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Message: <blockquote data-quote="kenada" data-source="post: 8229674" data-attributes="member: 70468">It’s going pretty well. The mistake I made before was trying to avoid the up-front work. I tried to wing it on exploration and avoided having a keyed wilderness exploration map. This time, I did the work (although keying the hex map is still a work-in-progress, especially with the scale change in OSE). It also helps that we have a strong default motivation (explore and report back on what you found).I’m not really sure what motivates my players to do stuff. There are a lot of unknowns and things to discover out in the world. I’m also a simulationist-immersive at heart, so I try to keep the focus at a consistent level and on the PCs. Even a trip to down to town to go shopping gets narrated out. <a href="https://www.enworld.org/threads/what-is-the-point-of-gms-notes.678952/post-8227707" target="_blank">Last session</a>, they started off with a meeting and then went to town to get supplies and hire retainers.I pinged my group about what motivates them, and I got a few responses. One player said doing things that sound fun motivates him. Another is motivated by loot and interesting story. The last one is interesting because there’s not actually any story. What stories there are have emerged through play. I have some stuff about the setting that I’ve sprinkled around, mysteries to uncover and so on, but there’s no overarching narrative. And yet, that’s how the players see it, which is pretty cool.When we were running in-person, I kept a copy of my agenda and principles next to meat the table (see end of post). I adapted them from Apocalypse World. Even though the kind of game I run is way different, they still work pretty well. Following them has helped me to portray an interesting setting and to make sure the people my PCs meet are actually interesting. It also keeps me honest as a referee (e.g., being a fan of the players’ characters means letting go of plots and not having an emotional investment in any particular outcome, which is what you need in a sandbox).I should also note that some (many?) of the things I do are at odds with a West Marches game. Town is not safe. There is adventure to be had in town, and factions in town may act against you. Sessions are not self-contained. There’s no gradient of danger (not even in the 5e or PF2 iterations of the campaign). There are NPC adventurers (whence else come retainers?). There’s a rotating cast of PCs, but the group (players) is constant. While I try to follow the spirit of the referee’s role in OSE, I’m not dispassionate. Finally, combat is war. If you get into a fair fight, you’ve picked the wrong fight.</blockquote>

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