Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="buzz" data-source="post: 3676560" data-attributes="member: 6777">I'm having a hard time parsing your post, and part of the reason, I think, is that there are some assumptions built into it that are confounding me.First off, the play example you provided doesn't really seem relevant to the issue at hand. You and the player were obviously on different pages about how the game was supposed to work. Both of you were expecting the other one to initiate action to which they could react. That it ended up being un-fun is no surprise.The second thing that's flummoxing me, in both your posts and others, is that it doesn't feel like anyone is talking to each other pre-game.Any campaign or game I start begins with the group talking about what we're going to play, what kinds of PCs everyone would like to create, and what pre-existing hooks exist. I.e., we all know that we'll be playing Eyes of the Lich Queen, that it starts in nation X, and we have some idea of why the party is together to begin with. Ergo, when we start the first session, nobody is sitting around waiting for something to happen. We all know we're here to play.And, even given the linear plots in most published adventures, I'm not "railroading" the players to make specific choices. Nobody is dickweed enough to just have their PC up and leave the party to run a tea shoppe in Korranberg. They know there's an overarching "mission," but I am not going to dictate how they accomplish it.Even if we're talking about more free-form play, I don't see any need to force players down certain paths or remove their ability to make meaningful choices for their PCs. I mean, that's what "railroading" is, as I understand it; you might as well just read them a story.Let's look at your example again. It is not your job, as GM, to sit there and get pissed that the player is not actively pursuing their PC's agendas or putting all your prep work to waste. The players do not exist to justify your prep (and vice-versa). Not to mention, many RPGs don't ever ask the player to define goals or agendas as part of chargen. Ergo, your player may very well be sitting there knowing what their PC can do, but have no idea what drives them to do it.Your job is to create adversity. Conflict drives good play, IMO.So, when that player, for lack of any ideas as to what he was supposed to do, had their PC go home and make dinner, it was indeed your job kick them into action. Ideally, there's some sort of hook on the PC's character sheet; say, a rivalry with another mage or whatever. Ergo, as soon as the PC sits down to eat their Hungry Man, you have their door burst open, their rival rush in, covered with blood and missing an arm, and have the rival say, "YOU! I KNOW YOU HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH THIS! PREPARE TO DIE!"As long as you don't dictate how this is all going to end, YOU ARE NOT RAILROADING. You're just doing your job as GM. You're framing a scene that demands the player make a decision. This is the GM's bread and butter.Okay...It's certainly true that some players prefer a very laid-back style of play. They want to enjoy a story more than create one. They want to sit back and have the GM drive things forward, only making a few key rolls, or maybe only getting active when combat happens.Now, if you don't really like this, guess what? DON'T PLAY WITH THESE PEOPLE. You're never going to be happy, because your priorities are just too far out of line with theirs.So, to sum up, "railroading" in the common sense, is, IMO, completely unnecessary.</blockquote>

Verification