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Message: <blockquote data-quote="hawkeyefan" data-source="post: 7909801" data-attributes="member: 6785785">Haven’t we all been in a game (or run one) where we think we’ve done everything we need to, we’ve searched everywhere, fought everyone....yet something’s missing, the adventure is incomplete in some way. We look at the DM and he just shrugs.Sure, we could shrug, too, and head back to town and pursue some other goal. Sometimes this kind of deadend happens. I’ve been in the DM chair before where this happens and I’m wondering “how do they not realize where to go/what to do next?” And the truth is that what’s obvious to the DM and what’s obvious to the players are different things.Maybe the DM didn’t accurately portray the information that would help the players figure out their next steps? Maybe the “clues” just aren’t as meaningful as they would seem to be? Maybe it’s a combination of those and maybe meta concerns....it’s late and people are getting foggy? It could be anything. To assume that it’s always the failing of the PCs is naive. And if we can accept that, then I can’t understand how any DM wouldn’t consider making an adjustment to help restore the original intent.And I think that’s what’s key here. Set aside talk of railroads and sandboxes....there’s a goal in any situation. Find the treasure, clear the caves of monsters, slay the dragon, rescue the townsfolk....whatever it may be, there’s a goal.The DM can fail to accurately portray that goal or the steps needed to reach that goal. For me, a DM who’s willing to let everyone at the table shrug and then move on....I mean, does that sound like an engaging experience? One where everyone shrugs?Adjustments like this are, to me at least, a sign of a thoughtful DM, who is considering not just how things are written prior to play, but how things have gone in play. Holding what’s written up as somehow more meaningful than what emerges through play is really odd to me. Like a bewildered general who’s lost the battle due to changing conditions, who simply points at the battle plan he had prior to the engagement.</blockquote>

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