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Message: <blockquote data-quote="hawkeyefan" data-source="post: 9286310" data-attributes="member: 6785785">I don’t know. I think that even having multiple paths that eventually lead to the same destination is at least partially having a plot. But I don’t think having a plot is necessarily a bad thing. I think the vast majority of RPGing functions that way. I think plot and “railroad” often get conflated, and then people wind up claiming not to use plot while simultaneously providing examples that display plot. There are perfectly fine and acceptable ways to use plot. And some advice will work for that. The three clue rule and node based design are examples. Engaging with the broader adventure is largely engaging with the plot. It’s okay, though. Look at the most dominant form of play in the hobby… the adventure path. This is undoubtedly plot based play. I don’t think that makes it a railroad where there is only one way to move along the path, so to speak. There are branches and forks and so on that may allow for quite different series of events from one instance of play to another. But still, the overall thrust of the game will likely be similar. One group of players may spend all their resources and efforts recovering the Sunsword, while another group focuses on the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind and rallying Strahd’s enemies against him. That’s great! Doesn’t change that the plot of the game is to destroy Strahd, freeing the land of his tyranny and then escaping Barovia. If I’m going to run such a game, the last thing I want as advice is “don’t prep plot”. Perhaps. I think a lot of JA’s advice is repurposed from that of others, but always filtered through his more trad-minded approach. I think the result can at times bit a bit of a mixed message. I also think your phrasing is more generally applicable, while the three clue rule as described is intentionally more specific. It is about keeping things moving based on expectation. It’s about including enough information so that the way forward does not remain invisible for too long.The point of the three clue rule is so that they do not miss the next step. Saying they can miss all three clues misses the point of the advice. And what does “stuck doing boring stuff” mean? Why bother with that, though? If you want them to deal with the monsters, why not just give them the information? Why tease it out and make them “work” for it? Not that I know of, but I’m not familiar with his entire blog, so it’s certainly possible. I think he’d likely be better served by doing so… but I don’t think that he approaches play in any other way than a pretty traditional way. Again, I don’t think the advice he puts forth… or repurposes, in many cases… is bad advice. I just don’t think it presents as coherent a whole as many do when taken in its entirety. Got any examples you can share? Ha as if there’s not a plethora of jargon from trad gaming. Given that JA’s articles largely revolve around examining such jargon, and often establishing new bits… it seems odd to criticize use of jargon in this context.</blockquote>

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