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Which of these is color? Feel like we're circling a definition. But it is clearly very precise, and I'm not sure what it is. I think it makes sense that it would apply to narrative systems but not to my games. That's why it doesn't work for me. Not saying anyone is wrong for using the term.

The way the word is used implies a kind of frivolity or lack of importance; something that can easily be changed without affecting anything important. I don't like using that, because I don't like treating aspects of the world as just set dressing. They may function that way to players who don't...

Assertion , based on my experience. Again, my point isn't that the narrative you are getting out lacks verisimilitude. It's that as a player, the world feels real to me when I know I can go two hills over and something fixed exists there. If instead something has to be made up on the spot...

It's not about what is saif being finite, but about what exists being finite. Ideally finite things are said. But ideally anything in the world is well defined enough that the players can go and interact with it. Yes, I was thinking the same. For example, if the DM had all this prepared, I...

I don't disagree with this. But that doesn't mean I have to find the color term useful or instructive for my games. I don't.

It's not a characterization that I find useful to my games. Indeed I find it actively harmful, because it encourages me to treat some aspects of the world as less important. My goal is to present the world impartially, so asking myself "is this important or just color" is working against that...

Were.the potential consequences telegraphed to the PCs beforehand? I find that can reduce these sorts of scenarios. Unless there was really no way they could have known they'd anger the faction until after the action had taken place?

In this case your definition of railroading appears highly idiosyncratic. That's not to say ours is objective. Just more widely used. Ime. So are we adding another term to your statement--the essence of a railroad is GM control over the shared fiction? Yes, I assumed they were defined...

First I'd evaluate the faction's resources and what their goals and threats are. Then I'd make a judgement call that does not consider whether it is a big or little threat to the PCs--just based on what the faction may do. If there is ambiguity I would use dice to resolve it. And I'd consider...

My statement is saying they should be well-defined before they need to be. This is a great summary. At present, I do not want my characters to supervene the setting; I find more verisimilitude when the setting is imposed on them. Right, the important thing is not the realism of the resulting...

I apologize, sincerely, that, it has come across poorly. That said, I don't think I've said anything like "that sort of game is clearly unsatisfying to its players and lesser than other systems". I don't think that narrative games are lesser. Clearly people are satisfied by them. As I mentioned...

I think you've misread me. I'm not saying the resulting world or narrative feels less realistic. I'm saying that what is important as a player, to me, is feeling that the setting exists prior to me sitting down at the table. I want to know that what I'm being presented with has its own...

I think there is another key difference here. The goal in a fixed world sandbox isn't just to construct a world that has verisimilitude. It's for the world to feel that way to the players. If the players are taking an active role in constructing the world, then they know for a fact that there...

Just wanted to highlight this because I think it accurately characterizes some of the responses. If it were exactly the same then BW wouldn't need a bunch of jargon and rules for the GM to follow. It being different is part of the point. I think Micah is right about how they differ. You may...

I'm glad it works for you. Personally I find these kind of meta divisions of NPCs into color and conflict really artificial and I think they'd impair my enjoyment.

I think this is the closest thing I've seen to a thesis statement about what you think railroading is. But I think the jargon is holding it back here because many unrelated concepts fall into "control over the fiction". Consider: 1) The GM writes "captain Sparrow, large ship, +25% to base...

I strongly disagree with this. I can see your point narrowly, as in "it is hard to know what world politics will look like in 10 years". But if I enter a store, I have a good idea how the propieter will respond. If I make a reservation, I know what to expect. If I insult someone and I know their...

I guess this still seems to me like the GM adjudicating the world. They're still deciding how it plays out. The difference is they're encouraged to do so with reference to the characters stated goals rather than (just) the established content of the setting. This is where the lack of...

But there must be someone adjudicating the world, right? If the intent is to find a ship captain and they succeed, who describes the NPC? Who decides how large the ship is and what the fee will be? I appreciate your description of the mechanics you had in mind which followed. But I think it is...

It's what is realistic according to the internal logic of the setting. If the Millennium Falcon is being chased by Star destroyers and has sufficient time to charge its (working) hyperdrive, it will make the jump to light speed. That isn't 'realistic', but it is realistic within setting.