I was thinking about this this morning.
When I play in a game, I like it to be part of a pre-defined narrative, or something written down beforehand. It’s probably my childhood of pre-written modules which has conditioned me.
There is a certain ‘suspension of belief’ when you know the GM is freestlying his way through the session. You know that the encounters or things that happen are acts of almost randomness and may or may not form part of a cohesive plot. It seems odd that the things you might say become part of the story or plot hooks for the GM, like;
“I wonder if that silver amulet opens portals to other worlds?”.
If that then becomes the case, it seems somehow false that the player should make suggestions for the narrative. Players should be part of a prepared story, not writing their own. They should interact with that story, and have impact upon it by their actions. Cause and effect.
In a recent session, I was totally freestyling and acting on the whims of the players, and just developing the narrative ‘on the fly’. Whilst this is a GM’ing skill, I felt that if the players had known that, it would have somehow spoilt the session.
I think freestyling is good, but I think players should be oblivious to it.