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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jackinthegreen" data-source="post: 6194668" data-attributes="member: 6678119">I don't think there are games where the DM doesn't actually play the creatures and such since as you said that'd mean the DM doesn't really do anything.  That route is always one way for the DM to influence the course of the encounter.However, I don't think that's what you're trying to get at, is it?  One of the things ImperatorK hinted at is that some players despise DMs who have preconceived notions of how an encounter should end up.  If the players don't have any say in how an encounter ends then that can be called a railroad because it means that regardless of what the players do, the encounter has a set end.  That railroad issue is very heavily implied by your use of "If the DM does not decide the outcome..."  One would hope the mechanics of the game itself decide the outcome, or that both the players and the DM decide or at least have meaningful contributions.If the DM is the only one who gets to choose how an encounter goes then what are the players there for?  They might as well be puppets for all the influence they can exert on an encounter.</blockquote>