How Much of a Railroader Are You?

[KrazyHades]

I wanted to hear from the DMs on EnWorld how often they railroad their players. I know I have a VERY free style of DMing. The players can go in whatever direction they want, that's fine with me. At times this ends in disaster because they ignore important clues, but that's life: sometimes the good guys lose. Badly. And if I don't railroad them, it makes their victories that much more fun and exiting, because they did it all themselves.

 

[Mouseferatu]

Problem is, I don't consider the occasional prod, or even firm nudge, to be railroading. If the players have absolutely no choice in a matter, it's railroading. Anything else may be pressure, but it's not an RR.

 

[GwydapLlew]

I'm in agreement with Ari. I create plot, and I encourage my players to follow that plot, but I don't consider it railroading. My players know that they can range freely, but they also know that I have a story I want to tell; it's part of fusangite's famous social contract within a gaming group.

 

[FireLance]

What do you call it when the players board the train, sit down, look at the DM, and ask, "Where are we going today?"

That happens a lot in my group.

 

[Nightfall]

I like Age of Worms and Rappan Athuk. That should tell you something about my DM style.

That and a high loss of clerical PCs.

 

[Nifft]

I railroad less than my players would like, I think.

It's just so hard to anticipate what players are going to do -- these days I don't even try. I just throw up a problem and let them solve it however they can.

Cheers, -- N

 

[blargney the second]

I accidentally pulled a little choo-choo action on my players the other night. Been feeling a bit sleazy about it ever since.

 

[William drake]

I'm in agreement with Ari. I create plot, and I encourage my players to follow that plot, but I don't consider it railroading. My players know that they can range freely, but they also know that I have a story I want to tell; it's part of fusangite's famous social contract within a gaming group.

Even though you want to tell a story, if you push the players into it, its railroading, even if it is to a less degree.

What you must remember, as a DM, is that the WORLD TURNS whether or not the players go along with the plot. So: if you set it up that the players hear a name of a villian, and they don't got after him, that Villian is now not being stopped, and in my opinion, he's gaining levels too. Villians dont just remain the same level in which you created them. So, for every gaming day that the players dont go after him, give the bad guy the experience that he'd get if he were a player for doing what he's done. Then, obvious, once he get more powerful, make it so that the players hear more and more about this guy, then, hopefully someone will go "hey, don't we know him?" then the prob is , they partially created this monster by not handleing it earlier.

So, in short, what I'm saying is this. Let the players do what they want, and go on with your story. The only problem is, that since the players are taking themselves out of the niche, once they get back in, it might be rougher now, and people might find out that they could've stopped him earlier but forwhat ever reason, chose not to.

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

PCs always get into trouble - it is in their very nature.

What varies depending on what they do and where they go is the kind of trouble they get involved with.

 

[Bagpuss]

My players tend to follow he plot, I mean we are playing the Savage Tide adventure path, they could of course say "Nah, we don't fancy going to Farshore" but then we wouldn't be playing the adventure path any more so why would they want to screw up the game like that?

When I rail-road it's usually by starting something "in media res". With the game session starting already down the dungeon, although it tends to be a technique I do more with modern/sci-fi games than D&D.