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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Janx" data-source="post: 4960745" data-attributes="member: 8835">As presented, the OP's example seems rail-roady in a bad way.  Ultimately, he didn't get a chance to do what he wanted to do, and the DM pretty much assigned actions to his character (by not letting him get a chance to do something, instead continuing the monologue).A DM should never tell a PC how he feels or what he wants.  In the example, the DM told the player how he feels about the slavers, and that he wanted to stop them because they were bad.A good DM would have made the player have those feelings and desires by events that happened to the PC.  I can make you hate the slavers by making things happen in game that make you hate the slavers.  I should never dictate how your PC feels, however.A DM should never fritter the game clock, unless the players are wasting time.  That means that the GM should narrate the sneaking down to the pool, and stop, let the PCs ask questions, declare actions.  If the PCs then spend time dithering and whatnot, then narrate that time passes.  Instead, the example DM narrated THROUGH the sneaking and time passing, and forcing the PCs to miss an opportunity.Ultimately, in the example story, the GM has removed player choice, by over-narrating everything.  By simplifying the choices down to the players, like a pick-a-path-to-adventure novel.  Worse, he's then blamed it on the game engine.  The problem has nothing to do with the game engine.My recommendation is this:you will gain nothing by lambasting this group.  It will only alienate them from you.Instead, offer to run a game.  Don't over-complicate it trying to show off, just run a solid normal game, where the PCs meet (or have a back-story where they all know each other), find an obvious quest, go on it, and have lots of freedom to decide things.  In no case should you point out their choices, but in every case, their choices should be obvious.I suspect you'll have a lot of converts.  And when they mention, that you run your game differently, point out that the style you presented is how most games are run.If the example given is correct, I suspect that style is abnormal.  I could be wrong, but I don't think most games are run that way.  I suspect even most railroady DMs don't present it in that fashion.</blockquote>

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