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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Pants" data-source="post: 1138876" data-attributes="member: 8849">I try to give free will to my players.  Sometimes I succeed, sometimes I don't. However sometimes I think that every campaign needs a little railroading every once in a while.  For example, if you start up a new campaign with 1st level characters are you going to give them total free will?  I seriously doubt that even veteran RPers would even know what to do at that point.  They're still in the process of fleshing out their characters and they've been given total free will?  Massive railroading is bad, but a little never really hurts.Yet, when the characters get into the higher levels (12ish), they have access to all sorts of Divinations, Teleportations, insane skill checks, and magical items and I think that the campaign has to become more free form as very few DM's can plan for every single contingent.  Just two Saturdays ago, this sort of thing came up.  Upon starting the quest for the night, the players (around level 12/13) had recently eradicated a local Thieves Guild.  I said to the players, "So, you defeated Arbanior's Guild, what are you doing now?"One of the players said to me, "What do you have planned?"  which I responded with, "What do YOU want to do?"The players were currently involved in a massive plot thread in which they were petitioning to the different kingdom's on the continent for aid against the Undead Horde of the Lich King. They had a pretty good outlook on the world and its politics as they had been to most of the cities in the world so they pretty much knew where things stood.  If they didn't, I'd either A) Tell them or B) Smile knowingly and make them uncomfortable.The only time I really prepare anymore is if I need to stat out enemies and since most of them are fairly High Level, winging it is almost impossible.Another fun story is when the PC's were involved in a plan to destroy several (large) shipments of cursed magic weapons.  They managed to dump a good deal of the weapons, but after a particularly vicious battle, they gave up and returned home.  Since then they have made no moves against the masters of the plan and have been content to deal with his underlings.  I've tried to get the point across that 'he's bad news for the world,' but they ignore it.  Thus, they've been attacked on their home turf several times by his minions.</blockquote>

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