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…
One doesn't have to know what will happen in order to create the illusion that it was intentional and inevitable. It's all about information flow. Now yes, if a GM decides a timeline in advance of the players' actions and forces them to comply, that's (generally) not going to be much fun. But since none of us *know* the future, it's both (subjectively) undetermined and (potentially) completely determined.
…
EDIT: I'm also a big fan of The Xanatos Gambit.
I refer to it as the “illusion of choice.”
During any game session, I typically prepare only 3-5 encounters. Remarkably, regardless of the characters’ decisions or destinations, they inevitably end up within these prearranged scenarios. *wink*. Naturally, cosmetic details, including location and NPC names, are adapted to fit the group’s storyline. This approach necessitates that I, as the DM, remain agile and creative in my narration.
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Hobson's Choice. Classic. As Henry Ford later said "You can have a Model T in any color, so long as it's black."
As I said earlier: "Meh. Fatalism. What are you going to do?"
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Hobson's Choice. Classic. As Henry Ford later said "You can have a Model T in any color, so long as it's black."
As I said earlier: "Meh. Fatalism. What are you going to do?"
word.
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I refer to it as the “illusion of choice.”
During any game session, I typically prepare only 3-5 encounters. Remarkably, regardless of the characters’ decisions or destinations, they inevitably end up within these prearranged scenarios. *wink*. Naturally, cosmetic details, including location and NPC names, are adapted to fit the group’s storyline. This approach necessitates that I, as the DM, remain agile and creative in my narration.
I have done this for decades, particularly if something is important to the storyline. We've always joked that if I give them options A, B, or C, they will invariably choose Q. I just moved the objective to Q and they never knew the difference.
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On this note, I remember in a fiction workshop one time asking someone why a thing in their story (which I felt wasn't working) was the way it was. They just kept repeating "Because that's what happened" without grokking the key point that it was THEIR FICTIONAL story and so they could choose which character did what.
Talk about fatalism...
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I have done this for decades, particularly if something is important to the storyline. We've always joked that if I give them options A, B, or C, they will invariably choose Q. I just moved the objective to Q and they never knew the difference.I refer to it as the “illusion of choice.”
During any game session, I typically prepare only 3-5 encounters. Remarkably, regardless of the characters’ decisions or destinations, they inevitably end up within these prearranged scenarios. *wink*. Naturally, cosmetic details, including location and NPC names, are adapted to fit the group’s storyline. This approach necessitates that I, as the DM, remain agile and creative in my narration.
"I didn't order the linguine!"
"And yet, here is the linguine. And since, as your server, I deliver what you order, you must have ordered the linguine.""..."
"Fresh ground pepper?"
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I don't do a lot of fiction workshops. Fewer than 5 in the past three decades.
I have a hard time sitting still.
Also, I've been told my user interface needs work. *shrug*
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I think there's one of those folks in every fiction writing workshop. And it usually involves their dog.
This was more like: Imagine young Arthur had a buddy named Eddie and when they were squires together, Eddie pulled Excalibur out of the stone, but the story was still all about Arthur and Excalibur. And the writer kept insisting that Eddie had gotten there first because he was faster, so that's just how it happened. And also, Eddie wasn't the main character, it was still Arthur. And the fact that Eddie could run faster than Arthur was never a significant detail, except in that opening scene.
"So... why does Eddie pull the sword out?" I naively asked.
"Because that's what happened."
"But... why?"
"Because he was faster."
"So... Arthur couldn't have been faster, seeing as how it is his sword and his story?"
"But Eddie is faster."
*this continues for a few minutes*
It was an odd conversation.
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This was more like: Imagine young Arthur had a buddy named Eddie and when they were squires together, Eddie pulled Excalibur out of the stone, but the story was still all about Arthur and Excalibur. And the writer kept insisting that Eddie had gotten there first because he was faster, so that's just how it happened. And also, Eddie wasn't the main character, it was still Arthur. And the fact that Eddie could run faster than Arthur was never a significant detail, except in that opening scene.
"So... why does Eddie pull the sword out?" I naively asked.
"Because that's what happened."
"But... why?"
"Because he was faster."
"So... Arthur couldn't have been faster, seeing as how it is his sword and his story?"
"But Eddie is faster."
'Course I was faster! I'm just that good. And not only that, but I went right up to that gosh-danged stone, pulled out that sword, and sliced Arthur's heckin' head clean off, 'cause I never liked that no-good dingus anyhow. And then everybody got real mad, and I was all, "what did I do?" I still don't get it.
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All hail the lord of pins, the keeper of the needles!
All hail the lord of pins, the keeper of the needles!
I am torn between making a bad joke about a song by The Police that didn't make it to the album or wondering if there is a Prince of Pens with all of my good pens somewhere.
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I am torn between making a bad joke about a song by The Police that didn't make it to the album or wondering if there is a Prince of Pens with all of my good pens somewhere.All hail the lord of pins, the keeper of the needles!
Sovereign of Socks
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Mechanical pencils.
So the game that's been delayed three months has been delayed one more month. It's really not the GM's fault or anyone else's, it's just the way the cookie rolls...the dice crumble...?
And the one shot I had been getting ready for the end of July is now on the hook indefinitely, and again, no one's fault. Just...sigh...
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But... but if you delay the game, how are you supposed to express your outrage? It's not the same if you just flip the breakfast table. Or is it...?
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻
Hey! That was pretty good!
This opens up a whole new world of possibilities. I'm off to Denny's!
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Did U No that in France, Denny's is called Denis'?
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(¬_¬)
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But... but if you delay the game, how are you supposed to express your outrage? It's not the same if you just flip the breakfast table. Or is it...?
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻
Hey! That was pretty good!
This opens up a whole new world of possibilities. I'm off to Denny's!
Among the list of places I have been banned from (in some cases for life) a Denny's in West Memphis, Arkansas figures prominently. HOWEVER, I have outlived that particular restaurant. Now to just out-last the Memphis, Tennessee Zoo.
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Among the list of places I have been banned from (in some cases for life) a Denny's in West Memphis, Arkansas figures prominently. HOWEVER, I have outlived that particular restaurant. Now to just out-last the Memphis, Tennessee Zoo.But... but if you delay the game, how are you supposed to express your outrage? It's not the same if you just flip the breakfast table. Or is it...?
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻
Hey! That was pretty good!
This opens up a whole new world of possibilities. I'm off to Denny's!
*debeverages*
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Noooooo!
Now to just out-last the Memphis, Tennessee Zoo.
[*debeverages*
It's a true story.
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Banned from the zoo.
Heavens, what did Calvin do?
Ask the gharials, the goats, the okapis,
The orang-utans, and the potoos.
Rumour has it that three of the keepers,
Were caught up in the maelstrom too,
On that fateful November morning,
When they banned Cal from the zoo.
(BANNED FROM THE ZOO)
When the national chain Denny's decided to come to Rochester NY many years ago, there was already a local restaurant named Denny's. It was pretty popular. The chain forced them to change their name. :-(
It's a true story.Now to just out-last the Memphis, Tennessee Zoo.
[*debeverages*
Don't leave us hanging! My imagination will fill that void with illicit gorilla rodeos and koala juggling!
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When the national chain Denny's decided to come to Rochester NY many years ago, there was already a local restaurant named Denny's. It was pretty popular. The chain forced them to change their name. :-(
Reminds me of when McDonald's sued the Laird McDonald in Scotland because he owned a restaurant named after his centuries-old family. The British courts decided in his favour. Because... yeah...
Quite frankly, I think they should've gone a step further and required Ronald McDonald to wear a kilt and talk like Groundskeeper Willie, but I'm not in charge of anything.
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Don't leave us hanging! My imagination will fill that void with illicit gorilla rodeos and koala juggling!It's a true story.Now to just out-last the Memphis, Tennessee Zoo.
[*debeverages*
LOL!!
OK, here's the story of how my friend and I were banned from the Memphis Zoo:
My friend Wolf (his real name is Wolfgang) and I were at the zoo sometime in the summer of 1987. We were in the primate house and just checking out all the cool critters. We eventually came to an enclosure where a huge silverback gorilla was sitting observing the people as they walked by. He had a doorway that led back outside but it was really hot and he, being no fool, was inside where it was cooler. He was just so fascinating because you could see in his eyes he wasn’t just “some dumb animal” and stuff was going on in his mind as he watched the people watching him. So while we were standing there Wolf asked me if I could make that sound the apes in the movie “Greystoke” made (the Tarzan movie with Christopher Lambert). I said sure and I did a really good impression of the sort of coughing sounds they made, as well as some of the other vocalizations the producers came up with for the Mangani (the fictional apes in the movie). The gorilla's head instantly snapped around and he locked eyes with me. Wolf told me to do it again, so I did and Wolf joined in. Suddenly that gorilla rushed toward us faster than we could have ever imagined and with the flat of his palm slapped the plexiglass barrier so hard it created a short hairline fracture in the material. We nearly pissed ourselves and made a hasty retreat outside. We made a hasty exit and then almost laughed ourselves sick standing outside the building.
Just outside and next to the primate house was a really large outdoor enclosure full of howler monkeys. After we got our wits back Wolf asked me if I could mimic those, too. I had actually just recently seen a documentary on howlers so I began making calls like I'd heard them do on the nature program. This instantly got the whole troop whooping and howling. They didn’t stop and just kept getting louder and louder as we stood there, laughing at the harmless chaos (at least we imagined so) that we had caused.
Then, from a short distance away, we heard the lions and tigers roaring. I’m not ashamed to admit that every hair on my body stood on end because buried deep within our genetic memory are those same sounds predatory big cats made way back when Great x 20,000 Grandpa Thag was running in terror so he could pass on his genes for the future of mankind. If you’ve never heard a lion, tiger, or leopard roaring in the flesh you’re missing out on a terrific chance to crap your pants. We decided the reptile house would be nice and quiet so we started in that direction. That's when one of the zoo employees ran up on us yelling at us to stop immediately. He angrily told us that our getting the howler monkeys worked up that they had agitated the big cats which was why they were making a ruckus. This in turn caused the herd animals they had in the large open paddocks to begin to panic and stampede, frantically looking for a place to either hide or escape. Mr. Zookeeper ordered us to follow him to the main office where he proceeded to lecture us on “zoo etiquette” and photocopy our driver’s licenses. He then circled our photos and wrote in red Sharpie that we were never allowed to return to the zoo for life and passed out copies around the office and at the entry points into the zoo. We were then escorted out by armed security who watched us get into the car and waited until we were in the actual street before turning around and going back inside the zoo.
So, that’s the story. Of course, as time passed, the zoo staff forgot the incident. I was there once in 1993, and Wolf had done some photo shoots there after he came home from the Navy and no one challenged us. I was actually a little disappointed…LOL
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Heh. Awesome.
*standing ovation*
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Heh. Awesome.
*standing ovation*
*Bows. Loses balance and takes a header into the coffee table*
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Don't leave us hanging! My imagination will fill that void with illicit gorilla rodeos and koala juggling!
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That story sound really similar to this story from this same thread! And also this story over here (where I first heard it).
Cal has the best stories. I don't mind hearing repeats.
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That story sound really similar to this story from this same thread! And also this story over here (where I first heard it).
Cal has the best stories. I don't mind hearing repeats.
Thanks! I knew I'd posted it at least once and I do have a bad habit of telling stories over and over. But Quibs hadn't heard it! LOL
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Ape the ape. Monkey with the monkey. Everything Peter Gabriel said don’t do.
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Thanks! I knew I'd posted it at least once and I do have a bad habit of telling stories over and over. But Quibs hadn't heard it! LOLThat story sound really similar to this story from this same thread! And also this story over here (where I first heard it).
Cal has the best stories. I don't mind hearing repeats.
Reminds me of the time I caught the ferry to Shelbyville. I needed a new heel for my shoe. So I decided to go to Morganville, which is what they called Shelbyville in those days. So I tied an onion to my belt, which was the style at the time. Now, to take the ferry cost a nickel, and in those days, nickels had pictures of bumblebees on 'em. "Gimme five bees for a quarter," you'd say. Now where were we? Oh, yeah. The important thing was that I had an onion on my belt, which was the style at the time. They didn't have any white onions, because of the war. The only thing you could get was those big yellow ones...
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Ape the ape. Monkey with the monkey. Everything Peter Gabriel said don’t do.
I shoulda listened to him that day...
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Ape the ape. Monkey with the monkey. Everything Peter Gabriel said don’t do.I shoulda listened to him that day...
You and Phil Collins, man. You and Phil Collins...
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You and Phil Collins and Philip Bailey.
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You and Phil Collins and Philip Bailey.
ssshhhh...we don't talk about that song.
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I refuse to acknowledge that song. My wife plays it when I'm not around.
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A flamboyant wizard wanted a new attire every day so he made a cloth-sewing swarm of needles.
A flamboyant wizard wanted a new attire every day so he made a cloth-sewing swarm of needles.
I love Sunday mornings.
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FROM THE GAME TABLE:
"Oh yeah? If we didn't really go to the moon, then where did all the mind-control monoliths come from, smart guy? BOOM! You just got served, cuz!"
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FROM THE GAME TABLE:
"Oh yeah? If we didn't really go to the moon, then where did all the mind-control monoliths come from, smart guy? BOOM! You just got served, cuz!"
I was on a job site once where I got to hear an argument between a flat-earther and a hollow-earther. That was interesting...
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debeverage
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I was on a job site once where I got to hear an argument between a flat-earther and a hollow-earther. That was interesting...FROM THE GAME TABLE:
"Oh yeah? If we didn't really go to the moon, then where did all the mind-control monoliths come from, smart guy? BOOM! You just got served, cuz!"
Turns out they’re both right.
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I was on a job site once where I got to hear an argument between a flat-earther and a hollow-earther. That was interesting...FROM THE GAME TABLE:
"Oh yeah? If we didn't really go to the moon, then where did all the mind-control monoliths come from, smart guy? BOOM! You just got served, cuz!"
That'd be a great musical number...
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Welcome to Drumworld. Flat on top, hollow in the middle. Catastrophic earthquake/sonic booms happen when the huge drummer boy strikes his instrument. Luckily he plays at cosmic tempo , so hundreds of years pass between drumbeats.
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Welcome to Drumworld. Flat on top, hollow in the middle. Catastrophic earthquake/sonic booms happen when the huge drummer boy strikes his instrument. Luckily he plays at cosmic tempo , so hundreds of years pass between drumbeats.
Give me a minute, I need to figure out how this fits into my "donut earth" theory.
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Welcome to Drumworld. Flat on top, hollow in the middle. Catastrophic earthquake/sonic booms happen when the huge drummer boy strikes his instrument. Luckily he plays at cosmic tempo , so hundreds of years pass between drumbeats.Give me a minute, I need to figure out how this fits into my "donut earth" theory.
Donuts! Is there anything they can't do?