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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Felix" data-source="post: 3678300" data-attributes="member: 3929">I'm curious how you define railroading, or actually, the lack thereof.The DM tells you the party approaches a T-intersection in a dungeon. You may choose to go left or right. Choosing to go left or right will take you to different parts of the dungeon.The DM tells you the party approaches a T-intersection in a dungeon. You may choose to go left or right. Choosing to go left or right will take you to the same part of the dungeon, and result in you not being able to return to the other direction.The DM tells you the party approaches a T-intersection in a dungeon. The dungeon is caved in on the left, so the only choice is to go right.These examples exist as metaphors. In the first case between two choices, going one way will make the game different from going the other way. In the second, the choice will produce the same result either way, but the players are unaware of this fact. In the third, the players are not really given a choice, they are aware of this, and must go where they are allowed to go.First QuestionThe third is set up to be the bad kind of railroading. Is there a fundamental difference between the second and the third? There exists an illusion of choice, but the result will be the same in either case; the players remain unaware that this is the case.Second QuestionThe first is set up to give the players absolute choice in where they go, and have that choice impact the result of the game. Is there a fundamental difference in the player's experience between the first and the second options? That is to say, in both cases the players feel they have control over the direction and the outcomes of the game.----------I suggest that the second option is railroading, as is the third. I also suggest that more important than actual *real* choice is the illusion of choice and the player's experience. If railroading can provide the players with a good experience where they believe they have control over the progress of the game while simultaneously reducing the workload of the DM by 50% (thereby allowing him to improve other areas of the game's experience), then railroading cannot be seen as a necessarily bad thing.Sure, railroading can be done poorly. Railroading can be over-used. But it is also possible that selective railroading while the players remain ignorant of this fact will lead to a much better gaming experience for everyone.</blockquote>

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