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<blockquote data-quote="Echohawk" data-source="post: 9451686" data-attributes="member: 9849">So many thoughts! I have a similarly curious players in my Spelljammer campaign. If I describe any passing planetoid, ship or object in an even slightly interesting way, someone will want to get sidetracked and investigate. I recently described an adventure location as being &quot;halfway between two astral phenomenon known as the Effervescence and the Relentless Reflection&quot; and of course, they were suddenly more interested in those other two places.I have a threefold strategy for dealing with this:1. Gently steer the players away from scenery. Most players can take a hint. (&quot;Although the Effervescence does sound intriguing, you recall that the merchant you are meeting was only going to be visiting the Mercane outpost for two weeks.&quot;)2. Do light prep for the most tempting scenery, just in case. This is typically only a few sentences. (The Effervescence is a region of the astral where strange blue and purple bubbles spontaneously manifest. It is currently inhabited by plasmoid travelers who are investigating ways to harvest the bubbles. A stray scavver has also ended up here and has been troubling the plasmoids.)3. Accept that sometimes you have to wing it. Perhaps protecting the plasmoids from the predator leads to the discovery that the bubbles are actually a new lifeform (distantly related to the plasmoids) who are being forced out of their pocket dimension home. This leads the PCs to team up with the plasmoids for some dimension-hopping shenanigans to free the bubble creatures forever. Practically speaking, if you realise mid-game that you are about to have to wing it, don't be shy to call for a short strategic break while you gather your wits and jot down some ideas. Also don't be shy about at least trying to wing it occasionally. Some of the best D&amp;D stories happen when the PCs do something completely unexpected and the DM runs with it.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Echohawk, post: 9451686, member: 9849"] So many thoughts! I have a similarly curious players in my Spelljammer campaign. If I describe any passing planetoid, ship or object in an even [I]slightly[/I] interesting way, someone will want to get sidetracked and investigate. I recently described an adventure location as being "halfway between two astral phenomenon known as the Effervescence and the Relentless Reflection" and of course, they were suddenly more interested in those other two places. I have a threefold strategy for dealing with this: 1. Gently steer the players away from scenery. Most players can take a hint. ("Although the Effervescence does sound intriguing, you recall that the merchant you are meeting was only going to be visiting the Mercane outpost for two weeks.") 2. Do light prep for the most tempting scenery, just in case. This is typically only a few sentences. (The Effervescence is a region of the astral where strange blue and purple bubbles spontaneously manifest. It is currently inhabited by plasmoid travelers who are investigating ways to harvest the bubbles. A stray scavver has also ended up here and has been troubling the plasmoids.) 3. Accept that sometimes you have to wing it. Perhaps protecting the plasmoids from the predator leads to the discovery that the bubbles are actually a new lifeform (distantly related to the plasmoids) who are being forced out of their pocket dimension home. This leads the PCs to team up with the plasmoids for some dimension-hopping shenanigans to free the bubble creatures forever. Practically speaking, if you realise mid-game that you are about to have to wing it, don't be shy to call for a short strategic break while you gather your wits and jot down some ideas. Also don't be shy about at least trying to wing it occasionally. Some of the best D&D stories happen when the PCs do something completely unexpected and the DM runs with it. [/QUOTE]

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