>>96317077
>be DM
>give players some cool stuff
>players appreciate it and even fight over who gets it
>important story moment comes up
>who has [Item]
>nobody remembers having [Item] or what [Item] even was
At that point the campaign turns into a creative writing story for me to do whatever the fuck I want, I basically just make a story as an excuse to roleplay cool NPCs I think are fun and experiment with shit.
If as a player you can't remember basic plot points without being reminded or can't be creative during downtime then congratulations: you're now an NPC in a campaign filled with DMPCs for my own amusement.