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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Tav_Behemoth" data-source="post: 5087283" data-attributes="member: 18017">It's awesome when this is the case - but even if so, it's not always apparent to the players. I think we've all had the experience of feeling like the fun the GM has provided for the session requires the players to do a certain thing. That's bad GMing and we're better off focusing on the good, but I think that it's important to remember that you may have players whose experience is shaped by those kinds of experience.I find it so frustrating as a GM when players seem to be trying to second-guess my intentions and figure out "what are we supposed to do here" that I spend a lot of effort signaling that I don't have any preconceived ideas. Rolling for plot events (using tools which old-school rules provide in abundance like NPC reactions, random encounters, morale checks, etc.) helps me demonstrate that what happens is out of my control; the players can jump in and try anything they like (and in fact they'll need to if they don't want their fate to be entirely random). I don't see this as entirely abdicating my responsibility to deliver a game that's fun for everyone - it just shifts the level at which I do so, whether that's designing random tables such that all the dice outcomes will be exciting or talking to players out of game to say "you know, if you want social intrigue you should stop wandering the woods."</blockquote>