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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 7067345" data-attributes="member: 42582">Then I want to know why we're using a broken game that doesn't do that already!(Or even - why are we rolling dice at all, if we already know what we want and are going to nudge and massage to get there anyway?)Again, this makes me think the system is broken.I don't think so.In the game mentioned in the OP, here are the things currently "going on": two PCs are in custody; one of those PCs wants to get blood to his naga master; one of those PCs wants the wizard-assassin who killed his brother to help summon his brother's dead spirit; a third PC wants to do right by his employer (the mage who owns the tower) but also to see his former master (killed by a black arrow) avenged; the tower-owning mage is betrothed to the Gynarch of Hardby, but the marriage taking place was contingent on him finding the (now dead) brother for her; the wizard-assassin has stolen a chest of gold intended as a wedding gift and has squirrelled it away; the stolen wedding gifts also included Thelon's Orb, a corrupted and demon-summoning elvish jewel, but the brother PC stole this from the assassin PC and has hidden it in the altar of the Cathedral of Hardby; the same brother PC wants to travel to the Bright Desert to explore a pyramid that may contain clues to the ancient battle between angels and demons that he believes presages what he believes to be the coming apocalypse (of which he's seen signs, including a hellfire preacher whom he wants to track down); and probably other stuff I'm not remembering right now.My point is that there is no "main plot" vs "side plot" here. There's just the stuff that is happening in the game.Can you say more about "secret backstory" that informs action resolution but isn't set in stone until revealed?Here's an example. As far as I know it's not at all what you've got in mind, but it would fall under the phrase you use:A PC casts a spell to charm the king's chamberlain. The GM decides (unilaterally) that the chamberlain has a ring of immunity to mind control, and so tells the player "Your spell doesn't work."That is a case of "secret backstory" not being set in stone until revealed. I would normally consider that, though, to be an instance of what (in the OP) I called railroading. A possible exception might be if it is an instance of what [MENTION=16586]Campbell[/MENTION] has called "refereeing" - but personally I would expect a "referee" GM to make that sort of decision in advance of actually resolving the episode where the PC confronts the chamberlain, so that the players have a chance to learn about the chamberlain's anti-magic ring (eg by scrying, spying, collecting rumours etc).</blockquote>

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