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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Morrus" data-source="post: 5255088" data-attributes="member: 1">I don't think the designer's goal is to either limit or promote creativity - or to limit or promote anything else for that matter. It's simply to provide something which people will enjoy; there's no goal beyond that (well, that's a means to a profit end, but in terms of design, that's the goal). I'd suggest that if a designer desired to "promote creativity" in the hobby, he's better off writing a DMG-style book which teaches DMs how to write their own stuff. I imagine there'd be a market for such a book, although I'd hate to try to write it! In the long run, our goal is to satisfy most of the people most of the time; that's a better model than one which satisfies some of the people all of the time. Whether one achieves that goal is another issue (we hope we have, but it's not for us to say) but that is the goal.  And we believe - rightly or wrongly - that the AP model with predesigned encounters is what most AP customers want most of the time.  I'm not saying we know this for certain; but it's worked well for us so far. In our next AP, of course, we're developing in other ways, just like Paizo are in theirs.  For example, we're taking a hard look at the "base-building" aspect of a campaign and the various ways that can work and interact with the campaign itself.  We're also big fans of the moral grey-areas; we try to avoid stark black/white good/evil setups and have the players make difficult decisions at times - and to allow them to make the wrong decision without derailing the campaign.  Sometimes the decision which looks right might not be the right one upon closer examination, or may have unforeseen consequences.  On other ways, we look at the alliances and enemies the players choose to make along the way and how that effects the end of the campaign. So there are a million different ways one can spin an AP.  Each one will have its own slant on the idea.  WotBS had its slant, and the next AP (working title "Zeitgeist", but that may well change) will have a different slant. I do believe that a strong pre-published story requires a certain level of railroading.  That's because it has to be written in advance, and cater for more than just one gaming group.  The effect you're describing, I feel, is something an AP can never replicate in the way that a DM writing as he goes along can; it would be inferior to the DM's own stuff.  APs should use their strengths, which are strong stories, evocative set-pieces, memorable events, and so forth.</blockquote>

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