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Judgement calls vs "railroading"
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<blockquote data-quote="Lanefan" data-source="post: 7076380" data-attributes="member: 29398"><p>[MENTION=42582]pemerton[/MENTION] (and anyone else who uses a PC-goals oriented system), a question or two; with an assist from a fellow DM here (we got talking about all this earlier tonight):</p><p></p><p>If I understand it right, in your game before play starts each player comes up with some goals for her character, and once play starts the DM is somewhat bound to have those goals and their resolution be the central theme of what gets played - am I right so far?</p><p></p><p>So, first: do the players (out of character) always know what everyone else's goals are even if in-character they are for some reason hidden?</p><p></p><p>Second: what "scale" are these goals expected to be on? Swearing vengeance on the lizardmen who overran your family farm sounds all very noble but by 3rd level it could be done and dried (not much of a campaign there), so are the goals expected to be longer-term sorts of thing?</p><p></p><p>Third: what if two (or more) characters' goals directly conflict? Let's say as an over-the-top example that this time out your players really want to dig into political/rulership stuff for some reason. Both Jacasta (fighter) and Moliere (rogue) have as their main character goal "to overthrow the ruling council of Thrace and replace it with myself as supreme high ruler with no equal". I can see them maybe sort of working together to chuck out the council but what then? Neither will accept an equal so they can't co-rule and still achieve their goals...so do they get to plot (or even throw down) against each other at that point?</p><p></p><p>Throw another log on the fire: in the same party let's say (cleric) Fieriatta's main goal is to become respected enough to be worthy of taking her mother's place on the Thraci council - she completely supports the council structure etc. as is - meanwhile (wizard) Calliandre's goal is to remove the council completely and turn Thrace into - in effect - a communist free state without any recognized rulership or heirarchy at all.</p><p></p><p>In my system I can - if I like - choose to run with this, or just use some of it, or most likely just ignore it all and hope it goes away. But in your system, if what you've posted holds true, you're in theory stuck with trying to DM it as you're forced by the system to hew close to their stated goals...</p><p></p><p>Lan-"most of the time my main character goal is just to survive long enough to worry about any other goals"-efan</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lanefan, post: 7076380, member: 29398"] [MENTION=42582]pemerton[/MENTION] (and anyone else who uses a PC-goals oriented system), a question or two; with an assist from a fellow DM here (we got talking about all this earlier tonight): If I understand it right, in your game before play starts each player comes up with some goals for her character, and once play starts the DM is somewhat bound to have those goals and their resolution be the central theme of what gets played - am I right so far? So, first: do the players (out of character) always know what everyone else's goals are even if in-character they are for some reason hidden? Second: what "scale" are these goals expected to be on? Swearing vengeance on the lizardmen who overran your family farm sounds all very noble but by 3rd level it could be done and dried (not much of a campaign there), so are the goals expected to be longer-term sorts of thing? Third: what if two (or more) characters' goals directly conflict? Let's say as an over-the-top example that this time out your players really want to dig into political/rulership stuff for some reason. Both Jacasta (fighter) and Moliere (rogue) have as their main character goal "to overthrow the ruling council of Thrace and replace it with myself as supreme high ruler with no equal". I can see them maybe sort of working together to chuck out the council but what then? Neither will accept an equal so they can't co-rule and still achieve their goals...so do they get to plot (or even throw down) against each other at that point? Throw another log on the fire: in the same party let's say (cleric) Fieriatta's main goal is to become respected enough to be worthy of taking her mother's place on the Thraci council - she completely supports the council structure etc. as is - meanwhile (wizard) Calliandre's goal is to remove the council completely and turn Thrace into - in effect - a communist free state without any recognized rulership or heirarchy at all. In my system I can - if I like - choose to run with this, or just use some of it, or most likely just ignore it all and hope it goes away. But in your system, if what you've posted holds true, you're in theory stuck with trying to DM it as you're forced by the system to hew close to their stated goals... Lan-"most of the time my main character goal is just to survive long enough to worry about any other goals"-efan [/QUOTE]
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