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Message: <blockquote data-quote="The_Warlock" data-source="post: 3928630" data-attributes="member: 21215">Another point to be made as a corollary to making sure that the PCs (and by extension, their players) have successes is that, sometimes, regardless of having success, or the quality of success, some players will get frustrated at the consequences of prior falls to a Xanatos' Gambit, or consequences of their own prior decisions. Even if those consequences make complete and total sense, and the players, seeing those consequences, agree that it makes sense.I've found it important in my runs to occasionally have an orc just be an orc. While there might be something unique about the orc and his tribe, it does not create a long and convoluted chain to some other agent, villain, power group or central plot line. They are just raiding caravans, and somebody needs to deal with them.I've found that the occasional straight forward, uncomplicated adventure or quest not only provides a release for the players from the webs which are wrapped round their PCs, but also indirectly, sets them up to trust their actions and decision-making enough to then be caught in another web of trickery or decision making. So, while cleansing the region of the orc tribe didn't directly cause  any new power group to move in, or trogs to come up from the caves and eat livestock, or push the evil cleric who was instigating the orcs into raiding make a bolder move, it gives the PCs a sense that they can make a positive impact without everything biting them. And thus sets the groundwork for just such a chain to trigger when they are faced with a similar scenario later on.Balance in all things, even in RBDMing.  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /></blockquote>

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