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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Aenghus" data-source="post: 7373906" data-attributes="member: 2656">The vast majority of RPG games I have played in have been GM-driven games, and I have enjoyed or at least appreciated many of them. A few were consistently great, most had highs and lows, with varying proportions of high and low.IMO to get the best out of such games places some constraints on the players. The players need to learn at least enough about the setting to get by, even if they are playing ignorant outsiders at the start. How much work this takes varies from game to game and group to group. If a PC is supposed to be from the setting the player should make some effort to fit them to that part of the setting, ideally with the GM's help. Tolerance of special snowflakes varies a lot from group to group, with some creativity very unusual PCs can be grafted in if that's desired. Alternatively, it's common for GMs to modify or ban PCs who don't fit his or her concept of the setting.PC goals need to fit the setting. If the players are ignorant of the setting at the start of the game, they don't know enough to set any but the most conservative of goals with any expectation of success. In some GM-driven games PC goals might be discussed with the GM and arrived at with collaboration. In others, they are entirely the business of the player and there are zero assurances of relevance or closure. Expected PC lifespan has a bearing on this, campaigns with high PC turnover don't encourage long term PC goals.IMO proactive players who don't like conforming to someone else's setting don't do so well in GM-driven games with strong settings. Players who don't like learning settings may have issues as well.There a whole load of reasons why players might stop engaging with the game, ignore plot hooks and turtle up. Acting out, attention seeking, feeling starved of enough information to make reasonable choices, setting dangers exceeding player expectations, concern the game is ignoring or misinterpreting their PC's goals, concern that plot hooks are irrelevant to the PC etc etc. Many of these can't be addressed properly in-game IMO and call for an OOC discussion to attempt a resolution.</blockquote>

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