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Are they though? :unsure:

Whilst I would not put it quite so starkly, you're definitely onto something here. I think the "story" that the latter approach produces is more like an historical account. It does not necessarily follow proper dramatic structure like a novel would. And I think to a lot of people that...

No. Because if the GM frames events in such way, that there is always only the one sensible thing to do, it is still a railroad, just more elegantly done than one where the GM uses force to block outcomes. To avoid this the situations should be more open ended, without one obvious outcome...

Fair to whom and how? Is it fair for GM to block action declarations that do not fit to the story they want to tell? Is it fair for the GM to just frame situations where there is only one obviously sensible action to take? I don't know, that seems like a matter of taste to me. But both seem...

It also having "baseline" helps the fantastic to stand out. Spock or Worf work better as characters when they are contrasted to the rest of the crew who are mostly humans.

Well, I just don't think it is that clear cut. What is "willingly"? How the GM frames things has a huge impact on what actions can reasonably even be attempted. If the GM constantly just frames situations where there is only one direction they can plausibly go (assuming the players don't try to...

I don't quite understand what the definition of "a linear game" is. Because if it is literally linear, from A to B to C etc, no room for deviation or change of the player actions to affect the outcome, I really do not see how it is not a railroad, albeit possibly one the players willingly...

They don't need to be a monoculture, but the cultures will still be informed by the species that develop them. Elves will not develop cultures that are exactly like human cultures (or if they will, then having elves seems rather pointless.) Yes, it is just that in some depictions "washing out...

I don't think that "platonic idea of a sandbox" as you describe it is a sensible one. The idea that the world would be static and nothing would happen unless the PCs make it happen is neither realistic or interesting. To me sandbox implies a living world and living worlds have all sorts of...

What even is ‘an adventure hook’ other than a telegraph that interesting things are happening in the world? I think all RPG worlds should have interesting things happening in them.

I'm a bit two minds about this, and this is reflected on my world Artra. There is some integration, many non-humans live alongside humans in several places. But there also are significant mono-species groups. The issue with complete integration is that the uniqueness of each species tends to...

As long as there is no long range teleportation (which I tend to ban,) there is simply rather limited amount of places the PCs can get to by one session. And like @Charlaquin says, you can just ask them. My current D&D game is pretty sandboxy, but actually it is a semi-quantum faux-sandbox...

Having "plot hooks" or prepared situations is not railroad, as long as the players have agency to choose what to do with those. Some situations might be pretty linear in a sense that there is a very likely way they will play out. This is probably what people mean with "linear," and whilst not...

Oh no, you have uncovered my secret for building "unique" fantasy cultures! :eek: Yeah, this is a good technique. Combine unrelated cultures, file off serial numbers, add some fantasy spice, and you have a culture that feels real but is not just a direct fantasy copy of a real world culture.

No, it is immature to be afraid to take imaginary things seriously. This stuff is not inherently silly, it depends on presentation. Always bugged me. It sorta works as an isolated separate setting, but it is still weird how most of the tech is medieval with 19th century trappings. No I am not...

It is not that you cannot come up with justification why such could exist. You can, quite easily. But that's not really the point. Then it just becomes fantasy Flintstones. A modern setting with modern things that have some thin veneer of medivalism and magic as an explanation.

I am not lumping them together, except in a sense that they are too modern for pseudo-medieval D&D. Further demarcation within this group is not relevant in this context. No, it is just that you do not understand the history. You seem to think that because there was glass in antiquity and...

No, but that is nevertheless relatively modern period, not medieval one. So again, pretty recently. You seem to have the mindset that anything pre WWII or so, is "olden times" and can just be lumped together and have it make sense. We are not talking existence of materials. We are talking...

So I know some people think it is cute or funny to insert modern things in fantasy games. Flintstones-style thing. And to me it makes taking the setting seriously harder. And ultimately it is not what I want from games like D&D, If I wanted to play and RPG in a modern setting, then there are...

There should have been security cameras?