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Message: <blockquote data-quote="AriochQ" data-source="post: 7728220" data-attributes="member: 6793324">I agree and you probably actually read more into my post than I had intended.  As with any analogy, some aspects line up and some don't.  I would never suggest the results of a D&D adventure pre-determined or set-piece.  The aspects of cinema I meant to correlate were 'scenes' and the 'plot development'.  Clearly there are many other aspects that do not apply.But it does open up a larger adventure design concept 'what exactly is sandbox?'  In theory, sandbox style DM's (of which I am one), often claim that characters can do anything, anywhere, anytime.  While this is technically true, it is more often the case that the DM is following a rough adventure outline.  Realistically, a DM will spend a great deal of time developing an adventure and will generally steer the party onto that path.  This is akin to your 'site based', which is equivalent to my 'scene'.  I actually think 'scene' is better term.  For example, an adventure calls for the PC's to interact with some NPC, getting a vital piece of information, at a local Inn.  As a DM, the important aspect is the transfer of the information, not being in the Inn.  The PC's could ignore the Inn and meet the NPC on the road, in a prison, etc.  They may even not meet the NPC at all, maybe he was killed as a result of their prior actions, but to keep the adventure moving forward, I would still need to get the piece of information to the PC's in some manner (unless I wanted to abandon the adventure path because they allowed the NPC to die, which could also be the case...i.e. sandbox).   So...the aspect of the adventure that is important is the 'scene' where the PC's learn the piece of information, resulting in plot development.The details of the adventure may vary, but it is in the GM's best interest to draw upon material already prepared if possible (otherwise, why even bother preparing).  Can groups totally ignore every adventure hook?  Sure they can, but I would argue that is sort of a jerk move as, at a meta-game level, the players know the DM has spend time and effort preparing the adventure for them.  Could the players veer off the planned adventure path requiring the DM to ad lib and create in the moment?  Most definitely!  This is a critical aspect of TTRPG's and is really what differentiates it from any other game.Personally, my perspective on adventure design has evolved over the past 38 years and the most significant development occurred in 1989 when I began to look at adventures in terms of 'scenes' (a concept I gleaned from Shadowrun, it was likely present in other systems prior to that).</blockquote>

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