A review by catlion27
The Game Master's Handbook of Proactive Roleplaying: Guidelines and Strategies for Running PC-driven Narratives in 5E Adventures by Tristan Fishel, Jonah Fishel

5.0

I'm not a GM, but would highly recommend for GMs. Their main premise is that RPGs work best when centered around well-defined player goals, and that GMs should create factions and NPCs and encounters that directly intersect with player goals in order to create interesting conflict and stories. I'm still not sold that this is the *only* way to play, because I do like more choose-your-own-adventure type stories where the GM has more of a story in mind, but I can see the benefits of having well-defined character goals, and I think GMs can have their cake and eat it to to an extent with this method by taking their own ideas and the character goals beforehand and making sure they will bump up against each other in interesting ways. 

My main outstanding question is if it is possible to have a PC be "dragged" into a story even if they are reluctant, which is something that has happened that I'm not opposed to, and as a player kind of plan for my character to feel compelled to solve a mystery or whatever alongside their main goal of laying low, for example.

Even as a player reading this book, it was helpful to think about getting specific with my characters' goals. The book has lots of helpful brainstorming tables and flowcharts and examples, too.