re "Scripting" contests

From: t_m_ellis <tim_at_...>
Date: Fri, 01 Feb 2002 00:07:45 -0000

I don't think there is a "right" answer to this one. For some groups, the idea that the GM does anything more than respond to the input of the players is an indication that he is "railroading" them, for others a GM is expected to have a fairly detailed plan of the session before play starts. Providing everyone enjoys the game then it doesn't really matter.

I'd say by and large it isn't "scripting", or "Railroading" or whatever you want to call it that matters, but whether the players (a) feel that they've been railroaded and (b) feel "cheated" if they do. If the GM decides the villain will back away towards the cliff, then leap off and vanish into the sea, and I am getting marginal results then I'm following the script, but not in a "noticible" way. If I bid all my AP's in an attempt to split his skull all the way down to the navel, and get a complete success, and he still backs away and leaps off then I may wonder what the point of my describing my actions and rolling the dice is.

On the whole I think it is a good idea for a GM to plan out the major encounters, and this includes considering what the results of the various levels of success indicate in this particular case. They should however, be prepared to be flexible and change their plans if (when!) the players come up with a plan they hadn't considered