User Monomyth posed an interesting question on the Traveller discord that I wanted to replicate here:
hi team, just a quick discussion based question with no right answer; if youre running a game, and the players decide to veer off course into something completely out of left field (such as going to a planet you do not have prepped), is it appropriate to come up with some “delaying issue” so you can have it ready for next session?
Transposing to other settings: what do you do when the players go off-script?
I can summarize some answers we’ve got on that server, but I don’t want to prime your answers from the start.
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If the players want to do something I don’t feel ready to do (either because it’s not prepped or I don’t feel up to winging it), I’ll tell them.
“That’s cool you want to go to so-and-so, but I haven’t given it any thought. We can end early, or I can try to improv it with no quality guarantee”
There are some kinds of planning I don’t do, like making specific maps and stat blocks, so some kinds of “going off script” don’t hinder me much.
Sometimes I’ll ask the players for input. “Ok, what sort of rites happen at this midnight ritual [that we just made up] that you decided to crash?”. I don’t really like the player mode where they just want to sit back and be told a story, nor do I much like the mode where they’re super zoomed in on their character without engaging with any other level. I’ve had players like that, where they want to really immerse in their character and feel like answering setting details takes them out of it, but that’s not really how I like it.
A bit of preface. The games I run, the games I play in and the groups I enjoy all are very open with discussing meta. From story beats to encounter critiques and where we the players want to see the game go.
what do you do when the players go off-script?
We are honest and appreciate the time the GMs put into running the games. Several times either I or another GM have stated “that direction is not prepared” and the group have a chat from there. Perhaps calling it early or we zoom in on character daily life (or their projects). The amount of times a “forgotten” villain have reappeared for revenge in these situation is kinda high.
on railroading
Why play a game about characters, their decisions and their reaction to adversary when their decisions won’t matter? When the roads they travel all lead to Rome? This is very much also something that is part of the game’s setup. How directed the game will be. A wide open sandbox will strain much more against being directed than a more tightly focused narrative. Heck, I don’t actually mind being directed in a game with a focused narrative or having the GM drawing the game back to it’s story.
It’s a complex topic where advice will differ depending on the specifics of each game.
