RANDOM OR ON MAP ENCOUNTERS?

Random-step encounters are a convention of the genre. Many random elements are there in an RPG, because they give meaning to the concept of role-play, as the player reacts to fluid situations.

But it's an interesting concept to think about an RPG in which certain elements are not randomized. Do we introduce a little bit of the arcade design philosophy?

Consider an RPG in which the only delineating factor in the player's success are the decisions made at crucial points. And then, if failure occurs, the player will know what is coming. What is the goal of the game? To see the end with the fastest time? Highest score?

I believe, that the game is something that the player must partially make. The goal of the game, an RPG, is to allow for role-play. The game designer's job is to offer this control to the player, and then attempt to wrest it away as secretly and capriciously as possible. That's the "Game" in "Role-Playing Game".