Games Of Consequence

If somebody asks what I love most about role playing games, I would say it is that it is like a video game where you can do anything you want. But the more accurate answer is that you can do anything you want, and you will see the consequences of it.

Did you decide to help that pauper? Well maybe he'll show you a secret passage out of town when the going gets tough. Did you decide to execute that hostage? Well I guess you'll never know what he could have told you. Did you decide to steal that fancy necklace when nobody was looking? It's going to be very awkward when somebody tries to offer it to you as a gift, only to find it in your pocket already.

Every single choice you make has a consequence. We like to think of them as either negative or positive, and sometimes it seems like things went way better or way worse depending on the situation, but ultimately, it's not so much about bad or good, but cause and effect. The decisions we make in the present change the future.

Now, a good Game Master might plan for that. They might have all sorts of scenarios set up where they know how things will proceed based on what the party tries to do. But ultimately, even if a GM doesn't plan for multiple outcomes, they're going to happen. If the players have a choice, then both decisions are possible, and only one of those outcomes will happen. From there, every possible future is based on that outcome having happened.

Role playing is a game of consequences, and nothing makes you feel more alive than seeing your choices matter.