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<blockquote data-quote="Maxperson" data-source="post: 8695739" data-attributes="member: 23751">There are always going to be exceptions, but even then it should still be avoidable, even if avoidance is extremely unlikely.&nbsp; Let's say the players pissed off an assassins guild by killing an assassin who was on a job.&nbsp; Now they want the one who landed the killing blow, the fighter, dead.&nbsp; You have set it up so that it takes a month for the assassins to learn where the PCs are, where they live, and a rough schedule.&nbsp; They will strike tonight!!!&nbsp; Except that unbeknownst to you, the players have discussed travelling to a nearby city with a large library to research something and leave that afternoon via a teleportation circle.&nbsp; Ooops! Encounter avoided! Agency mattered. It was very, very unlikely that would avoid the encounter, but it could still potentially happen.Now if the assassin struck them the night after they teleported, that would be railroading.&nbsp; There was truly no chance to avoid the encounter and nothing they did could matter.&nbsp; You were going to force them down that path right then no matter what.&nbsp; To complicate things a bit more, let's assume that the assassins have a wizard with them that is capable of scrying. They've been watching the PCs and know where they live.&nbsp; The assassin goes into their home and grabs something belonging to the fighter and scries the location of the party, then they too teleport.&nbsp; Maybe the attack does happen, but it's not because of railroading. It's because of valid in fiction reasons and consequences.&nbsp; That would not be railroading, since the attack isn't simply happening no matter what just because the DM desires a certain outcome.&nbsp; It may be that one day they do get attacked by the assassins.&nbsp; Or maybe they grow too powerful before the encounter for the assassins to risk attack, and they back off.The players' choice mattered and the encounter may or may not happen because of that choice and perhaps other choices.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Maxperson, post: 8695739, member: 23751"] There are always going to be exceptions, but even then it should still be avoidable, even if avoidance is extremely unlikely. Let's say the players pissed off an assassins guild by killing an assassin who was on a job. Now they want the one who landed the killing blow, the fighter, dead. You have set it up so that it takes a month for the assassins to learn where the PCs are, where they live, and a rough schedule. They will strike tonight!!! Except that unbeknownst to you, the players have discussed travelling to a nearby city with a large library to research something and leave that afternoon via a teleportation circle. Ooops! Encounter avoided! Agency mattered. It was very, very unlikely that would avoid the encounter, but it could still potentially happen. Now if the assassin struck them the night after they teleported, that would be railroading. There was truly no chance to avoid the encounter and nothing they did could matter. You were going to force them down that path right then no matter what. To complicate things a bit more, let's assume that the assassins have a wizard with them that is capable of scrying. They've been watching the PCs and know where they live. The assassin goes into their home and grabs something belonging to the fighter and scries the location of the party, then they too teleport. Maybe the attack does happen, but it's not because of railroading. It's because of valid in fiction reasons and consequences. That would not be railroading, since the attack isn't simply happening no matter what just because the DM desires a certain outcome. It may be that one day they do get attacked by the assassins. Or maybe they grow too powerful before the encounter for the assassins to risk attack, and they back off. The players' choice mattered and the encounter may or may not happen because of that choice and perhaps other choices. [/QUOTE]

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