One common piece of advise to DMs - make sure the PCs experience the world as a living world.
This generally means make sure the PCs see that the world exists outside of them - things happen and progress whether the PCs are involved or not.
The question then, is how far should this be taken?
Say the PCs, early in their adventuring career learn of a hermit outside the city building a strange machine. They have other things going on, however, and don't bother with this hook. The DMs gives the PCs updates on the hermit's progress through other NPCs, snippets heard, etc - as they go up in level.
As the PCs get high level, the hermit is completing his machine, which the PCs have learned is a doomsday device. The PCs decide they have better things to do (let the king, rival adventurers etc. handle the hermit) and pursue something else. How justified is the DM in blowing up the world, right with the PCs on it?
Is the better answer, do it - but make sure the PCs are "off world" so they have to clean up the mess they made but are not "directly affected" (where directly affected means dead - they still likely lost most of their stuff and connections)?
Obviously, this is too heavy handed where the actual goal is fun for the players (Though, I'd love to see the result of the players showing up and the DM opening the session with "Well, so you're all dead...") but I think this is best discussed with an initial extreme example.
Thoughts?
This generally means make sure the PCs see that the world exists outside of them - things happen and progress whether the PCs are involved or not.
The question then, is how far should this be taken?
Say the PCs, early in their adventuring career learn of a hermit outside the city building a strange machine. They have other things going on, however, and don't bother with this hook. The DMs gives the PCs updates on the hermit's progress through other NPCs, snippets heard, etc - as they go up in level.
As the PCs get high level, the hermit is completing his machine, which the PCs have learned is a doomsday device. The PCs decide they have better things to do (let the king, rival adventurers etc. handle the hermit) and pursue something else. How justified is the DM in blowing up the world, right with the PCs on it?
Is the better answer, do it - but make sure the PCs are "off world" so they have to clean up the mess they made but are not "directly affected" (where directly affected means dead - they still likely lost most of their stuff and connections)?
Obviously, this is too heavy handed where the actual goal is fun for the players (Though, I'd love to see the result of the players showing up and the DM opening the session with "Well, so you're all dead...") but I think this is best discussed with an initial extreme example.
Thoughts?