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.
I’ll reiterate what others have said: If I don’t have anything prepared and don’t feel like I can wing it, I’ll just tell the players what’s up. We’re all here to collaborate and have a good time, so that conversation is a part of it. Maybe we get back to it after a short break, maybe the next session.
As for railroading or not in a broad sense, it depends. Both can be a ton of fun. The important part is just that everyone’s on the same page: a DM who wants to run a railroad and players who will go along with the plot; or the DM wants to run a sandbox and the players want to forge their own path. I like both, so it’s just a matter of clear communication.
On a tangent, I think players taking initiative is generally a good sign. It means the DM is providing hooks (intentionally or not), and the players are being proactive and invested.