Have *you* ever ruined your own plot hook?

[nopantsyet]

Moral: Don't make the sidetrek more tantalizing than your primary plot line.

Well, that doesn't have to be a problem. Provided you maintain verisimilitude in your world and follow through on the consequences of the characters not acting on the primary plot. In my current campaign I am having to work overtime not to paint myself into a corner. I've got multiple large-scale plots all at different stages, and the players still have not decided what their goals are, so there's the possibility that they will go awry and very bad things will happen. I have actually come very close to painting myself into a corner several times. Then I have to try and clean up after myself without disrupting any of the intertwined plots.

 

[Trainz]

I SO share your pain, dude.

I have done that exact same thing (with pretty much the exact same reaction) myself.

DMs have to be egomaniacal control freaks or else they'd be so friggin' insecure from screwing up all the time...

Or maybe that's just me. Or maybe I'm just an egomaniacal control freak trying to JUSTIFY my ego and freakiness...

Heh...

But don't worry. I do forget things to the advantage of the players, but I repay 'em.

Player:"Wait... I had false life cast on me... well, I forgot, but I ALWAYS cast it before entering a dungeon. OK ?"

DM:"mmmm... no."

 

[Pants]

Kind of promotes the argument for writing things down eh? [/b]

Problem is, two things happen when I write my ideas down, I A) Still forget about about it or B) Loose my train of thought.

I usually run things by the seat of my pants and when I do prepare extensively for games, they usually suck.

Weird no?

Okay, this may not be an example of me screwing up, but it's damn funny nonetheless...

Setting: The PC's are trying to sneak into a manor in order to apprehend a criminal. There is one guard currently guarding the front gate. One of the PC's tries to sneak up behind him to subdue him and rolls VERY poorly on his Move Silent check, but rolls rather well on his Hide check (it's in the dead of night), so the PC scrapes his boot on the stone and this is what happens:
PC: *boot scrapes on the street*
Guard: What was that...? *starts moving to investigate*
PC: *thinking quickly* Meoooow... *rolls a bluff check*
Guard: *rolls poorly on his Sense Motive and then, because I'm feeling nice, I make him roll an Intelligence check. The Guard rolls a Natural 1. A 1. And he says* Damn cats... *and he moves away*

The PC's won't let me forget about that one, they joke about it all the time.

 

[Ashrem Bayle]

Come on guys, don't be embarrassed. I know more of you have screwed up. Admit it.

 

[tzor]

One of my best plot hooks I self destroyed was in a Lankhmar campaign that I am currently running. I had a wealthy merchant try to sell an Aarumvorax to Hisvet, so she could re-establish her dominance among the rats of Lankhmar Below. The players were supposed to act as bodyguards.

The deal was made, the cash was exchanged and Hisvet made her egress before the hired hands (wizards) made an attack on the party. They threw smoke sticks to obscure them to the party. (I was still trying to implement the old lankhmar rules that spells take longer to cast.) The party did nothing and soon a fireball streaked into the center of the party.

One person failed his save and wound up with enough negative hp to be really dead. That was the merchant. So much for that plot hook. The party did give him a nice burrial, and I found another plot hoot later on.