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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 6112257" data-attributes="member: 42582">For me as a GM, in the fantasy games I'm GMing which are pretty bog-standard in their tropes and pretty hackneyed in their themes and storylines, the most important thing I don't want to prejudge is what is proper for the PCs to do.So I exert more control over backstory than would be the case in BW, for instance. And as per our exchange a bit upthread, probably more control over genre cohesion than you would. And we also know, from the scene-framing thread, that my scene-framing is pretty light touch by your standards!My main aim in setting up situations - besides, in 4e, getting the mechanical elements right for pacing, fun resolution etc - is to highlight the cosmological options in front of the PCs, and the choices that they are making by going one way rather than another.It's that issue of rightness that I really want to hold open - so when the players wonder what their PCs should do, they have to choose. And then I respond to that choice. And it's those choices that tend to be the vehicle to player proactivity in initiating scenes and situations - they want to attack both Lolth and Orcus, so they go to the place where an Orcus worshipper has overthrown a drow outpost and start taking on all sides, and playing the drow off against one another.That's a big part of why alignment is probably my least favourite part of the D&D tradition, because it's the worst form of prepackaging of these issues.It's also why I like skill challenges or similar conflict resolution mechanics (Duel of Wits, Let it Ride, 0 hp, etc) - without that sort of finality, it's too easy for the GM to situation-monger so the players' choices never actually result in definite outcomes.</blockquote>

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