DMs: Are you a "plot-nazi"?

[SableWyvern]

I believe that the overriding theme in the responses to this thread could be summarised as:

The DM should do/not do what is required to ensure that the players enjoy the game.

 

[Hand of Evil]

I have a plot arc, what and where I want to see my players going and doing but over all I play the game loose. You never know what may be said or done at the the game table that you can take and run with. Motto, for every action there is a reaction. If they say it, think about using it!

I also find doing this gives my games some life, the world changes based on the action of the party.

 

[Wolfen Priest]

I could be wrong but I think the most important thing about being the DM (the 'art' as it were), is in the details. I think it's probably most important to make everything realistic (as far as possible), and logical.

Also, telling something very minor (like the dress of a passing nobleman), but telling it well makes a big difference, IMO. I'm against DM railroading, because as a player I like to help *make* the campaign. Not the campaign world, just the campaign itself.

And as a DM, I find it pretty unrealistic to have all these huge plots just kind of fall into the laps of the PCs. Too unrealistic. PCs should be given bait. When they bite, you know it's time to real in. That's why I generally don't create complicated plots until I know what direction the PCs are headed in.

I won't bother to explain my current campaign plans, but suffice it to say that the PCs have a long way to travel across a vast expanse of settled (and unsettled) land, and whatever happens, happens. The details of the world are in place; they just need to bite on something, so that it's ultimately _them_ who control what happens to _them_.

 

[Lord Ben]

I leave individual battles up to the dice. One overriding rule I try to use is "Never have the only peice of vital information on a living NPC with an alignment or goals opposed to the PC's" 80% of the time they kill him...

HOWEVER, if I plop down $15 for a module then dammit we're going to run that module. I can go with the flow and change things as they see fit as well as provide IC reasons to help out, but they WILL finish. I don't have tons of money for new modules so I find one that will be enjoyable and we run it. It's never been a problem.

 

[Teflon Billy]

...a little saying i try to go by is "don't worry about the contents of a dungeon 3 levels away, worry about what NPC 'X' had for breakfast when the PC's talk to him".

Man, that's Gold[/i].

It really is predominantly about Micro level details...Macro level details can pretty much be "announced" (orcs are invading the country to the north, The king has been assasinated).

Micro level stuff (stuff the PC's can affect/interact with) is the stuff you want to keep up with.

If the players kill a guy, how do his friends/family react? There *will* be a reaction, even if they don't know it was the PC's. Things will change if the death leaves a power vaccuum, distraught family may act differently....things will change.

And if you know the personalities of the NPC's you will *know* how things will change.

 

[Ulrick]

I don't believe I am a "plot-nazi" usually if the PCs don't want to go a certain way, I don't force them. I've actually stopped focusing on creating adventures. I create sites to explore, and NPCs. I have certain plots the PCs can go on, but I don't pressure them.

There are times, however, when the players go off in some random direction that I haven't prepared for. Unless its too ludicrous, I gently alter things so that events can proceed as normal. If I can't, I just ask for a 15 min. break to think things over. I'm good at "winging it."

Yet I've had DMs that delebrately railroad the plot. That stinks.
Once the group I was in was tracking this bad guy down that trafficked evil magic items. We combed the city looking for leads. This took quite a bit of time. Finally, we met this guy who would give us information for 50pp. At 1st level we didn't have that kind of money--even if we sold a bunch of our stuff.

So we started looking for ways to raise the money. But everything we tried to do we came up with nothing. Finally, I asked the DM, what should we do? And he said, whatever you want.

As a group we talked amongst ourselves and eventually said,
"We don't want to follow this lead anymore. We want to do something else."

The game really deteriorated after that.

Ulrick

 

[BlackMoria]

HOWEVER, if I plop down $15 for a module then dammit we're going to run that module. I can go with the flow and change things as they see fit as well as provide IC reasons to help out, but they WILL finish. I don't have tons of money for new modules so I find one that will be enjoyable and we run it. It's never been a problem.

The ultimate example of this in action was from a thread in the RttToEE section of Monte Cook's message boards.

The DM bought Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil intending for the party to go through. After throwing out a multitude of plot hooks, the party got to Hommlet, investigated the Moathouse, found out about the cult of Thurizdun.....

Then promptly decided they did not what to be heroes to save the world, so they brushed off any other plot hooks and resisted all attempts for by the DM to encourage them or steer them back on track.

The DM (who paid out alot of coin for the adventure) was so peeved by the players absolute refusal to take up the adventure that he made up an several other adventures for them to do. Allowed the party to advance 4 or 5 levels.....

Then in mid-battle in the home-brew adventure, he announced that they were all dead. Since they refused to take up the adventure in RttToEE, the DM furthered the agenda of the Cult, decided on the likely outcome of possible events and ruled that the cult succeeded in freeing Thurzidun and in the ritual, Thurzidun (who is about destroying all the world) destroyed their part of the world....and the characters along with it.

The ultimate example of being a Plot-Nazi? Or a POed DM who paid good money for a fine adventure and got rebuked by the players?

 

[ForceUser]

I used to be pretty bad about this. I'd add hit points to monsters on the fly if I thought the "story" called for a more epic fight, or change the dimensions of a villain's lair on the fly if I thought the PCs were too easily circumventing the content I'd laid out...because hey, the "story" called for a challenging lair. Not to mention the linear A to B to C campaign plot I'd laid out that prevented the players from doing things like taking time off to make magic items or train in a prestige class...all for the sake of the "story."

And that's a bunch of garbage. These days I have NPCs with motivations, I have plots laid out that will come to fruition if the PCs don't butt in, and I have the consequences - but not the resolutions - of various situations thought out in advance. The PCs can interact with the content however they like, at whatever pace they like, and I'm not going to worry about it. Heck, part of the fun these days is presenting them with options and watching where they decide to go.

 

[Angelsboi]

the dm did was he was suposed to. i mean, if these guys were afraid, others would be too. so he did what he sgould have done. advanced the story.

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

IMO and YMMV so don't flame me...."storytelling" DM's are the worst kind of gamer there is unless the players also want to do amature theater instead of GAMING. I always do my best to adjust my stuff to the PC's actions, not try to mold thier actions to tell my "story".