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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Imaculata" data-source="post: 6724209" data-attributes="member: 6801286">I think it's only railroading if the players have to visit the temple to progress the plot. And that doesn't become a problem, until the players decide that they don't want to visit the spooky trap-filled temple.This goes back to the breadcrumb example given earlier. If you want the players to go somewhere, you need to take into account that the players may not do what you expect. Maybe the mystical temple doesn't look very inviting to them? Maybe they have no reason to go there and get themselves killed. Maybe it obviously looks dangerous to them. I think a smart DM understands that if the plot hinges on the players finding a particular item, then he could move the item anywhere he wants. So the players ignore the creepy temple. Fine. If they need to find that magical key, then it's probably somewhere else now. What they don't know, does not matter.Taking my bandit scenario from earlier, the DM clearly wanted this bandit problem to be our focus. This was what we were supposed to deal with. Maybe the bandits had an important clue, so we could track down their hide out or leader. But the plot should not depend on us finding that note (or what ever item it was). Why not allow the party to get robbed, and arrive at the next village empty handed? Maybe there's a friendly farmer who feels bad for these unlucky adventurers, and offers them a place to stay in his stables? Maybe he even offers them food, and during dinner, he tells them of the bandit problem. And there you go, there's your clue, and you've just made up an interesting npc on the spot.This is why improvisation is key in D&D. A DM should never panic. Embrace the choices of your players, and run with it. So what if they don't go straight to the dragon cave? Make up a village that they encounter along the way, and have the dragon attack the village, and fly off. That's how the story comes to the players.The dungeon has always been there. It doesn't really matter to the players if its left or right. It is okay to place interesting locations in the path of the players. If I want my players to encounter a wizards tower, does it really matter if its at the bridge or at the desert? But what if the players turn around at the sight of the wizards tower? A DM should never panic when that happens, and the best way to handle that problem, is to ensure that it never becomes a problem to begin with. Don't make your plot hinge on the players meeting the wizard.</blockquote>

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