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General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Dealing with agency and retcon (in semi sandbox)
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<blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 9063892" data-attributes="member: 42582"><p>Just to add to what [USER=1282]@darkbard[/USER] has posted:</p><p></p><p>What you describe in your OP is a railroad gone wrong - that is, you had a pre-plotted story that would only work if the players declared particular actions for their PCs, but you didn't tell the players what to do, and so the game has broken.</p><p></p><p>I've quoted some of the key parts of your post that exemplify the break points:</p><p></p><p style="margin-left: 20px">*The situation turns on secret information (the quest-giver is lying) that the players don't know and have to guess about;</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">*The players had to guess which pathway lets them play the game (eg do they follow the quest; do they tell the guards, which seems to equal <em>not playing the game</em>);</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">*Related to the preceding point, the players had to guess which illegality on the part of the PCs was expected (eg stealing information from the house) and which was not (eg allowing the ritual to go ahead).</p><p></p><p>If you are going to run railroads, <em>make sure you make clear to the players what it is they have to do</em>. Don't make them guess.</p><p></p><p>Alternatively, as darkbard has suggested, you could look into techniques for running non-railroads. A recent thread about that is here: <a href="https://www.enworld.org/threads/advice-for-new-story-now-gms.698281/" target="_blank">https://www.enworld.org/threads/advice-for-new-story-now-gms.698281/</a></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="pemerton, post: 9063892, member: 42582"] Just to add to what [USER=1282]@darkbard[/USER] has posted: What you describe in your OP is a railroad gone wrong - that is, you had a pre-plotted story that would only work if the players declared particular actions for their PCs, but you didn't tell the players what to do, and so the game has broken. I've quoted some of the key parts of your post that exemplify the break points: [indent]*The situation turns on secret information (the quest-giver is lying) that the players don't know and have to guess about; *The players had to guess which pathway lets them play the game (eg do they follow the quest; do they tell the guards, which seems to equal [i]not playing the game[/i]); *Related to the preceding point, the players had to guess which illegality on the part of the PCs was expected (eg stealing information from the house) and which was not (eg allowing the ritual to go ahead).[/indent] If you are going to run railroads, [i]make sure you make clear to the players what it is they have to do[/i]. Don't make them guess. Alternatively, as darkbard has suggested, you could look into techniques for running non-railroads. A recent thread about that is here: [URL]https://www.enworld.org/threads/advice-for-new-story-now-gms.698281/[/URL] [/QUOTE]
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