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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lanefan" data-source="post: 7732024" data-attributes="member: 29398">That's four examples of questions whose answers lie in the secret backstory which the DM knows and the players don't - yet.  Seems fine to me.I've had those conversations... <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />Well somebody has to know, otherwise how can it develop and hope to maintain any internal logic?  And, it seems, someone did know...OK, so the conspirators don't have a ship.  Got it.But wait...now it seems the conspirators do have a ship; which means they had said ship all along in hindsight, making it an element of a secret backstory that you-as-DM chose to reveal during session 4. (and introducing some inconsistency if said ship could also have been firing on them or doing anything else relevant (including something as simple as just being noticed to be present at all) during sessions 1-3)OK, though I-as-player might have been annoyed that we didn't get the chance to investigate the outpost and decide on our own what to do next without being forced.And...so now the conspirators have two ships, one of which is a fast patrol ship.  So, as again they've in hindsight had this ship all along and thus could have used it to ferry the stuff from Ardour-3 to Byron (and hidden the ferrying as part of a normal patrol, even!), what did they need the yacht for again?This is where the DM knowing at least some of this stuff ahead of time is invaluable: you can avoid these sort of plot holes and inconsistencies.Yes, but the DM has to be bloody careful when doing this.  The more solidly things are nailed down in advance, the easier it is to introduce new elements on the fly and have them remain consistent and fit in.Though I maintain you should, so that if one of 'em gets charmed and questioned (a common enough occurrence) you've already got the answers and backstory ready to go and can thus be consistent with your answers without worrying about talking yourself into a corner.Actually, you have.  From post 68, this thread:Soounds to me like that's saying the players know the backstory.Well, if you want to give away your world like that, more power to ya.  Far as I'm concerned it's the DM's world and she can veto anything she flippin' well wants to - as long as she's internally consistent.OK, but how does this agree with what I quoted above from post 68 where the players know the backstory?You have a particularly harsh definition of railroading, it seems.  Of course the DM establishes the possiblities and outcomes (and odds, etc.) of investigations and actions - that's part of her job as the builder and maintainer of the game world.One of the first things I do when designing a world is draw a map of some of it.  Once that map is done to my satisfaction it gets "locked in".  I might add minor elements to it later, but nothing will ever come off it unless game events dictate that it should e.g. a city gets wiped out.  That map makes the world much more "real" than if there was no map; it's something concrete that I and others can look at and glean the same information from.  And, as world design is strictly the purview of the DM, the players don't share in the making of said map.  It's long done before any players ever get near it.Making stuff up on the fly happens, usually when the players throw me a curveball and go somewhere or do something I simply haven't prepped and-or didn't see coming.  Some of the time I can make it look like nothing's different - they still think I'm running off my notes etc. - but sometimes it's obvious I'm winging it, usually because I talk my way into inconsistencies; greatly annoying myself in the process.But even when I'm winging it I'm rarely if ever using elements introduced by the players or PCs.  What I will do sometimes is if I hear a good idea from a player I'll make a note and sit on it for long enough (several months, usually) that the player whose idea it was has forgotten about it.  Then I'll use it, giving credit afterwards if asked.Lanefan</blockquote>

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