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Judgement calls vs "railroading"
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<blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 7054749" data-attributes="member: 42582"><p>Some posts in this thread seem to be running together <em>GM preparation</em> - which might consist of notes, ideas, plans, etc around what sort of events would be fun or clever or appropriate to introduce into the shared fiction - with <em>the plot of a game</em> - which is an actual series of events that occur in the shared fiction and constitute (subject to qualifications around interwoven plots, sub- or side-plots, etc) the "main action" of the campaign.</p><p></p><p>But these things must, at least in principle, be distinct - because a plan to make something part of the shared fiction is not the same thing as actually doing that.</p><p></p><p>In the OP I described <em>railroading</em> as "the GM shaping outcomes to fit a pre-conceived narrative." If the GM is shaping outcomes to ensure that <em>the plot</em> of the game (ie that series of actual events in the shared fiction that amount to the main action) corresponds with his/her <em>preparation/planning</em> in respect of the game (eg his/her scripting of a sequence of events to unfold in the campaign), then in my view that absolutely is railroading. (I put adjudication by reference to backstory known only to the GM - "secret backstory" - in this category.)</p><p></p><p>(It follows that, if you don't want to railroad in this sense, then some sorts of preparing/planning might be not all that useful.)</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="pemerton, post: 7054749, member: 42582"] Some posts in this thread seem to be running together [I]GM preparation[/I] - which might consist of notes, ideas, plans, etc around what sort of events would be fun or clever or appropriate to introduce into the shared fiction - with [I]the plot of a game[/I] - which is an actual series of events that occur in the shared fiction and constitute (subject to qualifications around interwoven plots, sub- or side-plots, etc) the "main action" of the campaign. But these things must, at least in principle, be distinct - because a plan to make something part of the shared fiction is not the same thing as actually doing that. In the OP I described [I]railroading[/I] as "the GM shaping outcomes to fit a pre-conceived narrative." If the GM is shaping outcomes to ensure that [I]the plot[/I] of the game (ie that series of actual events in the shared fiction that amount to the main action) corresponds with his/her [I]preparation/planning[/I] in respect of the game (eg his/her scripting of a sequence of events to unfold in the campaign), then in my view that absolutely is railroading. (I put adjudication by reference to backstory known only to the GM - "secret backstory" - in this category.) (It follows that, if you don't want to railroad in this sense, then some sorts of preparing/planning might be not all that useful.) [/QUOTE]
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Judgement calls vs "railroading"
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