Recent content by bloodtide

A big thread for everything Railroading. So far there is no single true definition of “Railroading” out there, which is probably the reason for many heated debates among GMs. The term “railroad” or “railroading” gets thrown around a lot, but I think most uses/abuses of it are just for insults...

I guess they don't have to think it your At War. But how about any other time? Do you just randomly launch missiles to blow everything up all the time? Really, nothing can replace a human in control of a fighter for space combat.

Tactics is the big one. A dragon attacking a town would not walk over to a group of armed commoners and attack them on the ground. They would strafe targets with their breath weapon and spells. Plus the old "drop heavy rocks on them" Check out Vermithrax Pejorative attacking a city in...

Space Fighters will be a thing. Sure "AI missiles" are great, but they can't think. And space is big...really big. If your command ship or base is even a tiny bit far away it can be a problem. Like if you are on Earth controlling a drone around Mars....it takes several minutes to get a "live...

Not all that rare, really more common. To DM an RPG is hard. The base line of "being the only adult in a social group" is hard. For any social activity. This is where a lot of DMs will fall under the "bad" category. It's not the game play, it is the meta game play. The DM that lets their...

My games are 1E(2E) D&D feel no matter if we are playing 3X or 5X. A lot of it is how the game is run outside the rules. This is a big point. Utterly drop the ideas of balance and fairness. Drop the idea of being on the players or PCs side. Any 1/2E rule that a player says they don't like...

D&D 90210? Pretty Little Liars and Dragons? Charmed Dragons?

I change anything at any time. I don't care what is "established", as anything can happen. The idea that nothing in the game world can change ever is just silly. But even if it is a fact that on May 5th the captain has five thugs, but then on June 5th has ten thugs, it can just happen without...

He could form a club with Harry Kim! And maybe the boring doctor guy from Disco who was reborn as a mushroom.

A DM can do just fine without fudging. As a DM can do anything, they don't really need to "fudge". As a DM, I'm not a Buddy or Fan of the players/characters. So if I roll some dice and a character dies, then it just happens. I agree. As DM I change anything on my whim. The beyond easy...

I agree! This is the best way. The whole "oh, um, your character thinks the illusion is real...but you Best Buddy Player know it is false" is not my cup of tea. As a multi year gamer, I'd say they are Uncommon. I do run six of them....3 once a week, 3 once a month. And for every person...

As an illusionist, the big part about the illusion in an RPG is how bad it makes the players feel. Most players are fine with typical things and love surprises or twists. But there is a thin line between something fun and the "HAHA fooled you!". Illusionism is not any form of Railroading...

I'd add the Cold Feet Problem: So many players will only play a set campaign for a short time before complaining or quitting. It is very annoying to all DMs. And the worst part is it is nearly always 100% the players fault. They only put in the mare minimum effort.....sit there bored and...

I think your thinking too narrow here. I'd guess when you hear 'alter reality' your talking about: The DM pre makes a tower guard and says they are 1st level and swears under oath that this is true to the players. Then when the players attack the tower, the DM changes the guard into a 20th...

Well, this has the ring of the old "player is trying to ruin the game for everyone". The classic bad player that will just endlessly do stuff like "I walk up to the king and pick my nose". The player just wants a response that will ruin the game. I don't think it is railroading at all to...