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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jester David" data-source="post: 7338987" data-attributes="member: 37579">Emphasis added.I'm not just talking about setting and adventures, which are on the far side of the spectrum. There's very, very much a middle ground where you can take elements from them and add them to a homegame. Such as a dungeon from an adventure, a town from a campaign setting, a location of note from either.In those instances the source in that case is irrelevant. Pemerton seems to be talking entiely about pre-authored vs improv authored. So he's not just talking published settings, but also ones created by the GM in advance. Which adds a whole other level, as something I create in my downtime before a game is probably pretty similar in tone to something I'm going to add at the table. My point is that it doesn't matter to the players if the location they encounter was created 100% at that moment and entirely unplanned, or if it was created six months ago and kept on an inspirational index card in my gaming books, or if it was in a published adventure. Because a good GM can leave them wondering. Because a good GM can work it into the story seamlessly, taking this unrelated element and making it a functional part of their setting or their homebrew adventure. Say my adventurers are travelling through the jungle. On their travels they encounter:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> The decapitated body of a giant dinosaur, killed by trophy hunters who plan on stuffing & mounting its head.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> An ancient stone druid circle with a petrified treant in the middle. A single small sapling is emerging from the dead plan's side.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> An ovoid floating island with two trees emerging from it, their stumps and roots giving it the appearance of a giant stone heart.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> An abandoned wagon with multiple crates stocked with food provisions, strips of leather, and two barrels of spoiled wine. There signs of battle around, including arrows in the wagon, but no bodies.</li> </ul>Does it matter which of those I created off the top of my head? Which I pulled from a WotC adventure? Which I pulled from an online forum? Which I pulled from a table of random encounters? Does preparing the encounter or the location ahead of time fundamentally change it for my players? I say no. Not as long as I can customise it for them and work it into the story. So long as the location fits the world and campaign, it's irrelevant if I did the work ahead of time when I was inspired or if I created it on the fly at the table.</blockquote>

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