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Message: <blockquote data-quote="AlViking" data-source="post: 9663946" data-attributes="member: 6906980">Making things interesting and following a logical sequence of events are not mutually exclusive.  I don't claim to be 100% objective.  It's something I try to keep in mind when deciding what happens as a result of character actions, that while I want there to be new opportunities and obstacles I also want to do what is the most likely for the NPC or faction.  But that's been explained time and again.  At this point you can accept it or not, just repeating what was said before isn't going to make much of a difference.  I try to think about responses from the perspective of NPCs and factions, both those directly and peripherally impacted.  How are they going to react to the actions of the characters?    So one last example from something close to what happened in one of my games.I have the Yellow Tooth gang run by Squealer the wererat and devout follower of Squerrik the wererat god.  Squealer is ambitious, cunning, egotistic with grand goals but also has a strong sense of self-preservation.  The characters manage to weaken and expose the Yellow Tooth gang through clever play and luck more than I had anticipated.  Squealer manages to get away because he made a lucky roll but his group is not only been weakened but also exposed.  How are other factions going to try to take advantage of that?  I'm having fun with the Yellow Tooth gang but what are the odds that another organization simply takes them out now that they've been weakened?  Will Squealer be killed off-screen? So I look at my notes, think about other organizations that might take advantage of the Yellow Tooth gang being weakened.  Not just gangs have a vested interest in wiping out the Yellow Tooth, a powerful trading conglomerate that doesn't want it known that they were using them to cause problems with competing trade groups also wants them gone.  If they are taken out, how would that affect the balance of power with other factions? Sometimes I'll just choose what I think is most likely, sometimes I'll roll dice.I'm still choosing of course since it's still all fiction in my head or notes with some details shared and established and therefore more established.  But it's not based on what I think will be most fun.  I was having a blast with the Yellow Tooth gang and the characters hated them.  I had outlined some possibilities early on about Squealer could gain power beyond what wererats normally gain if they hadn't been exposed by those darned kids.  A wererat as powerful politicians is something I dreamt up in the middle of the night, it could be a really fun story arc.  But now based on what happened I try to make an objective call.  A rat king would be a lot of fun and I could choose to rebuild the Yellow Tooth.  Watching Squealer rise to power later on but being unable to stop him because he's politically connected would be fun.  But that's not going to happen because I don't see an option Squealer to reassert control of his gang even if any are alive.  His reputation as leader was trashed when he saved himself leaving others to die.  His value as a secret operative ended when he was exposed.But sometimes when a door is closed a window opens.  Squealer doesn't have a gang any more and the Yellow Tooth is wiped out but maybe he's able to convince everyone he's dead but survived (something I may or may not roll for).  He blew his chance at political power so now he's vowed vengeance from the shadows and becomes an unseen thorn in the side of the characters.  Just little things at first. A gnawed rope, an unexpected trap, an enemy warned they were coming.  He's going to leave little hints behind because he also has a huge ego and wants the characters to know he's wreaking vengeance.  If they never figure out he's behind it he will eventually reveal himself because of his ego.  Completely different story for Squealer and one that I hadn't anticipated.On the other hand if Squealer hadn't survived that fight with the characters in all likelihood the Yellow Tooth gang just gets wiped out and I just toss my notes on a fun NPC and group while I figure out who fills the void.</blockquote>

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