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*Pathfinder & Starfinder
How Do You Get Your Players To Stay On An Adventure Path?
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<blockquote data-quote="Imaculata" data-source="post: 6724243" data-attributes="member: 6801286"><p>I think that goes without saying. My point is, is that bad DM's often panic if the players go left, when the important plot point is to the right. But does it really matter for the story where the plot is located?</p><p></p><p>On the WocT forums, someone recalled a story of a DM who was running a campaign module. The players chose not to go fight the dragon, and instead wanted to travel into the forest. The DM disallowed this and he literally said that the forest wasn't part of the module. Now that's railroading.</p><p></p><p>You could move the lair of the dragon elsewhere, but that is problematic if you've already told them that the lair of the dragon is to the east. That would be bad. But you could move the dragon, or you could place plot points in their path that are related to the dragon. The DM wants the players to fight the dragon, -but the players feel that they do not have a good reason to do so. </p><p></p><p>I don't run campaign modules for this very reason, because I can't stand being confined to such a narrow plot. But as a storyteller, you should then ask yourself what could motivate them, if the goal is to still get them to fight the dragon. You can't force them to do so. But maybe they can encounter a village that has been burned to the ground, or a village that gets attacked while the players are there? Or maybe the players find a clue to a weapon that could slay the dragon? Maybe the players meet npc's that help them in their quest, or tell them more about what they are facing? </p><p></p><p>The plot could be anywhere.</p><p></p><p>It doesn't seem to me like a small detour through the forest should completely derail their epic quest to slay the dragon. Its not like these players were actively resisting the primary quest of the module. They just decided to head into the forest. So what is in the forest that is related to the plot? Maybe part of the forest is on fire? This sort of stuff almost writes itself.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Imaculata, post: 6724243, member: 6801286"] I think that goes without saying. My point is, is that bad DM's often panic if the players go left, when the important plot point is to the right. But does it really matter for the story where the plot is located? On the WocT forums, someone recalled a story of a DM who was running a campaign module. The players chose not to go fight the dragon, and instead wanted to travel into the forest. The DM disallowed this and he literally said that the forest wasn't part of the module. Now that's railroading. You could move the lair of the dragon elsewhere, but that is problematic if you've already told them that the lair of the dragon is to the east. That would be bad. But you could move the dragon, or you could place plot points in their path that are related to the dragon. The DM wants the players to fight the dragon, -but the players feel that they do not have a good reason to do so. I don't run campaign modules for this very reason, because I can't stand being confined to such a narrow plot. But as a storyteller, you should then ask yourself what could motivate them, if the goal is to still get them to fight the dragon. You can't force them to do so. But maybe they can encounter a village that has been burned to the ground, or a village that gets attacked while the players are there? Or maybe the players find a clue to a weapon that could slay the dragon? Maybe the players meet npc's that help them in their quest, or tell them more about what they are facing? The plot could be anywhere. It doesn't seem to me like a small detour through the forest should completely derail their epic quest to slay the dragon. Its not like these players were actively resisting the primary quest of the module. They just decided to head into the forest. So what is in the forest that is related to the plot? Maybe part of the forest is on fire? This sort of stuff almost writes itself. [/QUOTE]
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How Do You Get Your Players To Stay On An Adventure Path?
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