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<blockquote data-quote="pming" data-source="post: 7728231" data-attributes="member: 45197"><p>Hiya!</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Not quite my 'site based'...close though. For me, I don't follow any outline. I have a background 'story' that is essentially "This is what is going on, this is how that is going on, and this is the ultimate goal of why it is going on". Then I let my players loose, so to speak. They get to decide what they want or don't want to do, follow, or ignore. At each choice or specific time (if there is a time-oriented aspect), I adjudicate "the world at large". I don't steer the PC's 'back towards the adventure'...the 'adventure' keeps on running at it's own logical pace in the background if the PC's decide to do nothing.</p><p></p><p>It reminds me of one adventure for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay that we did way back when. My best friend is very much the same style of DM as I am. He was DM'ing and we were playing "Shadows Over Bogenhafen". SPOLIERS!..... In it, the PC's start to get embroiled in a secret chaos cult that has members of the upper class and government in it (rich folk, the mayor, etc). The story is basically the PC's following clues to the ultimate conclusion of a showdown with the cultists before they can open a hell portal to let a hoard of chaos daemons through and turn Bogenhafen into a writhing crater of Chaos spawn. We, iirc, got about 1/3 of the way through the adventure; we then got beat up real bad. We decided to take some time to rest and recouperate. Alas, we missed one or two clues and so the ritual had begun. We were having breakfast at the inn when all of a sudden the center of town errupted in a fountain of chaos, spewing forth chaos spawn, chaos warriors, and all manner of baddies. We didn't make it out of town...we, and everyone in the city, died screaming.</p><p></p><p>Y'see...the clock keeps ticking. We (me and my friend) don't "pause" or "guide the PC's back to" the adventure story/plot. So, no, there is no "general steering" of the PC's back. With a site based adventure, the PC's are thrust into something ongoing. Something that doesn't care what they do...unless what they do specifically screws up the bad guys plans/time table. In a site based adventure, the PC's can do enough damage to a "plot" that they don't even have to get to the end of it to stop it.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>In my site based adventure writing, no. The important aspect is <em>not</em> the transfer of information. The important aspect is that the PC's <em>don't get that information</em>. If there is a drunkard who is happy to relay some info to anyone who will buy him drinks, and the PC's decide to camp outside town and never go to that inn...well, then they never get that info. I don't change it so that a wandering hobo finds their camp and relays the info, nor do I have a travelling bard or ranger, nor do I put it in a note that some random bandit the PC's kill on the roadway two days later. They simply do not get the info. With developing and adventure in my site based manner...doing this doesn't "wreck" the adventure. It just changes the PC's story.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>And herein lies the rub. With a site based approach, all the work a DM has put into it is almost always useful no matter <em>what</em> the PC's do...because the 'adventure' doesn't rely on X happening, then Y, and then Z. There is very little in the way of "useless information" because the vast majority of the information is written with the assumption that the PC's aren't there. A group that ignores every adventure hook, imho, isn't a jerk move simply because they know that I (the DM) didn't write the adventure "for them". I wrote it "for the campaign world", so to speak. If the PC's don't get involved, so be it. It doesn't mean that the 'adventure' suddenly pauses and waits for them to become interested in it again (see the Warhammer example above; the adventure didn't "pause"...we did...and we paid the price).</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Ahhh...well, when dealing with certain other RPG's, I can totally see your more "scene based" approach working much better. Shadowrun would be one of those, as would most Super-Hero RPG's, and some of the more "cinematic" sci-fi games like Star Wars or Star Trek. But for "D&D"? I'll stick with my site based design. <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>Thanks for the conversation! Always nice to hear of how other experienced DM's run their games.</p><p></p><p>^_^</p><p></p><p>Paul L. Ming</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="pming, post: 7728231, member: 45197"] Hiya! Not quite my 'site based'...close though. For me, I don't follow any outline. I have a background 'story' that is essentially "This is what is going on, this is how that is going on, and this is the ultimate goal of why it is going on". Then I let my players loose, so to speak. They get to decide what they want or don't want to do, follow, or ignore. At each choice or specific time (if there is a time-oriented aspect), I adjudicate "the world at large". I don't steer the PC's 'back towards the adventure'...the 'adventure' keeps on running at it's own logical pace in the background if the PC's decide to do nothing. It reminds me of one adventure for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay that we did way back when. My best friend is very much the same style of DM as I am. He was DM'ing and we were playing "Shadows Over Bogenhafen". SPOLIERS!..... In it, the PC's start to get embroiled in a secret chaos cult that has members of the upper class and government in it (rich folk, the mayor, etc). The story is basically the PC's following clues to the ultimate conclusion of a showdown with the cultists before they can open a hell portal to let a hoard of chaos daemons through and turn Bogenhafen into a writhing crater of Chaos spawn. We, iirc, got about 1/3 of the way through the adventure; we then got beat up real bad. We decided to take some time to rest and recouperate. Alas, we missed one or two clues and so the ritual had begun. We were having breakfast at the inn when all of a sudden the center of town errupted in a fountain of chaos, spewing forth chaos spawn, chaos warriors, and all manner of baddies. We didn't make it out of town...we, and everyone in the city, died screaming. Y'see...the clock keeps ticking. We (me and my friend) don't "pause" or "guide the PC's back to" the adventure story/plot. So, no, there is no "general steering" of the PC's back. With a site based adventure, the PC's are thrust into something ongoing. Something that doesn't care what they do...unless what they do specifically screws up the bad guys plans/time table. In a site based adventure, the PC's can do enough damage to a "plot" that they don't even have to get to the end of it to stop it. In my site based adventure writing, no. The important aspect is [I]not[/I] the transfer of information. The important aspect is that the PC's [I]don't get that information[/I]. If there is a drunkard who is happy to relay some info to anyone who will buy him drinks, and the PC's decide to camp outside town and never go to that inn...well, then they never get that info. I don't change it so that a wandering hobo finds their camp and relays the info, nor do I have a travelling bard or ranger, nor do I put it in a note that some random bandit the PC's kill on the roadway two days later. They simply do not get the info. With developing and adventure in my site based manner...doing this doesn't "wreck" the adventure. It just changes the PC's story. And herein lies the rub. With a site based approach, all the work a DM has put into it is almost always useful no matter [I]what[/I] the PC's do...because the 'adventure' doesn't rely on X happening, then Y, and then Z. There is very little in the way of "useless information" because the vast majority of the information is written with the assumption that the PC's aren't there. A group that ignores every adventure hook, imho, isn't a jerk move simply because they know that I (the DM) didn't write the adventure "for them". I wrote it "for the campaign world", so to speak. If the PC's don't get involved, so be it. It doesn't mean that the 'adventure' suddenly pauses and waits for them to become interested in it again (see the Warhammer example above; the adventure didn't "pause"...we did...and we paid the price). Ahhh...well, when dealing with certain other RPG's, I can totally see your more "scene based" approach working much better. Shadowrun would be one of those, as would most Super-Hero RPG's, and some of the more "cinematic" sci-fi games like Star Wars or Star Trek. But for "D&D"? I'll stick with my site based design. :) Thanks for the conversation! Always nice to hear of how other experienced DM's run their games. ^_^ Paul L. Ming [/QUOTE]
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