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Judgement calls vs "railroading"
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<blockquote data-quote="Manbearcat" data-source="post: 7057263" data-attributes="member: 6696971"><p>Well, examining a single parameter of a complex system (say albedo in earth's climate system) is not only useful to understand the latter, but infinitely less entangled! We don't need to even have a conversation about the earth climate system to discuss/analyze albedo.</p><p></p><p>The same goes for an instance of GM Force and a campaign that can be classified as a railroad. It can be discerned if "<strong><em>this </em></strong> is an instance of play where (a) the GM suspends/subordinates the action resolution mechanics to impose their preferred outcome or (b) undermines the impact on play of a/the player(s) thematically/strategically/tactically significant choices (these choices could be at build-stage or during play)."</p><p></p><p>Whatever your threshold is for a full campaign to be the equivalent of a railroad doesn't need to be answered to examine that.</p><p></p><p>I'll just mention [MENTION=20323]Quickleaf[/MENTION] and [MENTION=6846794]Gardens & Goblins[/MENTION] here as this addresses their posts as well (if a bit sideways). </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>1. Thanks <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /> I'm not sure if you'd enjoy it, but the optimism is noted!</p><p>2. My 1e AD&D games make heavy use of the granular hex-crawl and wilderness survival mechanics. As a result, its much more gritty and likely too laborious for folks that aren't keen on that. But the guys that I have historically GMed it for love that. I wouldn't call them "mechanics-first", but they're definitely "mechanics-intensive" (as 1e is, especially with WSG). My guess is a lot of people currently posting on these boards wouldn't enjoy my 1e games so much. </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Swell!</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>You could say that as well, but I can easily assuage those concerns that the emergence of that situation in the DW game (where it actually unfolded) was an instance of GM Force. </p><p></p><p>The players failed (6 or less) their Scout move as part of their Undertake a Perilous Journey move. That yielded them missing a dangerous hazard. Their dog-sled ran over a glacial crevasse that was covered by a snow bridge. This almost led to complete disaster as the sled went through (with nearly all of the passengers falling in). While the situation turned out ok for everyone else, the Elven Arcane Duelist depicted here had a series of 7-9 on various moves to try to aid other people in getting out (or not falling in). When it finally came to him pulling himself out (hanging by a thread at the bottom of the sled), he had no strength left. He rolled a 2 on his Defy Danger (Str) move, thus sending him down into the inky blackness for a splash-down in the underground river that emptied him out in the Earthmaw basement.</p><p></p><p>As far as the PCs getting lost/split-up in a B/X dungeon, that isn't an issue of Force either. I've had that many-a-times. One of the classic hazards that GMs are expected to stock their dungeon with are pit traps:</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I'm a big (huge is probably more like it) fan of chute traps that go down to the next dungeon level. So this could easily have been an instance of that.</p><p></p><p>I've actually got to get out, so I'll get to the rest of your post later this evening. I'll focus in on a couple things in that post.</p><p></p><p>Sorry for cutting things in half.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Manbearcat, post: 7057263, member: 6696971"] Well, examining a single parameter of a complex system (say albedo in earth's climate system) is not only useful to understand the latter, but infinitely less entangled! We don't need to even have a conversation about the earth climate system to discuss/analyze albedo. The same goes for an instance of GM Force and a campaign that can be classified as a railroad. It can be discerned if "[B][I]this [/I][/B] is an instance of play where (a) the GM suspends/subordinates the action resolution mechanics to impose their preferred outcome or (b) undermines the impact on play of a/the player(s) thematically/strategically/tactically significant choices (these choices could be at build-stage or during play)." Whatever your threshold is for a full campaign to be the equivalent of a railroad doesn't need to be answered to examine that. I'll just mention [MENTION=20323]Quickleaf[/MENTION] and [MENTION=6846794]Gardens & Goblins[/MENTION] here as this addresses their posts as well (if a bit sideways). 1. Thanks :) I'm not sure if you'd enjoy it, but the optimism is noted! 2. My 1e AD&D games make heavy use of the granular hex-crawl and wilderness survival mechanics. As a result, its much more gritty and likely too laborious for folks that aren't keen on that. But the guys that I have historically GMed it for love that. I wouldn't call them "mechanics-first", but they're definitely "mechanics-intensive" (as 1e is, especially with WSG). My guess is a lot of people currently posting on these boards wouldn't enjoy my 1e games so much. Swell! You could say that as well, but I can easily assuage those concerns that the emergence of that situation in the DW game (where it actually unfolded) was an instance of GM Force. The players failed (6 or less) their Scout move as part of their Undertake a Perilous Journey move. That yielded them missing a dangerous hazard. Their dog-sled ran over a glacial crevasse that was covered by a snow bridge. This almost led to complete disaster as the sled went through (with nearly all of the passengers falling in). While the situation turned out ok for everyone else, the Elven Arcane Duelist depicted here had a series of 7-9 on various moves to try to aid other people in getting out (or not falling in). When it finally came to him pulling himself out (hanging by a thread at the bottom of the sled), he had no strength left. He rolled a 2 on his Defy Danger (Str) move, thus sending him down into the inky blackness for a splash-down in the underground river that emptied him out in the Earthmaw basement. As far as the PCs getting lost/split-up in a B/X dungeon, that isn't an issue of Force either. I've had that many-a-times. One of the classic hazards that GMs are expected to stock their dungeon with are pit traps: I'm a big (huge is probably more like it) fan of chute traps that go down to the next dungeon level. So this could easily have been an instance of that. I've actually got to get out, so I'll get to the rest of your post later this evening. I'll focus in on a couple things in that post. Sorry for cutting things in half. [/QUOTE]
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