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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Greg K" data-source="post: 3478815" data-attributes="member: 5038">Now maybe it is me, but creating all the adventures of the campaign arc ahead of time sounds to me like a railroad in the making.  It sounds like you are already predeterminng the exact direction that the players are going.As for desigining the world first, there are several reason why I do this:1) to design a setting that I am interested in running.  I will not run something in which I have no interest.2) Predetermining the countries, races, cultures, deities gives the players choices that have meaning to the setting and that the available choices are  known at character generation. Furthermore, along with the addition of small bits of current and ancient history, the predetermined information also provides possible character hooks (e.g., potential enemies, rivals, or goals) should the players choose to use them.  3) having predetermined the world building stuff allows me to better run a game off the cuff when the PCs go in those unexpected directions that make perfect sense from the player's point of view. And as for world build railroading, my players:1.  have complete freedom of where they go in the world, provided that they a) know of the places existance and b) have the means to get there.  2. Are free to make changes via in-game actions. For example, if a strike at the docks is preventing them from sailing for some destination, they will find a solution (e.g., help the people reach a solution or stealing the ship). Then, there are more large scale changes such as the time when they decided to "play diplomat" and started a civil war, because they made promises upon which they lacked the power to make good-although the promises were made in good faith.</blockquote>

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