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<blockquote data-quote="Hussar" data-source="post: 9256989" data-attributes="member: 22779">That's kinda my point.&nbsp; You already have a story.&nbsp; Whether or not the PC's interact with that story, that story is going to happen.&nbsp; Now, I'm pretty sure that you've got a number of ideas for what happens if the party does X or Y and whether or not they succeed on task A or B.&nbsp; So, basically, the story is already plotted out.&nbsp; The only thing that is revealed in play is which resolution you choose to use.In other words, none of that is emergent, any more than a choose your own adventure book is an emergent story.This is the point I keep trying to make.&nbsp; The second the DM decides that there are events in the campaign, that campaign is no longer emergent.&nbsp; It cannot be because the DM now has decided on the order of events and whether or not particular events will occur.&nbsp; It's why the opposite of sandbox is not railroad.&nbsp; The opposite of sandbox is linear.&nbsp; But, in both a sandbox and a linear campaign, you have a pretty good idea of what's going to happen in that campaign, most of the time.&nbsp; Curse of Strahd is a pretty decent sandbox.&nbsp; Isle of Dread is also a pretty good sandbox.&nbsp; Guess what?&nbsp; You can pretty accurately predict what will happen when you run those adventures.&nbsp; And if you can predict that, then story is no longer emergent.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Hussar, post: 9256989, member: 22779"] That's kinda my point. You already have a story. Whether or not the PC's interact with that story, that story is going to happen. Now, I'm pretty sure that you've got a number of ideas for what happens if the party does X or Y and whether or not they succeed on task A or B. So, basically, the story is already plotted out. The only thing that is revealed in play is which resolution you choose to use. In other words, none of that is emergent, any more than a choose your own adventure book is an emergent story. This is the point I keep trying to make. The second the DM decides that there are events in the campaign, that campaign is no longer emergent. It cannot be because the DM now has decided on the order of events and whether or not particular events will occur. It's why the opposite of sandbox is not railroad. The opposite of sandbox is linear. But, in both a sandbox and a linear campaign, you have a pretty good idea of what's going to happen in that campaign, most of the time. Curse of Strahd is a pretty decent sandbox. Isle of Dread is also a pretty good sandbox. Guess what? You can pretty accurately predict what will happen when you run those adventures. And if you can predict that, then story is no longer emergent. [/QUOTE]

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