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<blockquote data-quote="gizmo33" data-source="post: 3678379" data-attributes="member: 30001">I think the examples IMO don't quite do the subject justice.&nbsp; In the third case your choices are also - 1.&nbsp; leave the dungeon2.&nbsp; excavate the collapsed passage3.&nbsp; camp out in front of the dungeon and wait for something else to enter it, then follow them.4.&nbsp; check for secret doorsand other things I can't think of.So IMO it's not so much what options the DM presents as it is how he handles those things the players decide to do.&nbsp; Say I decide to excavate the passage, so I return to town to hire some dwarven miners.&nbsp; Then the DM has all of the miners turn me down for no reason at all.&nbsp; That's railroading.&nbsp; I think that in a game like DnD the PCs always have options, and there's no way to say they only have one option.&nbsp; What happens though, with railroad DMs, is that they get their mind made up on the players taking one option.&nbsp; So IMO it's more of an issue of what options the DM considers fairly, rather than what options he presents.Railroading DMs say to themselves &quot;What?&nbsp; I wanted them to take the right passage.&nbsp; Hiring dwarves is stupid!&nbsp; That's not heroic!&nbsp; I'm going to have some wandering monsters come along and punish them until they learn to do what I want them to do.&quot;</blockquote>

[QUOTE="gizmo33, post: 3678379, member: 30001"] I think the examples IMO don't quite do the subject justice. In the third case your choices are also - 1. leave the dungeon 2. excavate the collapsed passage 3. camp out in front of the dungeon and wait for something else to enter it, then follow them. 4. check for secret doors and other things I can't think of. So IMO it's not so much what options the DM presents as it is how he handles those things the players decide to do. Say I decide to excavate the passage, so I return to town to hire some dwarven miners. Then the DM has all of the miners turn me down for no reason at all. That's railroading. I think that in a game like DnD the PCs always have options, and there's no way to say they only have one option. What happens though, with railroad DMs, is that they get their mind made up on the players taking one option. So IMO it's more of an issue of what options the DM considers fairly, rather than what options he presents. Railroading DMs say to themselves "What? I wanted them to take the right passage. Hiring dwarves is stupid! That's not heroic! I'm going to have some wandering monsters come along and punish them until they learn to do what I want them to do." [/QUOTE]

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