Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is LIVE! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Judgement calls vs "railroading"
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Imaculata" data-source="post: 7053237" data-attributes="member: 6801286"><p>Exactly. Its the equivalent of letting the players prevent the red wedding. Sometimes a plot needs to go in a specific direction, and that has more to do with storytelling, than with railroading. </p><p></p><p>The players are in a reactive position, rather than one where they can prevent the event from happening completely.</p><p></p><p>I don't feel that a DM is taking choice away from the players, if he decides that a specific thing happens in the campaign. It's only railroading in my opinion, if the DM is obstructing what the players are trying to do, in a disruptive way, because he is unwilling to alter the course of his plot.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I agree with this as well. Often a DM will decide that something dramatic happens, to end the session on a cliffhanger.</p><p></p><p>As a DM, I try to think of what is most interesting narratively, and what makes the most sense given the situation. I may decide that an unexpected character suddenly enters the inn, because it adds more drama to the scene. I may decide that a specific npc loses his life, because it makes sense, and because it adds the drama and stakes that the campaign needs at that particular moment. Sometimes I want my players to just react to what is happening, like when my players arrived at a harbor town, and saw smoke rising from it. Something had happened in their absence, as a consequence of choices they had made earlier in the campaign. Something bad had happened while they were away, and now they could only react to it... or ignore it.</p><p></p><p>Scripting a scene, is not the same as railroading. Obstructing your players is railroading. Forcing your players to go fight the dragon, is railroading. But having the dragon suddenly attack a nearby village, that is not railroading, -even if you had been planning it for weeks.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Imaculata, post: 7053237, member: 6801286"] Exactly. Its the equivalent of letting the players prevent the red wedding. Sometimes a plot needs to go in a specific direction, and that has more to do with storytelling, than with railroading. The players are in a reactive position, rather than one where they can prevent the event from happening completely. I don't feel that a DM is taking choice away from the players, if he decides that a specific thing happens in the campaign. It's only railroading in my opinion, if the DM is obstructing what the players are trying to do, in a disruptive way, because he is unwilling to alter the course of his plot. I agree with this as well. Often a DM will decide that something dramatic happens, to end the session on a cliffhanger. As a DM, I try to think of what is most interesting narratively, and what makes the most sense given the situation. I may decide that an unexpected character suddenly enters the inn, because it adds more drama to the scene. I may decide that a specific npc loses his life, because it makes sense, and because it adds the drama and stakes that the campaign needs at that particular moment. Sometimes I want my players to just react to what is happening, like when my players arrived at a harbor town, and saw smoke rising from it. Something had happened in their absence, as a consequence of choices they had made earlier in the campaign. Something bad had happened while they were away, and now they could only react to it... or ignore it. Scripting a scene, is not the same as railroading. Obstructing your players is railroading. Forcing your players to go fight the dragon, is railroading. But having the dragon suddenly attack a nearby village, that is not railroading, -even if you had been planning it for weeks. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Judgement calls vs "railroading"
Top