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Judgement calls vs "railroading"
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<blockquote data-quote="Tony Vargas" data-source="post: 7086538" data-attributes="member: 996"><p>It's just a fact.</p><p></p><p> In a tailored style campaign, that'd be one way to do it. In a status-quo style one, not so much.</p><p></p><p>4e gave players a lot of 'agency' but it was still D&D, and still pretty DM-driven in the sense that it made it easy for the DM to build an encounter or skill challenge in advance with the expectation that the PCs would, well, encounter it (not merely DM-driven, but tailored). That was especially true in the organized-play Encounters format. Later Encounters scenarios were less linear, that way, and some 4e adventures were outright status-quo 'sandboxes.' FWIW.</p><p></p><p>Hey, that's actually getting back on topic! <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p></p><p>If you're using player-driven techniques, you probably design challenges in general (skill or combat) in response to what the PCs are trying to do. If they try to do something that'd be very difficult for them, it'll be higher level than if they tried to accomplish something easy. Far from 'railroading them into failure' presenting them with a challenge that they probably can't resolve in their favor when they attempt something that is entirely beyond them arguably preserves their agency. A system that gives you more dependable level of challenge in a mismatch as well as in an 'appropriate' one is handy in that kind of situation.</p><p></p><p>I guess the 'framing' could come into it to find a path of lesser resistance. The classic example in status-quo design is the dragon that the party can't fight (combat challenge) successfully, but may be able to bribe/flatter (social challenge) or find an alternate route (exploration challenge) past. The combat option might be far beyond the PC's abilities, the social challenge difficult & perhaps at a high cost, and the exploration challenge relatively easy (find a clear path around the dragon's territory) but time-consuming, for instance. Or, they might all be non-starters.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Tony Vargas, post: 7086538, member: 996"] It's just a fact. In a tailored style campaign, that'd be one way to do it. In a status-quo style one, not so much. 4e gave players a lot of 'agency' but it was still D&D, and still pretty DM-driven in the sense that it made it easy for the DM to build an encounter or skill challenge in advance with the expectation that the PCs would, well, encounter it (not merely DM-driven, but tailored). That was especially true in the organized-play Encounters format. Later Encounters scenarios were less linear, that way, and some 4e adventures were outright status-quo 'sandboxes.' FWIW. Hey, that's actually getting back on topic! :) If you're using player-driven techniques, you probably design challenges in general (skill or combat) in response to what the PCs are trying to do. If they try to do something that'd be very difficult for them, it'll be higher level than if they tried to accomplish something easy. Far from 'railroading them into failure' presenting them with a challenge that they probably can't resolve in their favor when they attempt something that is entirely beyond them arguably preserves their agency. A system that gives you more dependable level of challenge in a mismatch as well as in an 'appropriate' one is handy in that kind of situation. I guess the 'framing' could come into it to find a path of lesser resistance. The classic example in status-quo design is the dragon that the party can't fight (combat challenge) successfully, but may be able to bribe/flatter (social challenge) or find an alternate route (exploration challenge) past. The combat option might be far beyond the PC's abilities, the social challenge difficult & perhaps at a high cost, and the exploration challenge relatively easy (find a clear path around the dragon's territory) but time-consuming, for instance. Or, they might all be non-starters. [/QUOTE]
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