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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Heathen72" data-source="post: 5494000" data-attributes="member: 7029">I don't think it's not railroading to say that there is a circumstance where players won't succeed. It is almost the opposite of the classic definition of railroading, where the GM is allowing only one path to success. I think it is reasonable to say that the latter party in your example may well fail. How many hints to you have to give someone? If the prophecy says "A human male can't kill this creature" and as GM you has made it clear that the prophecy could hold, then so be it. The challenge has been framed quite clearly, surely.If the players insist on attacking because they are stubborn or have some sense of entitlement to victory because of their "character gen choices" and then leave it up to the male human in the game to deliver the killing blow, I have no problem if they fail. Maybe the big bad will flee. Maybe the male human's sword will break. Maybe the PC will succeed and discover that he has an extra x chromosome. Whatever. Obviously, you want to avoid a situation where the man in question is wailing futilely with his holy avenger on head of the the big bad, who is just sitting there picking at his teeth. In that eventuality the GM is being just as stubborn as the players. Prophecies aren't about giving magical immunity to someone. They are about suggesting that someone has seen an aspect of the future, perhaps through a drug induced haze, and scrawled a note to themselves for when they wake up later. They can follow a dream logic, where something is certain but ambiguous at the same time. What makes them fun is how they all work out. Ignoring the prophecy to prove what big man muscles you have just seems to me to be contrary.Of course, this all presumes that the players live in a world where there are prophecies and fate have a role to play so naturally mileage may vary. It requires an amount of player buy in, but all games do. If your group is mainly gamist in its approach, and there is an implicit requirement is that everyone gets an even shot all of the time and that everyone must have the opportunity to shine in every circumstance, then a prophecy that hinges on a "character gen choice" may not be valid for you. However, if the players have bought into a more simulationist or story based game campaign and your GM works to make sure everyone is engaged, your players have then it should be fine.</blockquote>

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