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Judgement calls vs "railroading"
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<blockquote data-quote="Lanefan" data-source="post: 7055988" data-attributes="member: 29398"><p>So in your game the characters/players can never be surprised later by something in the game world that's secretly influencing what they do now and-or what's happening around them? That's certainly how it looks.</p><p></p><p>Using an example of mine from some way upthread: if the party's mentor is secretly a vampire, everything he does - all his reactions, all his intentions, all his backstory - is going to be influenced by the fact he's a vampire and the corollary fact that he's trying to hide it. His intentions and reactions, for example, may well be based on a very long-term view as in theory he can last forever, where most people can't. The PCs don't know he's a vampire any more than anyone else does, though over the long run some of his actions/reactions/etc. might raise some eyebrows and cause questions.</p><p></p><p>And you say this is railroading?</p><p></p><p>Balderdash.</p><p></p><p>But they could just as easily be done by another player, or the table as a committee. Still don't need a DM.</p><p></p><p>Yikes.</p><p></p><p>First off, the PCs are not (or certainly shouldn't be) the only occupants of the game world with plans and agendae. NPCs are going to have plans and agendae too, often (if not nearly always) unknown to the PCs. Sometimes these NPC plans may get in the way of the PCs, or influence what they see/hear/notice/react to, or even support the PCs without their knowledge. The characters don't (and can't) know everything, which by extension means the players don't (and shouldn't) either.</p><p></p><p>Second off: between this and the other restrictions you're putting on, how in the nine hells is a DM supposed to have any input at all to the plot/story development of her own game? Or is she not allowed to, thus leaving her at the whim of the players no matter what and reducing her to, again, a processing unit/referee, sounding board, and otherwise spectator.</p><p></p><p>One question: in your game do you have any NPCs or DMPCs in the party, to allow you to have some story/plot/direction input from that angle? I'm guessing not, but might as well confirm.</p><p></p><p>Lanefan</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lanefan, post: 7055988, member: 29398"] So in your game the characters/players can never be surprised later by something in the game world that's secretly influencing what they do now and-or what's happening around them? That's certainly how it looks. Using an example of mine from some way upthread: if the party's mentor is secretly a vampire, everything he does - all his reactions, all his intentions, all his backstory - is going to be influenced by the fact he's a vampire and the corollary fact that he's trying to hide it. His intentions and reactions, for example, may well be based on a very long-term view as in theory he can last forever, where most people can't. The PCs don't know he's a vampire any more than anyone else does, though over the long run some of his actions/reactions/etc. might raise some eyebrows and cause questions. And you say this is railroading? Balderdash. But they could just as easily be done by another player, or the table as a committee. Still don't need a DM. Yikes. First off, the PCs are not (or certainly shouldn't be) the only occupants of the game world with plans and agendae. NPCs are going to have plans and agendae too, often (if not nearly always) unknown to the PCs. Sometimes these NPC plans may get in the way of the PCs, or influence what they see/hear/notice/react to, or even support the PCs without their knowledge. The characters don't (and can't) know everything, which by extension means the players don't (and shouldn't) either. Second off: between this and the other restrictions you're putting on, how in the nine hells is a DM supposed to have any input at all to the plot/story development of her own game? Or is she not allowed to, thus leaving her at the whim of the players no matter what and reducing her to, again, a processing unit/referee, sounding board, and otherwise spectator. One question: in your game do you have any NPCs or DMPCs in the party, to allow you to have some story/plot/direction input from that angle? I'm guessing not, but might as well confirm. Lanefan [/QUOTE]
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