Putting Words in <CHARNAME>'s Mouth, right or wrong? Options

[Rabain]

What do people think of modders putting words in <charname>'s mouth?

For example, a modder wants you to do X so Y can happen, its part of his mod quest. However the player might not want to do X but the modder has designed his quest so that X has to happen so that shiny NPC can get uber item Z.

In order to facilitate this, modder puts words in <charname>'s mouth in order to make the player choose the right option eg:

Chain
NPC: I think we should go to castle X.
PC: I agree, let's go.
NPC: You will so not regret this <charname>!
Do LeaveAreaLua:(Everyone).

What do people think of this type of action? I understand that the norm is to give the player a choice, afterall it is the player who is roleplaying <charname> and should be able to choose rather than be dragged down a certain quest path.

Do you think this type of action should be avoided at all costs and the player should always have a choice even if it is to say "Ask me again later"?

I am not for or against this myself, depending on the way it has been integrated into the game. Though I would be wary of being dragged hither and yon by everyone whom I choose to join my party.

[Rabain]

I am a firm believer in providing options to get out of any dialog without actioning or most of the time even answering questions. Dialog often triggers at inappropriate times even if there isn't a battle going on and if I have played several times and know all the options I want an out as soon as possible which is why I tend to put that option into each block I create.

(If you don't place a comma before addressing CHARNAME, I will not download your mod.)

I take it that was just a comment on grammar in general considering it was only an example. Regardless you are not going to know about the positioning of commas until after you have downloaded the mod.

It's another thing that can be annoying I suppose. Inappropriate use of ! for example which I find I am guilty of when I read back over dialog and use of CAPITAL letters or looping dialogs etc

In your situation, however, there is a compromise

The problem is that while you or I might use this compromise as our standard, others aren't even using it as a compromise and are happy to railroad <charname> down a certain path if it means the player will see all the hard work that went into their quest the first time they play the mod.

But, ideally, I think that every quest needs to be easily abandoned, especially, if they are NPC quests.

Agreed, it makes things more enjoyable if I can do a quest when I choose or not at all if I'm not in the mood for it.