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<blockquote data-quote="pawsplay" data-source="post: 5403807" data-attributes="member: 15538">Breaking this down again from the beginning.Railroading *is* a pejorative term for a game in which the group accomplishes something, but not I think the standard usage, and certainly it is not just that. Railroading refers also to a dysfunctional play style in which the GM basically thwards the PCs intentions because of some meta-goal of the GM; I believe this is the most standard, most clear, and generally most consistent definition of the concept. Further the group is not &quot;actually&quot; accomplishing something, they are simply accomplishing something, and play in which GM guidance propels events are not barred from &quot;actually&quot; accomplishing something. That &quot;actually&quot; is a hostile zing at a group who have not, as a whole, caused offense. People are free to &quot;actually&quot; accomplish things in their own preferred style.That doesn't sound like railroading. There are clues, the PCs discover them, the players decide on a course of action.It is not a cop-out, but simply a narrow-minded view of what can be &quot;accomplished.&quot;There is no &quot;right&quot; to tell a good story. Certainly there is no &quot;right&quot; to railroad, which is not a good story. Storytelling is fundamentally different in RPGs than in poetic media, and the GM must be prepared for a variety of responses, even with the same group and in similar scenarios.Imagine Return of the Jedi and Revenge of the Sith, for a moment, as RPG scenarios, in RotJ Luke rejects the Dark Side, whereas in RotS, Anakin embraces it. In a Star Wars RPG, both outcomes are possible. In a railroaded game, the GM has already presumed to make Luke or Anakin's choice, although he does not have the ability to actually force that choice. The player can always refuse to act in one fashion or the other, and the GM can only accept that choice, or not ask the player to choose. A railroaded game contains dysfunction in that the GM does not acknowledge this fundamental truth.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="pawsplay, post: 5403807, member: 15538"] Breaking this down again from the beginning. Railroading *is* a pejorative term for a game in which the group accomplishes something, but not I think the standard usage, and certainly it is not [b]just[/b] that. Railroading refers also to a dysfunctional play style in which the GM basically thwards the PCs intentions because of some meta-goal of the GM; I believe this is the most standard, most clear, and generally most consistent definition of the concept. Further the group is not "actually" accomplishing something, they are simply accomplishing something, and play in which GM guidance propels events are not barred from "actually" accomplishing something. That "actually" is a hostile zing at a group who have not, as a whole, caused offense. People are free to "actually" accomplish things in their own preferred style. That doesn't sound like railroading. There are clues, the PCs discover them, the players decide on a course of action. It is not a cop-out, but simply a narrow-minded view of what can be "accomplished." There is no "right" to tell a good story. Certainly there is no "right" to railroad, which is not a good story. Storytelling is fundamentally different in RPGs than in poetic media, and the GM must be prepared for a variety of responses, even with the same group and in similar scenarios. Imagine Return of the Jedi and Revenge of the Sith, for a moment, as RPG scenarios, in RotJ Luke rejects the Dark Side, whereas in RotS, Anakin embraces it. In a Star Wars RPG, both outcomes are possible. In a railroaded game, the GM has already presumed to make Luke or Anakin's choice, although he does not have the ability to actually force that choice. The player can always refuse to act in one fashion or the other, and the GM can only accept that choice, or not ask the player to choose. A railroaded game contains dysfunction in that the GM does not acknowledge this fundamental truth. [/QUOTE]

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