Making Choices Matter

inspiration
question

#1

The players come to a T-intersection. Do they go left or right?

As the DM, I know what awaits them in either direction. It is exciting to see where they go. I’m ready to spring traps, have monsters drop from the ceiling, or have them find treasure.
As players, however, this is a non-choice, and hardly exciting. If they don’t know the consequences, then they might as well flip a coin and move on. Like Lewis Carroll says in Alice in Wonderland: “If you don’t know where you want to go, then it doesn’t matter which path you take.”

So, the perennial DM question: How to give the players enough information to make a meaningful choice, but without spoilers?

My answer: You can’t spoil anything, so give them all the info. The more info they have, the more important their next decision or die roll is.

I used to kill myself coming up with ways to provide information without coming straight out and saying that X is X. The problem with that is, it is still overly cryptic. Because it makes sense in my head does not mean it will make sense in a player’s head. Plain, straight, brief information is best.

Example: Players come to a T-intersection. Do they go left or right?

Option 1: Give no info unless the party specifically tries to make rolls and whatnot. And only then, give it grindingly. If they go left, spring the fire trap and feel like you got 'em! We’ve all played in games like this. We might have even done this as DMs as one point. It isn’t fun, it isn’t clever, and it really makes for a “Players vs. The DM” type of situation.

Option 2: Spill the beans: “Examining the corridors, you find that the left path is a short distance to the hideout, as you can hear the pirates’ party songs. However, the ground and walls are covered in flammable resin. The path on the right is free of resin, but leads directly away from the hideout to smaller side-rooms.”

Now the party has a tactical decision. Do they take the shortcut through a very likely trapped corridor, or play it safe? If they are on a timer, this mundane choice just became a lot more interesting for the players. If they fail finding/removing traps, they know exactly what is going to happen. If they pick the safe route but run out of time, they knew that going in. It is no longer “Player vs. The DM”, and that is a good thing.

Honestly, the more detail and info they can glean, the better. I used to be so annoyed at familiars scouting ahead everywhere, acting like surveillance drones. Or Barbarians with Eagle Eye seeing a MILE away with perfect clarity. And how about the entire party having darkvision because 5e can’t get enough of that? I used to hate that stuff, but now it is an excuse to tell them exactly what the stakes are. If they send a magic owl ahead to silently scout? Throw in all the details: “The left path is relatively short, can easily get to the hideout entrance in 1 turn running, provided the resin causes no issues. The right path circles further around to another hideout entrance, it would take 3 times as long. There are additional rooms branching from the right side, appearing like a kitchen, a barracks, and an armory full of powder barrels.”

Now we are cooking with gas. Major decisions are afoot. Go for the fast track straight to the hideout? Or take 3 times as long sneaking the other way, possibly getting some exploding barrels, maybe poison the food, or find some loot in the armory? Your party can spend 10 minutes deciding on a course of action while you just have another beer.

This is something I need to get better at. I tend to see the details as my little DM secrets, to be hoarded. But doing so is not always for the best. Letting the players know what is at stake makes even travel more interesting.

Example: The Princess explodes in 15 days. You are currently 20 days travel away.
IF the Ranger makes his wilderness survival roll, then you can cut that down by half.

Now the Ranger not only feels special, but also nervous. The party is rooting for him. Everyone knows if he fails they’ll be floundering in the wilderness and wasting valuable time that might end with an exploding Princess.

So, go forth, and let the players know what the consequences are, for only then will a choice matter!


#2

I truly enjoy this explanation. However I don’t think simply giving information is the answer, in reality I don’t know where the paths lead, TPK is always a possibility.

I recommend you sprinkle choices between bad and bad.

Start using the cursed sword or fight the Minotaur doing only half damage.

Attempt to save the soon to explode princess, or attempt to save the town from a night raid of goblins.

Fight through the enemy camp, or sneak past with the help of a local, while the locals still have to handle the enemy camp probably surrendering and hoping they are not eaten.

Right or left should not matter too much, and giant mazes are only fun from time to time. Those moral choices that expose the core of the characters seems much more interesting to me.

But the balance to not make your adventure the story of Jobe. But major choices should be between important things, if not the choice is just one scoop or two. Rather than become a tool of the elite and become one or become a beacon to the general population and probably die hungry and in the mud…but on the path of lasting change.


#3

You are correct. A T-intersection was the simplest example I could think of, and may not be worthy of such a monumental moment.

What really got me was a Think Deck scenario I drew:
A Doom
2 Supreme Foes
2 Deadly Perils
1 Doorway

I interpreted this campaign as:
There are 2 Supreme Foes spreading their Deadly Perils. The result will be Doom. (end of the world, massive plague, sun exploding, whatever)
The players will have to choose (Doorway) which Supreme Foe lives, and which dies. They have the power to eliminate one (via a MacGuffin), but doing so will Doom the world to the other. Which do they choose?

This could be a super powerful session 1. The players need to see the Supreme Foes and Deadly Perils in action, and their aftermath. The more details they know about them, the bigger the moral choice will be. And then, at the end of session 1, they choose, knowing full well the weight of their choice, and what Deadly Peril they are Dooming the world do. The rest of the campaign will be dealing with the repercussions of that choice, as it will shape the entire world.

Now, there is a lot of ways this could be interpreted. But the more I thought about that choice, the more important knowledge of the stakes of that choice became.
It could have been handled in a very different way. Like they accidentally stumble into the MacGuffin, and with a random roll decide who lives and dies. That is a VERY different tone (almost comedic) than having a full working knowledge of the consequences of each choice.

But I digress. You are correct that sometimes a choice does not need weight. But IF you want a choice to have meaning, then you cannot hoard the details behind a GM screen. Otherwise, the players have no frame of reference, and they might as well just flip a coin and move on.


#4

Yup! I think we are arguing semantics at this point. Just make sure that every session is not the fate of the world, or even a hard choice.

Sometimes end on a GM cliffhanger, sometimes end on triumph, and sometimes end on a player decision point…and sometimes close the window on their choice.

Often ask the players (not player characters) what would they think is the worst possibilities, what would be the best outcomes? What do they think is the biggest moral dilemma? Where do they think the story is going?

Weave those aspects into the game, putting your take on it, but acknowledge player input on occasion and sometimes lie that you changed things after they guessed it (flattering players makes them feel good) other times steal their ideas with your flavoring and say that’s where it was heading, but you took a bit from the discussion 3 weeks ago.

But I no longer feel that how they attack the fort matters unless you have a team of planners or systematic players playing the game. ( I used to punish poor planning)

To me now, the art of GMing is keeping yourself motivated and entertained while you create a world your players enjoy exploring.

Factions and intrigue, can be difficult for players to get a handle on, or just be boring for some. But keep that off screen but let the players know of the outcomes. Ultimately they will ask inteligente questions as they get interested or will just go for the faction that gives them what they want. In the end, all good, you are a bit on your toes, and the characters have agency to change the world.

But my goals now is to be entertained by the choices players make, not the accomplishments their characters attain. While as a player, I want to be useful to my party, and occasionally shape the story.

A lot comes down to who is playing and for how long.

I think the reality of your hypothesis is at first No, then Yes, then it doesn’t matter in the grand scheme.

But it is a formula every GM has to traverse.
First
Players are playing in my world, and these things matter in my world, or the players are doomed!!!

Then
I set the stage, players play it…anything stupid is my fault for not doing the right thing, not being clear enough.

Later
I make a flexible world, that keeps me entertained, players explore it and answer questions I have while they adventure. While I do my best to keep them entertained.

And lastly
I have no idea cause I haven’t gotten there yet.


#5

Option 2: Spill the beans: “Examining the corridors, you find that the left path is a short distance to the hideout, as you can hear the pirates’ party songs. However, the ground and walls are covered in flammable resin. The path on the right is free of resin, but leads directly away from the hideout to smaller side-rooms.”

Yeeess, please, more GMs should do this!
Rolling for Knowledge and stuff like that is the equivalent of pressing X to Continue, it’s annoying!
You’ve got it, good sir! :v: