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Judgement calls vs "railroading"
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<blockquote data-quote="innerdude" data-source="post: 7120940" data-attributes="member: 85870"><p>The real issue is this: the only things that AREN'T a GM judgment call are A) PC action declarations that are B) tied to a specific mechanical resolution / effect spelled out in RAW. </p><p></p><p>Everything else in an RPG is, by its very nature, a GM judgment call. Or if not an outright GM judgment call, are at the very least facts or truths about the game world that are negotiated and agreed upon by the group as a whole, with the GM having final say. Even the most story-telling of storytelling games must have SOMEONE who is the final arbiter about what is true or not about the fiction. In RPGs we recognize that role as belonging to the GM. The games we recognize as RPGs largely cease to function without that being case. </p><p></p><p>GMs make and execute judgment calls by the dozens during every minute of play. How far apart were the two combatants at the start of the combat? GM's call. Which enemies on a shared initiative order move first? GM's call. Which spells and abilities will Monster X use this round? GM's call. Can that stretch of forest be traversed in less than five hours, or must it take longer? GM's call. How would Missus NPC Y respond to the PC's last statement? GM's call. </p><p></p><p>Let's say a GM has to make between 5 and 15 discrete judgment calls per minute played in a session. In a typical 4-hour session, that GM is making anywhere from 1,200 to 3,600 judgment calls every single session. And yes, any one of those thousands of judgment calls could be used to "railroad" at any time. </p><p></p><p>The only thing that differentiates one judgment call from another is the intent---to what intent is a judgment call made? Is it to carry out the most "realistic," plausible result, based on the GM's understanding of the world? To create a cool event in the story? To give more freedom to the players to create their own cool event in the story? To frame a new element of the fiction to which future PC action declarations can be applied? </p><p></p><p>Or is it to ensure a particular outcome is reached, regardless of declared action intent and results of the roll? This is the most obvious, egregious example of "railroading," but can "railroading" become an aspect within any of the other intents? Of course. </p><p></p><p>And sometimes that's okay. Sometimes it's okay to throw in something the GM thinks is cool, or fun, just because it appeals to the GM. Must the GM's desires be so completely subsumed to those of his players that this isn't an option? I would hope not. Can a GM re-imagine on the fly some element of backstory that suddenly brings to life something happening in the present for the PCs? Of course. </p><p></p><p>But intent matters. It matters a lot. </p><p></p><p>In a sense, I find the notion of "secret backstory" to be unhelpful. Of course there's some secret backstory ---- not everything about the world is known by the characters, and that's as it should be. None of us knows everything about our own world's "secret backstory" either. RPGs are unique in the regard that "secret backstory" is totally mutable based on the GM's ideas and suppositions. As it's been used in this thread, secret backstory would be more accurately defined as "world domain knowledge implemented specifically with the intent to force PCs and players to adhere to certain actions so as to ensure a specified result." And yes, it's definitely a form of railroading. </p><p></p><p>Yet to me, creating elements of the world that define and drive the current action, give it color and texture, and present opportunities for the players to engage in conflict are not "secret backstory." Yet the term "secret backstory" seems to conflate this with its more manipulative adjunct.</p><p></p><p>Railroading is the product of GM judgment calls made for a specific intent. It is a trend, or pattern of GM judgment calls that manipulatively subvert player and PC intent in play, and do so in a way that fails to serve the group's stated and unstated social contract. If your group's social contract specifically forbids a GM from using judgment calls to subvert player and PC intent, regardless of whether it would be "cool" or "make for a good story," then that's between your GM and his/her group.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="innerdude, post: 7120940, member: 85870"] The real issue is this: the only things that AREN'T a GM judgment call are A) PC action declarations that are B) tied to a specific mechanical resolution / effect spelled out in RAW. Everything else in an RPG is, by its very nature, a GM judgment call. Or if not an outright GM judgment call, are at the very least facts or truths about the game world that are negotiated and agreed upon by the group as a whole, with the GM having final say. Even the most story-telling of storytelling games must have SOMEONE who is the final arbiter about what is true or not about the fiction. In RPGs we recognize that role as belonging to the GM. The games we recognize as RPGs largely cease to function without that being case. GMs make and execute judgment calls by the dozens during every minute of play. How far apart were the two combatants at the start of the combat? GM's call. Which enemies on a shared initiative order move first? GM's call. Which spells and abilities will Monster X use this round? GM's call. Can that stretch of forest be traversed in less than five hours, or must it take longer? GM's call. How would Missus NPC Y respond to the PC's last statement? GM's call. Let's say a GM has to make between 5 and 15 discrete judgment calls per minute played in a session. In a typical 4-hour session, that GM is making anywhere from 1,200 to 3,600 judgment calls every single session. And yes, any one of those thousands of judgment calls could be used to "railroad" at any time. The only thing that differentiates one judgment call from another is the intent---to what intent is a judgment call made? Is it to carry out the most "realistic," plausible result, based on the GM's understanding of the world? To create a cool event in the story? To give more freedom to the players to create their own cool event in the story? To frame a new element of the fiction to which future PC action declarations can be applied? Or is it to ensure a particular outcome is reached, regardless of declared action intent and results of the roll? This is the most obvious, egregious example of "railroading," but can "railroading" become an aspect within any of the other intents? Of course. And sometimes that's okay. Sometimes it's okay to throw in something the GM thinks is cool, or fun, just because it appeals to the GM. Must the GM's desires be so completely subsumed to those of his players that this isn't an option? I would hope not. Can a GM re-imagine on the fly some element of backstory that suddenly brings to life something happening in the present for the PCs? Of course. But intent matters. It matters a lot. In a sense, I find the notion of "secret backstory" to be unhelpful. Of course there's some secret backstory ---- not everything about the world is known by the characters, and that's as it should be. None of us knows everything about our own world's "secret backstory" either. RPGs are unique in the regard that "secret backstory" is totally mutable based on the GM's ideas and suppositions. As it's been used in this thread, secret backstory would be more accurately defined as "world domain knowledge implemented specifically with the intent to force PCs and players to adhere to certain actions so as to ensure a specified result." And yes, it's definitely a form of railroading. Yet to me, creating elements of the world that define and drive the current action, give it color and texture, and present opportunities for the players to engage in conflict are not "secret backstory." Yet the term "secret backstory" seems to conflate this with its more manipulative adjunct. Railroading is the product of GM judgment calls made for a specific intent. It is a trend, or pattern of GM judgment calls that manipulatively subvert player and PC intent in play, and do so in a way that fails to serve the group's stated and unstated social contract. If your group's social contract specifically forbids a GM from using judgment calls to subvert player and PC intent, regardless of whether it would be "cool" or "make for a good story," then that's between your GM and his/her group. [/QUOTE]
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