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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lanefan" data-source="post: 7371986" data-attributes="member: 29398">I've dreamed up several examples in this thread but I don't think the mage-NPC-duke is one of mine.Finality of resolution doesn't happen in this case until the PC either becomes king or fails beyond hope of redemption.  All other intermediate resolutions are just that - stepping stones.Which brings up a question: in your system can a PC ultimately outright fail at its intended goal, and if so, what happens?  Example: if my goal is to be king, and we get to some climactic point that determines whether I get the throne or not, and I somehow blow it either by bad dice luck or follish actions - what then?It can be an event within a larger story, or a small story (or self-contained chapter) unto itself.Sure it is.  It just takes longer to unfold.Similar to watching a TV series like the original Star Trek where each episode's story was wound up within that episode, vs. watching a series like the new Battlestar Galactica where the story - though always lurking in either the background or the foreground - takes four complete seasons to fully unfold.And in so doing moves toward establishing what fiction is going to be shared: we're not going to be sharing any fiction about taking down the Baron, as that fiction isn't of interest.As you may have gathered, I rather disagree with this statement.Was Halika an NPC or someone else's PC?The content in (1) reflects less player agency than the content in (2) does.  In and of themselves they are equal statements - in each case the player is looking for an item for a specific reason but has (I must assume) no idea what that item may be or even if it can be found in this town, and in eac case the DM is trying to jumpstart that process.  Both speak to the agency exercised by the player in setting that goal, to find an item to help his brother out.  But (1) railroads the player straight to the (or a) possible solution, while (2) gives the player the agency of choice in how to approach the search for the item.(1) certainly saves a lot of time if you-as-DM already know the feather is the key...but in theory you don't already know that, and in fact the feather turned out to be a false lead.As a player, I know my answer to (1) would be "How did I get here, who is with me, why am I here, and what else is around me?" where for (2) it would be some version of "I look for information via rumours, sages, and bardic tales; and ask my erstwhile companions to please do likewise on my behalf".If the DM hasn't told me what I need to know (which in this case is perfectly reasonable as there's no good reason yet for my PC to know it) then I have to get that information somehow.  It's called exploration, in this case exploration of the game world; and it's a fundamental element of most fantasy RPGs.Lanefan</blockquote>

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