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Message: <blockquote data-quote="The Crimson Binome" data-source="post: 6587483" data-attributes="member: 6775031">In the example I'm imagining, they might overhear this NPC at the tavern, complaining about her boss or some other sort of vague grievance. Maybe they approach, and start asking questions, in the way that adventurers do. Maybe they give advice, and convince her to run off with her love interest, since she's clearly unhappy with her job. More likely, they ignore her as irrelevant, only to recognize her much later on when she does her thing. There's also a chance that the whole building will go up in a massive explosion, as sometimes happens in proximity to the PCs.Maybe I didn't present that clearly. I didn't mean to imply that it was a random, binary choice. I meant that they had a clear goal, and had the option of not immediately pursuing it.In any case, though, the secret documents aren't necessarily important. Maybe the party never went into town, so they don't recognize anyone on the list. Maybe nobody can read the language it's written it. It is what it is. If they find it, and it helps them, then great. If not, then don't worry about it.It's not my place to say. Maybe they'll reach their goal, and then feel some compulsion to leave without going back to explore (someone gets petrified or poisoned, and you need to get back to town for the cure). There's any number of reasons why players might choose one path over another, or choose to not explore both. Or maybe the Fighter has a disagreement with the Wizard, and storms off in the opposite direction. Who knows?I'm not sure what you mean by 'frame' in this instance. Is that like railroading?The answer to both is "maybe". The DM has no way of knowing if or when the PCs will encounter this stranger, or what their reaction will be. Nor could the location of the secret info possibly depend upon that.Which I think just serves to highlight the differences in our playstyles. You want the DM to set things up in a way such that events will be most interesting/exciting to the players. I want the DM to set things up in whatever way makes most sense to the DM, without particular consideration for how the players feel about it. When the DM takes my interests (as a player) into consideration while directing the story, my brain gets caught in a feedback loop and I can't proceed.Edit: If the DM has something planned, and I don't like where it's going, I would prefer to see it through to completion rather than having the DM retcon it based on how the players receive it. Not every element of the story needs to be a home run.</blockquote>

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