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Message: <blockquote data-quote="invokethehojo" data-source="post: 5398246" data-attributes="member: 62525">My feeling on railroading has evolved over the years.  I think it comes down to the DM and his level of work.If I write a detailed plot for an adventure, using up a lot of my spare time, then I think I have a right to "railroad" the PC's in a way that keeps them from wasting the effort I put in, since all they have to do is show up and have fun.  However, I have found that, over the years, when I write a basic outline with a few good NPC's, the players will often do a lot of the writing for me, and we all end up having more fun.  So my personal preference now is to allow players to do what they want (as long as their motivations make sense) most of the time, and I use railroad sessions rarely, only when a core part of the story needs to take place.  This has turned to work out very well.So I think DM's do have the right to railroad, but players have the right to want to free form, so a little compromise is needed.  I feel that players definately have a duty to "help" the DM, that they should do what they want but generally go along with the feel of what the DM is going for.  The DM also needs to allow the players to do thier own thing, but should expect the hours he puts in away from the table to pay off, otherwise it won't be long before he loses heart, and his DMing starts to suck.</blockquote>