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That I can definitely agree with. It's just that some folks are insisting that there are differences other than player buy in. As far as I can tell, there aren't, and most of the posts recently reinforce what I see, so I'm just kinda confused. As for the experience, yeah I can see being forced...

If the GM has prepared an adventure, and the players won't engage with, other than playing a completely different game, what could possibly happen? Indeed it is. No gaming is better than bad gaming, as they say.

So Option C is to not have a game at all?

I literally have no idea how that is different than Option B...

Okay, so the GM creates a series of scenes and encounters for the PCs to engage with, a path for them to follow. Option A: The players follow the path as laid out by the GM. Hence a "linear adventure" is had. Option B: The players do not follow the path but the GM forces/tricks them into...

Well, the last two or so pages of posts seems to once again confirm what I alluded to early on... The only difference between a "railroad" and "linear adventure" is player buy in, in that both are functionally the same. Both feature a predetermined sequence of scenes and encounters that the...

Well, that's just...dumb. 🤔🙃

Well that doesn't make sense!?! I mean, if is played on a table top (or vtt), features role-playing, and has codified rules making it a game you play...how the heck would it not be a TTRPG?!? That's just a weirdly narrow definition. People really claim that???

I actually really like the "wasteland" moniker! Not only does it describe the emptiness, but also implies that the game will be a waste of time. 🤭

How would that even work?

Now y'all got me wondering why there isn't a new term to replace "sandbox" as "sandbox" has negative connotations attached to it. Sandbox is empty! Sandbox is meandering and incoherent! Sandbox can't contain suprises or narrative twists! Sandbox has no, or ultimately unsatisfying, endgame...

This would render differentiating between "railroad" and "linear adventure" kind of pointless though, wouldn't it? Where on the scale does the difference happen? How much predetermination of events denotes a "railroad" versus a "linear adventure" and how are those differences quantified?

This, again, is why the only meaningful difference I can see between a "linear adventure" and a "railroad" is player buy in. If the players are okay with only being able to go to Baldur's Gate, then it is a "linear adventure" game. If the players want to go somewhere other than Baldur's Gate...

Yeah, my bad, I guess I shouldn't have used the term "playstyle" and instead of said "things" in general. As I said in an earlier post, from a functional standpoint the only difference I can see between "railroad" and "linear adventure" is player buy in. Both function the same. The GM (or...

The whole BG3 thing is a great example as to why I fail to see how "railroad" and "linear adventure" are definitions of different playstyles. Sure the outcomes of decision points may vary, but in every single playthrough the decision points remain the same. No matter how many times I play BG3...

Yes! Yes I would! I would also champion players trying to take the biggest duce they possibly could! 😁 I often see the argument that "sandbox" games are meandering chaotic random messes that are ultimately meaningless. Yet I myself have neither ran nor participated in a so called "sandbox" game...

Well, my personal take is probably odd, but as far as I can tell by what is described as what actually happens at the table, is that a "railroad" game and a "linear adventure" play out the same. The GM creates a predetermined plotline filled with specific scenes and encounters and the players...

If the GM needs to do something to keep the players "on track" well then...there's tracks...which a train runs on...so...

I'm not super familiar with a lot of different superhero TTRPGs as it's not really my genre of choice. I do think the more "simulation" oriented a system is the harder it becomes to have heroes of differing power levels that can work together without the more powerful heroes performing at a...

A system that is capable of allowing heroes of differing power levels to work as a team without the high powered heroes completely overshadowing the lower powered heroes. Marvel Heroic Roleplaying for example.