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<blockquote data-quote="Rel" data-source="post: 2469519" data-attributes="member: 99">For those suggesting simply &quot;cutting to the chase&quot;, I think that's fine if the players are directionless and bored.&nbsp; But I also think that sometimes established background for the campaign world pushes the GM toward postponing what he thought was going to be the adventure for something else.&nbsp; And sometimes it's just fun to let the PC's go in an unexpected direction.If Quasqueton has established that the overland route between point A and point B is frought with danger or has interesting points along the way then it seems a bit of a shame to just say, &quot;Ok, time passes and you're there...&quot;&nbsp; Instead I think he's done an admirable thing by putting aside his expectations to meet what he seems to think the player's expectations are.I say that if the PC's take an unexpected turn that one of the worst things you can do is to &quot;force them back on track&quot;.&nbsp; That's the very definition of Railroading.&nbsp; Instead, you try to make wherever they DO go full of adventure and excitement.As a sort of weak example, I'll take what happened in my last session:&nbsp; The party was asked to explore the ruins on Oaktop Hill, a dangerous place where previous groups have not returned from.&nbsp; They went there and discovered the ruins of an old, collapsed lighthouse, guarded by an evil Treant.&nbsp; They managed to defeat him and set about searching the lighthouse, which I had planned as a very simple, small scale ruin.&nbsp; The players clearly expected something more extensive and stated their willingness to search beneath the rubble to try and find an entrance to the catacombs they were sure lay beneath.&nbsp; That's how the session ended.Now I had planned nothing of the sort and was all set for the group to move onto another adventure in a nearby valley.&nbsp; But then I figured, what the hell, this is as good a place as any to expand the adventure a little.&nbsp; And so I'm now planning on them finding a small dungeon beneath the place that will let me foreshadow some events they'll run into later in the campaign.With that said, if they had encountered and defeated the Treant and begun searching the ruins earlier in the session, I would probably not have done this.&nbsp; I am ok at coming up with stuff on the fly but not an entire mini-dungeon.&nbsp; But since I've got the time between sessions to work on it and it will only enhance later events in the campaign, I'm happy to do it.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Rel, post: 2469519, member: 99"] For those suggesting simply "cutting to the chase", I think that's fine if the players are directionless and bored. But I also think that sometimes established background for the campaign world pushes the GM toward postponing what he thought was going to be the adventure for something else. And sometimes it's just fun to let the PC's go in an unexpected direction. If Quasqueton has established that the overland route between point A and point B is frought with danger or has interesting points along the way then it seems a bit of a shame to just say, "Ok, time passes and you're there..." Instead I think he's done an admirable thing by putting aside his expectations to meet what he seems to think the player's expectations are. I say that if the PC's take an unexpected turn that one of the worst things you can do is to "force them back on track". That's the very definition of Railroading. Instead, you try to make wherever they DO go full of adventure and excitement. As a sort of weak example, I'll take what happened in my last session: The party was asked to explore the ruins on Oaktop Hill, a dangerous place where previous groups have not returned from. They went there and discovered the ruins of an old, collapsed lighthouse, guarded by an evil Treant. They managed to defeat him and set about searching the lighthouse, which I had planned as a very simple, small scale ruin. The players clearly expected something more extensive and stated their willingness to search beneath the rubble to try and find an entrance to the catacombs they were sure lay beneath. That's how the session ended. Now I had planned nothing of the sort and was all set for the group to move onto another adventure in a nearby valley. But then I figured, what the hell, this is as good a place as any to expand the adventure a little. And so I'm now planning on them finding a small dungeon beneath the place that will let me foreshadow some events they'll run into later in the campaign. With that said, if they had encountered and defeated the Treant and begun searching the ruins earlier in the session, I would probably not have done this. I am ok at coming up with stuff on the fly but not an entire mini-dungeon. But since I've got the time between sessions to work on it and it will only enhance later events in the campaign, I'm happy to do it. [/QUOTE]

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