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Judgement calls vs "railroading"
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<blockquote data-quote="Imaculata" data-source="post: 7051392" data-attributes="member: 6801286"><p>I think that once you define 'railroading' as any campaign that has multiple choice options, you've probably reversed what most people think of when talking about railroading. And I don't feel that's a useful definition.</p><p></p><p>For example, in my Call of Cthulhu campaign I had a plot thought out, with multiple ideas of how it could possibly end, depending on the choices of the players. Certain events would always happen, because as a DM I occasionally move the plot forward. But within this setting, the players were free to hunt for clues, decide where they want to go next, and they could succeed or fail in their quest miserably. Any npc could die, none of them had plot armor. Any event could be stopped by the players without disrupting the course of the plot.</p><p></p><p>And yet I didn't railroad when I ran this campaign. Just because your campaign has a plot and a direction, does not mean that the players are on a rail. When I think of "railroading", I think of a DM blocking what a player wants to do, because it is not in the script. <em>That </em>is railroading in my book. </p><p></p><p>For example, if the players are about to be arrested by the guards, and they get arrested no matter what, against all logic and reason. And are then taken to what ever important plot location or npc that the plot desires. That is my definition of railroading. Or a player always getting caught when sneaking, regardless of how stealthy his character behaves. Railroading is a disruptive act where the DM blocks player action, to force them and the plot on a linear path.</p><p></p><p>Having branching paths in your storyline is not railroading, unless it involves the above disruptive action.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Imaculata, post: 7051392, member: 6801286"] I think that once you define 'railroading' as any campaign that has multiple choice options, you've probably reversed what most people think of when talking about railroading. And I don't feel that's a useful definition. For example, in my Call of Cthulhu campaign I had a plot thought out, with multiple ideas of how it could possibly end, depending on the choices of the players. Certain events would always happen, because as a DM I occasionally move the plot forward. But within this setting, the players were free to hunt for clues, decide where they want to go next, and they could succeed or fail in their quest miserably. Any npc could die, none of them had plot armor. Any event could be stopped by the players without disrupting the course of the plot. And yet I didn't railroad when I ran this campaign. Just because your campaign has a plot and a direction, does not mean that the players are on a rail. When I think of "railroading", I think of a DM blocking what a player wants to do, because it is not in the script. [I]That [/I]is railroading in my book. For example, if the players are about to be arrested by the guards, and they get arrested no matter what, against all logic and reason. And are then taken to what ever important plot location or npc that the plot desires. That is my definition of railroading. Or a player always getting caught when sneaking, regardless of how stealthy his character behaves. Railroading is a disruptive act where the DM blocks player action, to force them and the plot on a linear path. Having branching paths in your storyline is not railroading, unless it involves the above disruptive action. [/QUOTE]
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