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<blockquote data-quote="Clint_L" data-source="post: 8996630" data-attributes="member: 7035894">I wonder if you have hit upon a central distinction of D&amp;D-style games that goes back to the premise of this thread. It seems to be that D&amp;D campaigns are mostly about the creative expression of the Dungeon Master. Players mostly contribute and enjoy creative expression in response to how they build their characters and how they react to the situations the benevolent DM puts them in.This notion of an ongoing world that exists outside of the experiences and activities of the player characters is something that I very much enjoy about DMing, and is probably why I don't much care for running pre-written campaigns. It's a Tolkien-esque approach to narrative, which makes sense, since Tolkien is deep in the roots of the game (yes, I know Gygax claimed to not be a big fan but come on).Other styles of RPG tend to focus on the story first, so that the game world only really exists as a venue for the player characters. You don't really build out a Token-style campaign world in advance, it more comes into being through the choices and actions of the players.Right now, I am working on altering the balance of these methods for my home campaign. At school, my games are very DM-led. They have to be, because I am mostly just trying to help the students learn the rules of the games, and the campaigns are short. But at home, I am encouraging the players to add more and more of their own ideas to the narrative, and changing the world based on what they add and offer. I do have things percolating behind the scenes, but if I had a great plot thread like the potential lich king that you describe, I would probably put a pin in it until the players decided to pursue that thread.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Clint_L, post: 8996630, member: 7035894"] I wonder if you have hit upon a central distinction of D&D-style games that goes back to the premise of this thread. It seems to be that D&D campaigns are mostly about the creative expression of the Dungeon Master. Players mostly contribute and enjoy creative expression in response to how they build their characters and how they react to the situations the benevolent DM puts them in. This notion of an ongoing world that exists outside of the experiences and activities of the player characters is something that I very much enjoy about DMing, and is probably why I don't much care for running pre-written campaigns. It's a Tolkien-esque approach to narrative, which makes sense, since Tolkien is deep in the roots of the game (yes, I know Gygax claimed to not be a big fan but come on). Other styles of RPG tend to focus on the story first, so that the game world only really exists as a venue for the player characters. You don't really build out a Token-style campaign world in advance, it more comes into being through the choices and actions of the players. Right now, I am working on altering the balance of these methods for my home campaign. At school, my games are very DM-led. They have to be, because I am mostly just trying to help the students learn the rules of the games, and the campaigns are short. But at home, I am encouraging the players to add more and more of their own ideas to the narrative, and changing the world based on what they add and offer. I do have things percolating behind the scenes, but if I had a great plot thread like the potential lich king that you describe, I would probably put a pin in it until the players decided to pursue that thread. [/QUOTE]

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