Page 179 — Root of the Fun

Instead of scripting together a series of combat and social encounters, don't underestimate the power of an explorable world filled with things the players want. To this day, the most successful individual session I've ever run involved creating a small city filled with useful things for the players to find and just letting them pick what to look for first.

Applejack: Seems ta me like yer tryin’ way too hard to make these sessions “adventure-y,” if that makes any sense. Shotgunnin’ all these dungeon-like obstacles at us, pittin’ us against tough monsters… Face it, yer just tryin’ to impress the Barbarian, ain’t ya?
Rainbow Dash: Wha- Hey!
DM: She’s not too far off there…
Rainbow Dash: O-Okay, well, yeah, I wasn’t just about to play frickin’ ponies on, y’know, a whim…
DM: <sigh> Is there a point to this?
Rarity: So far, we’ve become acquainted with many monsters and few ponies.
DM: You mean NPCs?
Rarity: Hmm, yeah. How many have we met, anyway? Three? Celestia, Luna… and the Mayor?
Pinkie Pie: For what it’s worth, the Mayor was my favorite character!
Twilight Sparkle: …
Mayor Mare: …
Rarity: …Anyway. Point being: The dragon was… charming, but I think we prefer ponies.