If I were making this decision, and none of the players had read the novel, then I would consider both the issue of railroading, and the issue of spoiling the book for them. If it were me, I would prefer to spark their interest in reading it. That puts me on the side of creating a path for the characters that is unrelated to the story told in the book(s).
When in a situation where I will be running settings tied to films, or books, or that have invasive metaplots (Star Wars, Neverwhere, Serenity, oWoD, etc), I have two approaches:
Approach 1: Normal Workload (Just using the setting)
I try to run things the same way I would run a game without a strong primary story: that is, I would put the focus on the story of the PCs as if it were the primary tale. The story from the novel or film is placed in the background as extra detail. The events in the game may or may not ever involve the events or characters of the original source material - and I would work to keep them separate if at all possible.
The goal of this approach is to create unique adventures in an established setting that all or part of the group enjoys, without worrying about existing story lines. This can be done by simply ignoring/deleting the original story, by avoiding it by setting your stories in another time or place within the setting, or by creating unrelated plot threads with no crossover with the original story and making them the focus of the campaign.
Approach 2: High Workload (Creating subtle links to the Original Story)
If I have the time, or motivation from the players to allow their characters to get involved in the primary plots from the original source, I like to remember that historical records and memory are very selective. That perspective is the tool that I use to create subplots and important interactions with the main events, which do not threaten or change the continuity of those events.
This sort of thing involves approaches such as providing roles for the PCs which make the tasks of the characters from the original source material possible. Without the PCs' actions, the course of events in the source become impossible.
example: An information gathering quest for beginning characters
An advisor to a character from the books reveals information about the enemy, a prophecy, etc in the original storyline. As I am looking for neglected or glossed over parts of the story to flesh out, this sort of scene might catch my eye as an effective way to introduce starting characters, and enable the players (who may not have any familiarity with the sources) to establish an understanding of the setting and culture being portrayed in the campaign. To make use of it, I would:
- Create a plot where that advisor had recruited one of my NPCs to uncover information in an earlier time period.
- That NPC would then select the PCs and send them on a dangerous journey to collect that information
- Use this to establish the skills and personalities of the characters, connect them in a very tangential way to a peripheral character in the original source, while at the same time making them a vital, but invisible part of the original tale
Doing this for the course of the series, will take a great deal of familiarity with the original work, and a lot of planning to find ways to have the characters support the main plots of the source material without ever being 'deemed by history' to be a major character in the story.
The goal of this approach is that when the players read the books, they can get an extra smile and surprise when they realize their hidden role in the tale that is unfolding before them.
I am the one who brought Sir Fancy-Pants the news that the Dragons had awakened! I almost died that day...
I only have a basic understanding of the principles of stone sculpting
and any insights are appreciated.
Use your imagination. What do you want it to look like?
D&D 5e is not reality simulation, nor does it attempt to be. Difficult terrain is ground that is hard to walk on, an area where you are slowed down by trying to move through it. This could be a pile of boulders, a swamp, mud, or just very uneven ground where no two steps are on the same level.
Assuming the caster is skilled enough to smooth the stone within the hour, such that it is no longer difficult terrain, what happens when the spell ends?
The magical effect ends. Whatever was there becomes what it was before the cantrip was cast. The duration of the magical effect is one hour.
How exactly was the stone warped in the first place?
By magic.
How does normal terrain become less difficult terrain?
By magic.
Would the effect be ascetically pleasing or would it look sloppy?
That depends upon the interaction between the player and the DM.
Use your imagination. What do you want it to look like? This is where a DM's ruling is appropriate. Tell the DM what you want it to look like. The flow of events in D&D (p. 3, Basic Rules) is:
How to Play
1. The DM describes the environment.
2. The players describe what they want to do.
3. The DM narrates the results of the adventurers’ actions.
You describe what you want it to look like. The DM rules on that with your input considered.
The philosophy that the game started with still applies. D&D 5e has tried to unify the D&D fan base, in some cases reaching back to first principles ... When Imagination Was The Only Rule ... the theme behind Rob Kuntz'1 projects.
Action required: use your imagination and describe what efforts you are putting into this bit of magic-assisted sculpture, and what you are trying to make it look like. Give the DM something to work with so that he doesn't have to do a lot of work to arrive at a ruling. (As a DM of some experience, I promise you, such efforts are appreciated).
1 Who is Rob Kuntz and what does he have to do with D&D 5e? The front page of the rule book says that the game is:
Based on the original D&D game created by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, with Brian Blume, Rob Kuntz, James Ward, and Don Kaye
Best Answer
It sounds like you are trying delegate a large chunk of story telling to this player...
...and in doing so, you are removing their agency. You want this character to play in a certain way that you will feed them. They must fulfill a specific role within your narrative. You said, "I'd be tempted to let her come up with exposition for stuff and assign quests...". What if her exposition goes against the world you built? Or she goes "off script"? You are now in the position of back-tracking, updating your story to her ideas, or feeding her more information to keep things on track.
This also forces the spotlight on to this player, as they will always be responsible for making the choices the rest of the party must take. This means all the other players become bystanders. While some players are fine with being second fiddle, or letting the high-Charisma character do all the talking, you are forcing one player to rule them all.
Regardless of how much or little experience this person has, you are stacking the deck against this player.
Let them shine on their own.
You say that the starting premise is that the characters are being shown around by the Program Coordinator when the town comes under attack. Instead of making this player the Program Coordinator, just have them be one of the new recruits. In every given group of new hires, there will always be those that rise to the top and those that just follow. You, as the DM, should play the boss that they all refer to when seeking guidance.
As a note: I have not personally had this issue, but something tangential.
Our DM was trying to designate one of the players as the quest giver. No one wanted to fill the role, so we asked why we needed one. The points above, and others, were brought up. In the end we discovered the DM just really wanted an assistant to off-load some work so they could do more world-building. Based on the "...her perspective might bring something interesting to the table that I couldn't." statement, I felt the "why" is different, but the discussion points were still valid. I just wanted to format it in a way that didn't feel like an opinion piece.