Kahuna Burger
First Post
Some people seem to have broadened the definition of "railroading" until it basicly means "having an idea of a plot" or even "being a dm". I choose to reject the overly broad definitions. Railroading to me is forcing players to have their characters pursue a specific course of action, by unrealisiticly truncating all other courses of action. A module with a plot does not require railroading if the DM is open to alternate ways of resolving the plot, on a micro or macro level.
Railroading, imo, indicates a lack of trust in your players to cooperate in creating a game. A DM who always has to have the PCs kidnapped, enslaved, blackmailed or otherwise railroaded into 'the adventure' is showing that he doesn't trust his players to take a reasonable plothook. A DM who only leaves one way to resolve a situation, arbitrarily stopping any other ideas from working, doesn't trust his players to work creativly within the rules. Sometimes this lack of trust is well founded - I see obstructionist players and railroading DMs as feeding off each other.
Railroading, imo, indicates a lack of trust in your players to cooperate in creating a game. A DM who always has to have the PCs kidnapped, enslaved, blackmailed or otherwise railroaded into 'the adventure' is showing that he doesn't trust his players to take a reasonable plothook. A DM who only leaves one way to resolve a situation, arbitrarily stopping any other ideas from working, doesn't trust his players to work creativly within the rules. Sometimes this lack of trust is well founded - I see obstructionist players and railroading DMs as feeding off each other.