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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mishihari Lord" data-source="post: 2750073" data-attributes="member: 128">I have just a few thought on this issue:1)  There's no way to be as prepared for an open game as a more limited one.  Say you have X hours to prep.  If your characters are running a gauntlet, then you'll use everything you prepared.  If your players have 100 different plausible options, then you'll probably use X/100 of your prep time.  Be mentally prepared to wing it.2)  Prepare material that you can use whatever the players do.  As an example, NPC  Jim is 60ish and speaks with a Brooklyn accent.  He's tough, fairly well off, and has a soft spot for people trying to do the right thing.  If the PCs are looking for info in a cathedral, he's the priest.  If they want to meet a crime lord instead, well that's him too.  Or if they seek help from the police ...You can do the same thing with monsters, locations, and lots of other stuff3)  During character generation, make sure that the characters have strong, well-defined goals and desires.  If you want your players to be proactive, they _must_ have goals to pursue.  This keeps them from being at loose ends and helps you prepare.4)  Demand a little advance notice.  You can do whatever you want, but tell the DM at least a few (real-time) days ahead of time.  This way the players get to do whatever they want, and the DM gets enough prep in that he doesn't draw a blank in the middle of the game.5)  The "magician's force" is a nice tool.  Give them a choice to go down path A or B.  They feel in charge.  Whichever way they go though, they unexpectedly encounter the dragon.  Don't confuse this with railroading, in which the players know there's a dragon and are trying to avoid it but it finds them anyway despite doing things that should have worked to keep them away from it.Hopefully I'm not just repeating others' ideas.  I skipped the part of the thread where people were arguing.Personally, I don't think totally open games are a very good idea.  It is nice to be able to do whatever you want to.  It's good for versimmilitude and immersion.  Things seem real.  On the other hand, having detailed NPCs, geography, organizations, events, and so on are also good for versimmilitude and immerison, and you can't develop your world to the same extent if things are completely open-ended.  Well, you can develop it, but your players will see less of the parts you develop.I'm pretty good at winging it when I have to.  My players always have a good time.  I still find that things work better when I can prep because I don't have to use the first idea that pops into my head.  I can use the third or fourth one that occur to me hours later and are much better.That said, I don't _ever_ tell a player that they "can't do that."  If they feel a need to go rob a bank, I can wing it for the rest of the session.  On the other hand, my players are courteous enough that they won't do that without a very good reason because it wastes prep work I've done and results in an adventure that's not as good as it would have been if they'd made more reasonable choices.</blockquote>

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