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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Sword of Spirit" data-source="post: 6589072" data-attributes="member: 6677017">[MENTION=6790260]EzekielRaiden[/MENTION] did some of my explanation work already (thanks!), so I won't repeat those ideas, but I will add in a few more thoughts.The main thought that I'm coming back to is that it isn't about a DM needing to be nothing more than an impartial referee keeping the sandbox in working order. There are areas where he is--such as when applying the "physics" of the setting--but that doesn't prevent him from also introducing story seeds. See, those are two different roles. There is only a conflict if the DM overrides the world (or the players' choices) in the interest of his story. He can throw in whatever story seeds he wants, just like the players can have their PCs do whatever they want. But just like he shouldn't override the players' choices ("Your character wouldn't do that. He does such and so instead.") in this style of play he can't override the world's status or "actions" either.As was mentioned, randomness isn't required, but it increases the sense of discovery for the DM, so he gets to explore the world along with the players to some extent.The reason I enjoy that style so much in D&D is that out of all of the RPGs I'm aware of, none of the others support it as well as D&D traditionally has done. In fact, I wouldn't even attempt that style in other RPGs. Most RPGs are designed with the concept of a story or challenge in mind and that's what you do with it. D&D has developed a vast body of lore on multiple worlds and dimensions (an entire multiverse in fact <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D"  data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" />) in sometimes excruciating levels of detail. In running LMoP the party visited Neverwinter, and I had four 2e pdfs and a 3e hardcover book to consult for details. There is already stuff written literally telling me how the kitchen smells at a particular inn in Neverwinter. There are hundreds of books out there telling me thousands of things, with maps, names, coinages, customs, etc. It would be such a horrible shame not to explore that world(s)! By allowing that world to exist, I can step into it right alongside my players and explore its sights and smells. Plus D&D goes further than just painting a detailed multiverse that dwarfs every other game's setting, it also has traditionally included random tables to increase my immersion further. If my party is walking down the street of Waterdeep (as a random example) on their way to following the plot hook I intentionally dangled (my DM's role as story seeder) I could roll to randomly generate an encounter (because the book advises me to check for them such and so often and roll on such and so results) and all of us can be surprised by the result. Maybe it's a lost miller's daughter. Might end up as nothing but color, or might end up a new love interest. And I can roll on other tables to see what the weather is doing, and if there are any political events in the background etc. All of this is in addition to the story they are there to follow. Now Waterdeep isn't just a backdrop for a specific story; it isn't even just a hugely detailed static environment to add to a story, it is a dynamic environment that can surprise us all and introduce new elements that might complicate adventures, or just make the world seem more real.Again, I do this exclusively in D&D, because D&D is the only game that I'm aware of that it can be done in (and because it's such an amazing multiverse to explore).If I seem to be a bit excited to inspire others to try this out, I am. I'm saddened by the fact that this type of game-play seems to have all but disappeared in the last 15 years (at least if the internet is any indication). Exclusively story game play has gone from one style amongst many to the baseline assumption, and I think many people, by only experiencing the exclusively story style haven't been exposed to other equally desirable gaming experiences that they would quite likely enjoy.</blockquote>

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