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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Azgulor" data-source="post: 5185682" data-attributes="member: 14291">In games like Dragon Age & Mass Effect, while the overall story is preserved, many of the decisions DO matter.  As an example, your endgame success may vary from loss to victory but at great cost to victory with everyone surviving - all depending on how you treated allies & enemies along the way.I tried the detailed flowchart but eventually chucked it as my players kept coming up with options I didn't forsee.Depending on the story arc, I still use flowcharts but they are much broader.  As an example, if I'm running a war campaign/story arc I figure out the stratagems and general events that will occur if the players do not interact with the story.  Then as the story progress, events get tweaked or modified based on the players influence.So if the Orc Hordes are marching on the kingdom on several fronts and the PCs find battle plans showing 2 settlements that are going to be hit.  Unfortunately, they were pursuing a traitor that has critical information on the kingdom's defenses.  How the players react will have meaningful impact on the game. Examples:A. The PCs determine they can only aid/warn one settlement.  The settlement they didn't choose is severely impacted (or overrun/destroyed) as a result.B. The PCs decide to split the party and attempt to warn/aid both settlements.  The potential to save both settlements now exists but at longer odds as they've divided their forces.C. The PCs deem it too important to let the traitor slip away and don't aid either settlement.  The impact to those settlements are much more severe and now the PCs may find themselves behind enemy lines when they return.D. The PCs fall back to a lord's stronghold.  The lord has magical means of alerting the settlements, so rather than being overrun, two long sieges begin but the enemy now has the information on the kingdom.etc.In all of the scenarios, the war proceeds and the orc hordes attack the two settlements.  The outcome of those battles may vary significantly based upon the PCs choices & actions.  The impact to the war & the likelihood of winning it may also be significantly impacted based upon those choices.</blockquote>

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