It’s the playing chess against yourself problem. I’ve intentionally done or said “just the right thing” thru the player to get past a section, but I’ve also tried to resist going with my first choice or replies because the player isn’t supposed to know about the world building going on in the DM’s mind. One aspect of of this is the DM thinking about how to push the player into doing something, and allowing the player to not follow every planned idea. You could think of it as replay value, where there are branch points not taken, but these are still ideas that need to be captured.
I don’t think manually ending at 1,000 steps will be an issue. “Player engagement” is going to be an issue before hitting the 300 step mark. I’d imaging the narrative is going to feel forced and made-up beyond that point.
It’s the playing chess against yourself problem. I’ve intentionally done or said “just the right thing” thru the player to get past a section, but I’ve also tried to resist going with my first choice or replies because the player isn’t supposed to know about the world building going on in the DM’s mind. One aspect of of this is the DM thinking about how to push the player into doing something, and allowing the player to not follow every planned idea. You could think of it as replay value, where there are branch points not taken, but these are still ideas that need to be captured.
I don’t think manually ending at 1,000 steps will be an issue. “Player engagement” is going to be an issue before hitting the 300 step mark. I’d imaging the narrative is going to feel forced and made-up beyond that point.