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Message: <blockquote data-quote="payn" data-source="post: 8572884" data-attributes="member: 90374">Greetings,Recent discussions have my mind on adventure design and GM style. Some adventures are written where a scripted event happens, or the adventure comes apart. Here is a list of possibilities as examples;<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Bad guy encounter where bad guy escapes</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">PCs are arrested, relived of their effects, and jailed</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The sailing/space ship crashes and PCs are marooned</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">NPC travelling with PCs is untrustworthy, and will betray them, but they cant ditch for story reasons</li> </ul>I am sure a lot of folks are seeing red flags and getting ready to declare railroad. I am probably with you too. Though, I dont necessarily believe that any game is railroad free. There are always tracks, but sometimes they are nearly invisible. How present or not the tracks are is a matter of taste. My position has always been that an RPG adventure should be a set of happenings that will be impacted by the decisions of the PCs. While a plan is in place for things to happen, they are not predetermined. Which means, I need to consider what happens if the bad guy gets away, if the PCs get arrested, if the ship crashes... Key word here is "if" not when. I firmly believe that smart play and/or having the right abilities and luck during play should not be denied the players.I do wonder sometimes about using these literary tropes in play though. My take has always been that if any of the above examples are to happen, its at the very beginning of the adventure. Once the adventure is kicked off, the PCs are free to achieve whatever they are capable of. I will not jack in the box on them and have something in which they don't at least have a chance to avoid or impact. The result is that I plan and write very nuanced and expansive adventures. There are so many paths and what ifs built in for the PCs to explore. I enjoy this, but sometimes I do wish for something a little simpler. An adventure that perhaps last a session or two instead of taking many to complete. I feel like maybe I'm missing the chance to explore some of these pulpy episodic experiences?I'll keep it short here and open it up to commentary. I'll provide y'all with a few questions below for the discussion;What is your take on adventure writing? Do you make expansive plots, or are your adventures simpler to complete and move on?Do you go with predetermined events? If so, how do you make them enjoyable and get buy in from your PCs for the temporary suspension of agency?Are these literary trope explorations better suited for one shot style adventure? If not, how do you weave in and out of these events during play?      </blockquote>

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