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<blockquote data-quote="Sebastrd" data-source="post: 7334107" data-attributes="member: 21473">Why can't it be both? Honestly, I think that both you and Lanefan, by virtue of adhering to one specific style of worldbuilding, are unnecessarily constraining yourselves.My method is to start with a premise, likely an overarching theme and an antagonist, and &quot;pre-author&quot; the general situation and starting area as is appropriate to my homebrew setting. I'll then summarize all of that in a handout I give to my players to assist in character generation; it gives them context for backstory and some ideas for NPC connections. The key here, though, is that the players are not necessarily constrained by it. They are free to add to it and generate new content.When play begins, I'll have some mapped locations, timeline of events, and the antagonist's resources all &quot;pre-authored&quot;. During play the PCs will interact with those places, disrupt the timeline, and erode those resources. However, we are not constrained by any of it. I can, and often do, alter it during play in response to the PCs actions, player suggestions, and players' use of Inspiration Points. I always have veto power, but I only exercise it to keep things believable and consistent in the context of the setting. (For example, I wouldn't allow a player to decide there was a lightsaber in the ogre's backpack.)&quot;Pre-authored&quot;, secret backstory does not have to be a straight-jacket that limits the GM or the players. It's simply a tool in the toolbox that is useful in some situations - like for GMs that have difficulty generating believable, cohesive setting information on the fly.As an aside: My players have as much agency as they are willing to exercise. I will occasionally ask them to generate content, especially in response to their request for that specific content, and many players will balk at that. You have to keep in mind that the vast majority of players are weaned on D&amp;D, and D&amp;D does not train players to generate content. It has no action resolution mechanics that specifically ask players to create. D&amp;D players, by and large, expect content generation to fall under the purview of the DM.One possible, and maybe even likely, answer to your OP is, &quot;Because in D&amp;D that's the way it has always been, and most tables don't know any different.&quot;</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Sebastrd, post: 7334107, member: 21473"] Why can't it be both? Honestly, I think that both you and Lanefan, by virtue of adhering to one specific style of worldbuilding, are unnecessarily constraining yourselves. My method is to start with a premise, likely an overarching theme and an antagonist, and "pre-author" the general situation and starting area as is appropriate to my homebrew setting. I'll then summarize all of that in a handout I give to my players to assist in character generation; it gives them context for backstory and some ideas for NPC connections. The key here, though, is that the players are not necessarily constrained by it. They are free to add to it and generate new content. When play begins, I'll have some mapped locations, timeline of events, and the antagonist's resources all "pre-authored". During play the PCs will interact with those places, disrupt the timeline, and erode those resources. However, we are not constrained by any of it. I can, and often do, alter it during play in response to the PCs actions, player suggestions, and players' use of Inspiration Points. I always have veto power, but I only exercise it to keep things believable and consistent in the context of the setting. (For example, I wouldn't allow a player to decide there was a lightsaber in the ogre's backpack.) "Pre-authored", secret backstory does not have to be a straight-jacket that limits the GM [I]or[/I] the players. It's simply a tool in the toolbox that is useful in some situations - like for GMs that have difficulty generating believable, cohesive setting information on the fly. As an aside: My players have as much agency as they are willing to exercise. I will occasionally ask them to generate content, especially in response to their request for that specific content, and many players will balk at that. You have to keep in mind that the vast majority of players are weaned on D&D, and D&D does not train players to generate content. It has no action resolution mechanics that specifically ask players to create. D&D players, by and large, expect content generation to fall under the purview of the DM. One possible, and maybe even likely, answer to your OP is, "Because in D&D that's the way it has always been, and most tables don't know any different." [/QUOTE]

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