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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lanefan" data-source="post: 8022895" data-attributes="member: 29398">Alert the media!  Pictures at eleven!Ah, stand down the media alert, we're back to normal. <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=":)" />In my own case (b) is a high enough risk that I try to avoid it when I can.Oh sure, sometimes it works out great.But far too often it doesn't, and as I'm a bit of a perfectionist in these things "far too often" in my definition isn't that far above zero. <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=":)" />Competence may arise from that crucible but along with it arise scars, self-doubt, player doubt (which is worse), occasional embarrassment, and games I'd really rather forget ever happened.I suppose I don't see this as being as much of a problem as you might.I mean really, if a GM has put a lot of effort into something she deserves a chance for it to see play at some point, at which point it'll either work out or it won't.  And I think - or I'd like to think - most players respect the work that's gone into it and are generally willing to give these things a try.As a very current example, some few weeks back my DM started running our game online.  Four (?) sessions of it have convinced me it's an absolutely awful way to play, and pretty much the only reason I haven't bailed on it till we can meet in person again is that I realize the crazy amount of work he's had to put into setting it all up and that bailing out would thus be very poor form and disrespectful of that effort.Early stumbles and lack of self-confidence are a fact of life when learning any new system, and (usually) forgiven all round.What I wouldn't forgive myself for, and wouldn't expect my players to forgive (and honestly would be disappointed in them if they did), would be the inevitable conflicts of consistency that would arise when I gave some relevant detail and then directly contradicted it an hour or a session or a year later. I'm a horrible note-taker on the fly and internal setting consistency is IMO non-negotiable.  (I'm also that guy who will pick up on inconsistencies when I'm a player, and jump all over them)I could probably do it just fine for something short - a few adventures, maybe - but remember, my campaigns go for ten years and more; and even with all the prep I've done I still sometimes find keeping everythng straight gets mighty unwieldy. <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=":)" />Part of this also depends on the players one has.  Some are more than capable of driving a story.  Others...well...aren't, and need the story to be provided.</blockquote>

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