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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Reynard" data-source="post: 7935606" data-attributes="member: 467">NOTE: I am currently running Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus, which inspired this post, but it really isn't D&D specific so I put it here.When I decided to run BG<img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D"  data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" />IA it was mostly out of laziness. I had other projects going on and did not think I would have time to properly prepare a weekly game. I generally don't prefer pre-written scenarios, and I definitely like full pre-designed campaigns/adventure paths less. I prefer the flow of the campaign to be looser, with more opportunity to wander off in random directions based on events that occur in play.On aspect of that that I am beginning to worry about is the idea of how player choice, the consequences of those choices and the prospect of failure interact with running a pre-written campaign. In this case it was a minor thing: the PCs had just arrived in Avernus in the apocalyptic city of Elturel. The saved and spoke with the plot delivery NPC, and then decided to go searching the ruins for loot rather than heading toward the next exclamation point bearing NPC. I didn't have a problem with that (other than it might have shown a distinct lack of urgency on the part of the "heroes") and started rolling for random encounters while they dithered.Here's what struck me: what if one of those encounters resulted in a TPK? Would the campaign be over? SHOULD the campaign be over?The players were at a decision point and they chose an option that resulted in increased danger for potentially increased reward. GREAT! That's what D&D is about (among other things). That choice led to consequences that could potentially result in campaign level failure. Given that we chose to play this campaign (and I sunk a chunk of money into it, since I have the physical book and bought it on Fantasy Grounds), it would feel both anticlimactic and real-world irritating if that failure occurred. I might even be inclined to not allow that failure to occur, which itself grates against my every fiber as a GM in that players have agency and their actions determine the flow of the game and the "story" as it were.Being invested in a pre-written campaign makes me feel like in many cases, those choices are really illusions and my own desire to allow for "logical" (I know) consequences is impinged upon.Thoughts?</blockquote>

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