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<blockquote data-quote="Andre" data-source="post: 3984879" data-attributes="member: 25930">Wow, I disagree with just about everything in the article. I have no problem with a GM saying &quot;Sorry, I didn't think you guys would go that way, so I didn't prep for that. Would you mind following this other lead and I'll have this one ready for you next session.&quot; That's the kind of thing friends who trust each other should always be able to do. Likewise, I have no problem if a GM says &quot;You guys have completely missed the path on this one. Do you want a hint to get back on track, or do you just want to continue as is?&quot; Sometimes as players we get it completely wrong and we want a hint so we can succeed at our goal - wandering around session after session only to find out that we were completely off-track the whole time and the GM just let us wander...no thanks.As for the author's &quot;good&quot; methods - Ouch! Many are classic railroading techniques that I'd never put up with for long. If used very, very sparingly, I can accept most of them, but some should never be used. For example, &quot;Have the PC captured by monsters. Huh? Most players I know absolutely *hate* having their characters defeated by GM fiat. And trust me, players can tell when the GM pre-ordains the result of an encounter.&quot;And remember, the importance for your player is not to have total freedom in your world but have the illusion of it. As long as they think they can move freely and that their characters face obstacles when going out of the way instead of being the players that faces the limit, they will enjoy their game.&quot;No, the importance for your players is that they can make meaningful choices. Meaningful isn't an illusion.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Andre, post: 3984879, member: 25930"] Wow, I disagree with just about everything in the article. I have no problem with a GM saying "Sorry, I didn't think you guys would go that way, so I didn't prep for that. Would you mind following this other lead and I'll have this one ready for you next session." That's the kind of thing friends who trust each other should always be able to do. Likewise, I have no problem if a GM says "You guys have completely missed the path on this one. Do you want a hint to get back on track, or do you just want to continue as is?" Sometimes as players we get it completely wrong and we want a hint so we can succeed at our goal - wandering around session after session only to find out that we were completely off-track the whole time and the GM just let us wander...no thanks. As for the author's "good" methods - Ouch! Many are classic railroading techniques that I'd never put up with for long. If used very, very sparingly, I can accept most of them, but some should never be used. For example, [I]"Have the PC captured by monsters.[/I] Huh? Most players I know absolutely *hate* having their characters defeated by GM fiat. And trust me, players can tell when the GM pre-ordains the result of an encounter. [I]"And remember, the importance for your player is not to have total freedom in your world but have the illusion of it. As long as they think they can move freely and that their characters face obstacles when going out of the way instead of being the players that faces the limit, they will enjoy their game."[/I] No, the importance for your players is that they can make meaningful choices. Meaningful isn't an illusion. [/QUOTE]

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