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Message: <blockquote data-quote="DEFCON 1" data-source="post: 9734116" data-attributes="member: 7006">Effort, taste, interest, capabilities of the DM, capabilities of the players, variation of degree, any number of things.Complicated and nuanced situations are great if you can get them on occasion, but most situations in most adventures do not require them and would be out of place or not bothered with even if they were there.I mean let's take a look at Lost Mines of Phandelver, one of the most popular D&D adventures ever as per most metrics:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Party gets hired by a dwarf to escort a wagon from Neverwinter to the town of Phandalin, following behind the horse-drawn wagon that holds the dwarf and another friend.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Party comes upon the horses and wagon in the middle of the road, the horses dead, shot through by arrows.</li> </ul>Now what are players going to doin this situation?  Yes, they are "free" to do whatever they want-- they can turn around and go back to Neverwinter; they can drive on past and continue on to Phandalin; they can stop and open up a lemonade stand on the side of the road.  Anything they want.  But what are they most likely to do?  99% of all parties will do the exact same thing-- examine the ambush spot, figure out that their dwarf patron and all the supplies were probably taken, and find the trail that will eventually lead to the goblin caves.  And then the party will make the obvious and likely decision to go after the kidnapped dwarf.There's no complicated or nuanced situation here.  The adventure was set before the party, and the party takes it.  An obvious path and a smart decision on the player's part to go rescue the guy who is paying them and will quite possibly reward them as well for rescue.  And there's nothing wrong with that.  And the fact that the module writer knows that this the most likely decision and thus gives the DM the goblin caves encounter as next up on the agenda is nothing to look down upon or be seen as something lesser.  It's entirely standard roleplaying.Are they being "railroaded" to go to the goblin caves?  No.  But it's just entirely logical why they would choose to do so.  So what exactly would be the issue with this?</blockquote>

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