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<blockquote data-quote="ZombieRoboNinja" data-source="post: 4041986" data-attributes="member: 54843">I think the OP is presenting a kind of false dichotomy that actually doesn't cover the most common case.I think MOST DMs prepare one or more adventure-paths-on-rails for the party to follow. The beautiful village girl tells you that orcs stole her grandpa, and your PCs know they're off to Orc Country. Obviously, everything on that adventure path should be fairly well-balanced for the party. It should also be pretty clearly marked-out; if the players aren't &quot;supposed&quot; to tackle the orc fortress head-on, the DM should make it clear that they've got little chance of surviving an attack.But sometimes players will jump the tracks and decide to attack the town guards, or go fight a neighboring dragon, or charge headfirst into the orc king's fortress. When this happens, all bets are off, and the players might get smooshed in one blow if they wade in over their heads.Now, I know there are some DMs who improvise everything as they go. And there are other DMs who conscientiously prepare notes about EVERY possible thing in the same hemisphere as the PCs, just in case. But probably the majority of DMs come to the session with at least a few pages of notes on what they expect the party to face. Flexibility is a great DM merit, but helpful guidance is another. The DM should lead the party towards a fruitful and level-appropriate adventure, whether they decide to take it or not.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="ZombieRoboNinja, post: 4041986, member: 54843"] I think the OP is presenting a kind of false dichotomy that actually doesn't cover the most common case. I think MOST DMs prepare one or more adventure-paths-on-rails for the party to follow. The beautiful village girl tells you that orcs stole her grandpa, and your PCs know they're off to Orc Country. Obviously, everything on that adventure path should be fairly well-balanced for the party. It should also be pretty clearly marked-out; if the players aren't "supposed" to tackle the orc fortress head-on, the DM should make it clear that they've got little chance of surviving an attack. But sometimes players will jump the tracks and decide to attack the town guards, or go fight a neighboring dragon, or charge headfirst into the orc king's fortress. When this happens, all bets are off, and the players might get smooshed in one blow if they wade in over their heads. Now, I know there are some DMs who improvise everything as they go. And there are other DMs who conscientiously prepare notes about EVERY possible thing in the same hemisphere as the PCs, just in case. But probably the majority of DMs come to the session with at least a few pages of notes on what they expect the party to face. Flexibility is a great DM merit, but helpful guidance is another. The DM should lead the party towards a fruitful and level-appropriate adventure, whether they decide to take it or not. [/QUOTE]

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