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Message: <blockquote data-quote="BryonD" data-source="post: 5795449" data-attributes="member: 957">Another thought, and I am completely guessing here, but maybe it will help us see through this.You have made strong comments in the past for how much you personally like setting up and running set pieces or specific cool encounters.   Obviously if you have a cool encounter and the players do something to prevent that from happening then that will upset the apple cart.  It seems to me that, for you, those specific cool encounters are a focal point and you will tweak other things around them.You are not going to let a cool set piece dry up because the players fooled around and didn't get their butts their on time.I love set pieces.  They are awesome.  But I love narrative continuity more.  And I also love the unexpected nature of RPGs more.I have had set pieces trashed by unexpected player actions.  And I feel regret at the loss of the set piece.  But I also feel it was a way more than worth it because that spontaneous natural flow that is beyond my control is way better.I recall a set piece that was a classic gallows rescue scene.  The party would met a major villain and lots of cool challenges would occur.  The players came up with a awesome scheme and pulled a jail break instead.  I tried to thwart them as best I could without any DM fiat moves.  They succeeded.  I couldn't believe I had lost that awesome scene.  And it was AWESOME.  I loved it.I also recall a comic strip.Panel A: DM says: You come to the end of a long passage there is a door to the left and a door to the right.Panel B: DM thinking: pick the door to the right, pick the door to the right.  The most awesome trap ever is behind the door to the right.Panel C: Player: We go left.Panel D: DM: blink blinkPanel E: DM: YOU SPRING THE MOST AWESOME TRAP EVER!!!!!Part of what makes that so funny is that clearly even in the DM's head the party has control of their own destiny right up to the second they do something that the DM decides isn't optimal.  But clearly the DM was even fooling himself from the beginning.  Given the players the illusion of control so long as they do what is wanted is not at all the same thing as giving them the control.  And that applies even if the players happen to do the right thing.</blockquote>

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