[mmmm2]

Yeah, it's certainly difficult to balance the game if players have complete flexibility.

From my limited DMing experience, much of the challenges is handling when players do something you haven't anticipated. For most encounters (video games do this too) I think about

1. The stealth approach (why yes there is a secret entrance underneath the castle). 2. The direct approach. Like just kicking down the door and heading in. 3. Negotiation: Is there a way to strike a deal with the bad guy?

Beyond that I fall back on trying to provide a realistic response from the game world, but sometimes the players are creative enough that you have to redo the whole thing on the fly.

[chrisnolet]

Do you ever tell players that they flat-out can’t do something? Do players realize when they’re going off-script? (Do you let them know with a sigh or a long stare, or do you just roll with it and encourage the playful creativity?)

I like your three-part planning a lot! That’s a great framework.