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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Maxperson" data-source="post: 7374508" data-attributes="member: 23751">That doesn't really seem much(if at all) different than how we do things.  If the PCs steal a necklace from the local lord and then wear it around town, there's a chance it will be recognized and they will be in trouble. If that necklace is magic and the lord hires a wizard to walk around detecting magic to locate it, the PCs made that possible by not placing it in a lead box or hiding it somewhere else that it won't be found out.  A decent DM isn't going to be unilaterally undoing what the PCs are doing.  Virtually everything "undone" will be cause by or avoidable by PC actions.You're going to have to do some serious explaining on this one.  I have absolutely no freaking idea how leaving both coming up of what to do and the choice to do it to the player, can possibly be the DM establishing unrevealed backstory elements behind the scenes.The DM is a player, too.  If the DM doesn't also have agency unless the players invite it, then not all of the players have full agency, which is a bad thing in my opinion.  The DM should have agency at least equal to that of the other players.It really depends on the campaign.  They players choose the campaign theme before play begins.  Sometimes the choice of campaign will determine how it starts and I'll just narrate it.  Most times it doesn't and I'll ask them if they want to start the game knowing each other.  Usually, I will start the opening scenes, but I don't put them into a place that of high import like you did.  If a player is seeking an item, I will start that PC off in a neutral place and allow the player to determine the best course of action for his PC.  If I were to put the PC in one such place, I am telling that player that this is the best way by that very act.  It's the clue hammer upside the head that was mentioned earlier.  It very strongly implies to the player that this is the way to do things, which is railroady.The shorter the distance, the less likely anything is going to happen.  When going upstairs to the rooms, it's very unlikely that anything will happen and I will just tell them that they get to their rooms.  Going 10 blocks to the bazaar takes a lot of time in a city that has a lot going on.  They may be accosted along the way, or some other encounter.You again seem to be implying that every little possibility is pre-authored.  The DM would pre-author a potential failure, such as the feather being cursed, but since the DM can't predict what the player will do with that knowledge, can't pre-author something like Jabal.  Pre-authoring is a limited exercise in high probabilities that don't always occur.</blockquote>

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