D&D General Why defend railroading?

[Don Durito]

Because it is a location. And by making it come up no matter what direction they decide to go, even if their decision is effectively randomly choosing, it means it doesn't matter which direction they go: they will always encounter the haunted house. Also by letting the players pick a direction but then secretly deciding that direction always leads to X, you are creating the impression that the players have a choice, while they in fact do not. If I am in a game like that, and the GM isn't being transparent about this, and it becomes clear to me that my decisions about which direction we go never mattered, it is going to be bother me because I am going to feel like I am being railroaded.

Well if there's exactly no reason to choose a direction other than the destination of the haunted house, then it is indeed meaningless and shouldn't be offered.

But it seems an unnatural situation. Presumably if the players are choosing a direction it's because they want to go to a certain specific place that they do know about.

In which case the Haunted House, is an encounter on the road, and I fail to see how the fact that it is a place, rather than say a monster, is significant. (In fact, it would seem to offer a meaningful choice that a badly done monster encounter wouldn't. The players can presumably find the haunted house and decide not to enter it?).

 

[Bedrockgames]

And it does. Because there is only one haunted house, so next three (and more) times they randomly choose direction whey will get something else.

But again, their choices don't matter. They go to the haunted house first because you decided that is what hey encounter. Then when they pick south instead of north, it will be the same thing, you decide what is there. Then when they pick east instead of west, you again are just making sure it is what you want. They don't have to know what is in those directions for this to still be an important choice for them. And if you are creating the false impression that their choices matter here, I think it is both railroading and dishonest. I had a GM who used to do this when I first started. He told me one day, whatever direction the party goes the adventure will happen. I remember really disliking that and wishing he had been much more honest about it prior to that point, so I could have explained to him that this isn't how I felt the game ought to be run (because what he described fit my understanding of a railroad)

 

[Crimson Longinus]

Well if there's exactly no reason to choose a direction other than the destination of the haunted house, then it is indeed meaningless and shouldn't be offered.

But it seems an unnatural situation. Presumably if the players are choosing a direction it's because they want to go to a certain specific place that they do know about.

In which case the Haunted House, is an encounter on the road, and I fail to see how the fact that it is a place, rather than say a monster, is significant. (In fact, it would seem to offer a meaningful choice that a badly done monster encounter wouldn't. The players can presumably find the haunted house and decide not to enter it?).

Yes, exactly. This is the sort of context in which this would realistically appear in a game.

 

[Bedrockgames]

Well if there's exactly no reason to choose a direction other than the destination of the haunted house, then it is indeed meaningless and shouldn't be offered.

But it seems an unnatural situation. Presumably if the players are choosing a direction it's because they want to go to a certain specific place that they do know about.

In which case the Haunted House, is an encounter on the road, and I fail to see how the fact that it is a place, rather than say a monster, is significant. (In fact, it would seem to offer a meaningful choice that a badly done monster encounter wouldn't. The players can presumably find the haunted house and decide not to enter it?).

I suppose you can make this argument. If they still have the choice not to go inside. But I have to be honest, just deciding that the house is going to show up whatever way they go, doesn't seem like it is outside the realm of railroading to me. If you are trying to avoid railroads, I don't think shifiting things so they happen no matter which direction the players go is a good practice.

 

[Don Durito]

If the players have no choice but to have the encounter, then I think you are moving in a railroady direction for sure. There is a track and you are leading them on it, and they can't get off. If they can get off that track, then you are not railroading.

Ok. By corrollary then, everytime you offer a players a choice of direction you must also use a different random encounter table.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

They don't have to know what is in those directions for this to still be an important choice for them.

No, they absolutely must know. Otherwise it just random and thus not a real choice.

 

[Bedrockgames]

Ok. By corrollary then, everytime you offer a players a choice of direction you must also use a different random encounter table.

My random encounter table doesn't plop down haunted houses on the map and it accounts for where the players are on the map

 

[Bedrockgames]

No, they absolutely must know. Otherwise it just random and thus not a real choice.

We are not going to agree on this point

 

[Crimson Longinus]

We are not going to agree on this point

That seems probable.

 

[Don Durito]

My random encounter table doesn't plop down haunted houses on the map and it accounts for where the players are on the map

So a haunted house is different to a monster just because?

Do you use a different random encounter table every time the players make a choice of direction?

Because if you don't the players choices of direction are meaningless in regard to what they encounter.