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Judgement calls vs "railroading"
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<blockquote data-quote="Ilbranteloth" data-source="post: 7095537" data-attributes="member: 6778044"><p>I guess I'm also having difficulty understanding the difference. I certainly don't think, no actually I <em>know</em> my players can't tell the difference, because we've had discussions and they have told me that. They are surprised about what I know ahead of time, and what I don't. And if they try to guess, they are often (usually?) wrong. </p><p></p><p>Actually, the opposite has been an issue, although the players didn't identify it as such. I try to take good notes about what's going on in the campaign, in an easy way to quickly retrieve said notes when needed. But of course, sometimes I don't, or I forget something.</p><p></p><p>So it's much more likely for me to forget something when I don't have notes (either before or during the session) and they notice an inconsistency, or something I've forgotten (from a year-and-a-half ago). </p><p></p><p>Preparing it ahead of time just means I don't have to take those notes during the session (or recreate them after the session). </p><p></p><p>Aside from keeping good notes, I use a few simple techniques to keep things flowing smoothly. Probably the most important one is a big list of names so that everybody they meet has a name. Being able to give a quick description of a person (even if I can't do voices or mannerisms myself), is also very important. It doesn't matter if the NPC was prepared before the session or not. It needs to feel like that person was there in the world all along.</p><p></p><p>Anyway, I'm curious as to what the difference is from your perspective. What is the huge difference? How does it present itself from the player's perspective? Especially since you seem to be in agreement that developing a motivation on the spot doesn't constitute any worse or illusory scenario as a motivation that was predetermined.</p><p></p><p>My only real guess is that since you seem to take a more active role in writing the fiction as it happens as a GM than I do, that you can better tailor the material to the moment if it is not predetermined. But I don't know why you can't take something predetermined and modify it as needed. You've also pointed out plenty of situations where you've had predetermined content, other than not knowing exactly how or when it will come into play.</p><p></p><p>The most important thing that I think you're still missing, at least in regards to my campaigns, is that the goal is <em>never</em> to discover whats in my notes. The character's goals are the character's goals in the world, and that's it. I might know there's a war brewing, and the PCs may be off on their adventures completely oblivious to it. War may actually break out. If it does in a region where they are presently adventuring, it might have a direct impact. Otherwise, they'll just hear of it amongst the news and rumors of the day. </p><p></p><p>Their goals are simply to do whatever it is they decide their goals are. They might be looking for "easy" wealth, or maybe they're looking for a wife. I've had both in my campaigns. It all depends on the player and their character. I still have information about the village they are in, the people that live there, some of the stuff there is to explore around them, and current events both local and distant. It's there for them to explore or not. They might (and often do) go off in a completely different direction. That's cool too. </p><p></p><p>The reason this is 100% true, is that I can't set their goals. Only the players can decide on the goals for their characters. I can make suggestions. I can certainly railroad them and make it obvious that if they are going to play with me, then they are going on this adventure dammit. But that's not my game. They decide what they do, when they do it, and how. If I'm lucky, it ties into some things I already know, since it makes it easier for me. Otherwise I improvise. Both are equally useful techniques, and both have their place in my campaign. The art of DMing is to make it seamless.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Ilbranteloth, post: 7095537, member: 6778044"] I guess I'm also having difficulty understanding the difference. I certainly don't think, no actually I [I]know[/I] my players can't tell the difference, because we've had discussions and they have told me that. They are surprised about what I know ahead of time, and what I don't. And if they try to guess, they are often (usually?) wrong. Actually, the opposite has been an issue, although the players didn't identify it as such. I try to take good notes about what's going on in the campaign, in an easy way to quickly retrieve said notes when needed. But of course, sometimes I don't, or I forget something. So it's much more likely for me to forget something when I don't have notes (either before or during the session) and they notice an inconsistency, or something I've forgotten (from a year-and-a-half ago). Preparing it ahead of time just means I don't have to take those notes during the session (or recreate them after the session). Aside from keeping good notes, I use a few simple techniques to keep things flowing smoothly. Probably the most important one is a big list of names so that everybody they meet has a name. Being able to give a quick description of a person (even if I can't do voices or mannerisms myself), is also very important. It doesn't matter if the NPC was prepared before the session or not. It needs to feel like that person was there in the world all along. Anyway, I'm curious as to what the difference is from your perspective. What is the huge difference? How does it present itself from the player's perspective? Especially since you seem to be in agreement that developing a motivation on the spot doesn't constitute any worse or illusory scenario as a motivation that was predetermined. My only real guess is that since you seem to take a more active role in writing the fiction as it happens as a GM than I do, that you can better tailor the material to the moment if it is not predetermined. But I don't know why you can't take something predetermined and modify it as needed. You've also pointed out plenty of situations where you've had predetermined content, other than not knowing exactly how or when it will come into play. The most important thing that I think you're still missing, at least in regards to my campaigns, is that the goal is [I]never[/I] to discover whats in my notes. The character's goals are the character's goals in the world, and that's it. I might know there's a war brewing, and the PCs may be off on their adventures completely oblivious to it. War may actually break out. If it does in a region where they are presently adventuring, it might have a direct impact. Otherwise, they'll just hear of it amongst the news and rumors of the day. Their goals are simply to do whatever it is they decide their goals are. They might be looking for "easy" wealth, or maybe they're looking for a wife. I've had both in my campaigns. It all depends on the player and their character. I still have information about the village they are in, the people that live there, some of the stuff there is to explore around them, and current events both local and distant. It's there for them to explore or not. They might (and often do) go off in a completely different direction. That's cool too. The reason this is 100% true, is that I can't set their goals. Only the players can decide on the goals for their characters. I can make suggestions. I can certainly railroad them and make it obvious that if they are going to play with me, then they are going on this adventure dammit. But that's not my game. They decide what they do, when they do it, and how. If I'm lucky, it ties into some things I already know, since it makes it easier for me. Otherwise I improvise. Both are equally useful techniques, and both have their place in my campaign. The art of DMing is to make it seamless. [/QUOTE]
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