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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jester David" data-source="post: 7052853" data-attributes="member: 37579">I would argue that the distinction of sandbox vs railroad applies a macro level of the entire campaign or even an adventure, but isn't very useful on a scene or encounter design level. The distinction comes down to whether or not the actions of the Player Characters and the choices of the Players have a fundamental impact on the narrative. Rails apply when there is only one story, when the outcome of the actions is set and predetermined. In this instance, either the players will always manage to gain the blood because that's what the story requires, or they will always fail. The story is on rails if there's no cup and anything the players think of to serve as an alternative vessel fails. If they had their own cup, it gets spilt; if they drain a potion it breaks; if they empty a wineskin then the last few drops of alcohol taint the blood. For an individual scene the DM just has to make a call. Which can work with the rails or not. Even if the DM's plot requires the blood not be recovered, they could still have some vessel found and the include some other reason the recovery fails. They just have to decide one way or another. Even if their story needs the blood recovered they could say there's no container available, just to see what the players do and add some drama and tension. I think most DMs run games that are a mixture of sandbox and rails having elements of both. For the presence of an item or not, that's often DM fiat. Either they decide in advance or decide at the time, either way it only exists at the leisure of the DM. When they didn't pre-decide, they simply need to determine if something exists or not; I think most Dungeon Masters would just make that decision based on what seems logical at the time. They'd ask themselves if it's reasonable. Or they roll. I love a good random determination. I tend to go with 4e saving throw rules. 10+ is favourable, while 9 or less is unfavourable. Sometimes I'll tweak it to >15 or >5 based on the odds. This is for D&D though, and wouldn't necessarily apply to other games. Many games have a Plot Point mechanic that gives some narrative control to the player. They can spend a Plot Point and just declare there's a goblet in the chamber. (As a house rule, I let Inspiration be spent for some narrative tweaking in this manner.)</blockquote>

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