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<blockquote data-quote="RenleyRenfield" data-source="post: 9458920" data-attributes="member: 7044197">Try to think of being a GM and prep like the way some folks mention making horror films = &quot;Never show the whole monster&quot;Sure, plan and write as much as you like.&nbsp; Go to town making backstory and plot hooks and so on.&nbsp; &nbsp; But then learn to expose only as much as is needed.&nbsp; Example:The characters are dealing with bandits in area.&nbsp; The local Lord offers a bounty on the bandits.&nbsp; The PCs have their first run in against a few lesser thugs of the bandits on the road.- Expose #1: &quot;each bandit you find has a tattoo of a phrase on them which says 'sons of the forgotten'. &quot;The PCs keep going on their investigation and adventure, and they get a hold of some bandits setting up a roadway trap and they interrogate the bandits.&nbsp; Why are you robbing people?&nbsp; Who is your leader?&nbsp; where is your base?&nbsp; What does the 'sons of the forgotten mean.?&quot;- Expose #2: &quot;The bandit says that their leader wears a signet ring which matches the Lords sigil.&quot; yadda yadda...The PCs dig into the Lord's history only to find he had sordid affair with a local woman. She is dead, but her abandoned house is tidy and well upkept.- Expose #3: someone keeps fresh flowers on her grave.Etc etcThe GM &quot;prepped&quot; created a bandit leader with lots of backstory and plot hooks and details, who:&nbsp; &quot;was once a noble son, but discarded as a bastard.&nbsp; he has a heart of gold and is using the criminal bandits of the area to cause strife in his fathers domain.&quot;Look at all that fiction we got across to the PCs without ever even meeting the bandit leader!NOW... when they finally meet the bandit leader the players see all the violence the bandits commit, and the wanton robberies.&nbsp; And they say &quot;Sheesh this bandit leader is a real dark guy, willing to do anything to get payback!&quot; ...The GM never said that, maybe even the GM had noted &quot;the bandit leader just wants his father's acknowledgement&quot; or some such.&nbsp; But the players have handed the GM a cool plot twist.&nbsp; While the bandit did have a heart of gold, his heart has gone dead over years of raiding.&nbsp; Can they bring him back?&nbsp; Or does the bandit leader need to put out of his misery?Letting the confrontation between the PCs and the bandit leader happen in real-time as they talk and rant and argue and persuade = let that choose the &quot;truth&quot;... which could be any of the above options, because a good GM is flexible... </blockquote>

[QUOTE="RenleyRenfield, post: 9458920, member: 7044197"] Try to think of being a GM and prep like the way some folks mention making horror films =[I] "Never show the whole monster"[/I] Sure, plan and write as much as you like. Go to town making backstory and plot hooks and so on. But then learn to [B]expose only as much as is needed. [/B] Example: The characters are dealing with bandits in area. The local Lord offers a bounty on the bandits. The PCs have their first run in against a few lesser thugs of the bandits on the road. [B]- Expose #1:[/B] "each bandit you find has a tattoo of a phrase on them which says 'sons of the forgotten'. " The PCs keep going on their investigation and adventure, and they get a hold of some bandits setting up a roadway trap and they interrogate the bandits. Why are you robbing people? Who is your leader? where is your base? What does the 'sons of the forgotten mean.?" [B]- Expose #2: [/B]"The bandit says that their leader wears a signet ring which matches the Lords sigil." yadda yadda... The PCs dig into the Lord's history only to find he had sordid affair with a local woman. She is dead, but her abandoned house is tidy and well upkept. [B]- Expose #3:[/B] someone keeps fresh flowers on her grave. Etc etc The GM "prepped" created a bandit leader with lots of backstory and plot hooks and details, who: "was once a noble son, but discarded as a bastard. he has a heart of gold and is using the criminal bandits of the area to cause strife in his fathers domain." Look at all that fiction we got across to the PCs without ever even meeting the bandit leader! NOW... when they finally meet the bandit leader the players see all the violence the bandits commit, and the wanton robberies. And they say "Sheesh this bandit leader is a real dark guy, willing to do anything to get payback!" ... The GM never said that, maybe even the GM had noted[I] "the bandit leader just wants his father's acknowledgement"[/I] or some such. [I]But the players have handed the GM a cool plot twist. [/I]While the bandit did have a heart of gold, his heart has gone dead over years of raiding. Can they bring him back? Or does the bandit leader need to put out of his misery? [B]Letting the confrontation between the PCs and the bandit leader happen in real-time as they talk and rant and argue and persuade = let that choose the "truth"... which could be any of the above options, because a good GM is flexible... [/B] [/QUOTE]

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