve that goal aren´t clear. For example, say you have prepared a campaing of political intrigue, and expect the players to make their own way into the city´s inner workings. In that situation, the average player or group will just go to the tavern or spend three hours roleplaying a visit to a shop.Same thing if you set a broad goal, like "You decided/have to organize a revolution and topple King A". The player´s probably won´t know how to start, and we´re back at the tavern, spending the session in a drinking contest.By my experience, the best way to handle that is to reveal some bits of information (for example, there´s a bastard child that could claim the throne, and Count B is a secret enemy of the King) and ask the players to think on the sitution over the week, or dedicate the last hour of the session to brainstorm out of character (this part is important, or we´ll be back at the tavern) what to do. They may ignore your clues and go another way -say, one of them is a cleric powerful enough and they decide to start theocracy- When they have decided what to do, then you write the module. The key in this part is detail the environment, the NPCs, and at least think on what would they do in response to various things. Do not plan the PC´s actions. Avoid any situation that could halt the adventure if the PC´s don´t do it, or do it, like "the PCs have to speak with Hermit C to learn where the Important Magic item is, they arrive there but the BBEG steals the item in front of their faces." If the party kills the hermit, or are smart enough get the item despite the BBEG´s efforts, you´ll have to railroad. Instead, make speaking with the hermit important, but not vital (there´s other ways to learn where the item is) and have the item be stolen long before, leaving a trap or ambush where it was. As Tonguez said, the module structure shouldn´t have the conflict/interaction part built in; the payers are the ones who have to make that. And be sure they know how to start.</blockquote>

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