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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 8922494" data-attributes="member: 42582">I don't really get what fight you're trying to pick.[USER=7035894]@Clint_L[/USER] made what I thought was an interesting remark about starting a campaign with the PCs unconscious. It reminded me of A4 and Out of the Abyss, both of which start with the PCs as prisoners, without their gear, etc. And I've seen quite a bit of discussion over the years as to whether or not those are fair framing situations for scenarios.This prompted me to observe that D&D is somewhat coy about what authority the GM enjoys in scene-framing; and I posted an example of a game that is less coy.If you think that there is a clear statement in the 5e rules about what the GM's authority is in scene-framing, and how it relates to (say) the PCs being in one place rather than another, or talking to one person rather than another, or imprisoned, or unconscious, by all means quote it! I don't recall anything like that in the 3E DMG or even the 4e one. Gygax's DMG and PHB, read together, are clearer: at least as a general rule the GM should not start things in media res, but rather the starting scene is the PCs heading out on their expedition. Moldvay Basic has the first scene being the entrance to the dungeon, but as nearly everyone knows the module many of us took from that box - B2 - doesn't follow that rule!The implication of what you're saying ("the players control their PCs") is that the GM can't frame a starting scene which depends on the PCs having taken (and even morseo failed at) some prior action which has resulted in them being in the middle of tense negotiations, or locked up as prisoners. The fact that I have to draw the inference already reinforces my point that it is not explicit. But I can't even tell if you agree with my inference or not.</blockquote>

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