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<blockquote data-quote="Lanefan" data-source="post: 8009236" data-attributes="member: 29398">As in, the GM will only let one choice succeed and all the rest must fail no matter what?If yes, I agree - that's railroady...perhaps.However, there's also nothing wrong with now and then a situation where, while the players for whatever reason have reason to believe there's a choice of options, there really isn't.&nbsp; They just don't know that.A hypothetical example: consider a party trying to gain access to a building or castle, which unknown to the players has been sealed against access* except via the sewers, which the defenders assumed were already sealed and never checked on.&nbsp; The players, however, think they have options such as trying the main door, trying to fly to the roof and go in that way, trying to climb to what looks like a window but is now bricked up from the inside.Now if the players/PCs come up with something truly inventive (or destructive!) that bypasses the sewers as an access, let it happen and let the chips fall where they may; but in normal play the sewers will eventually turn out to be the only viable access - never mind a party might luck out and try the sewers first without realizing they've stumbled onto the only way in! (as DM I've had the latter sort of thing happen more than once, in different situations)* - maybe due to some Necromancer taking years to cast a spell inside without interruption that the PCs have been sent to interrupt, or whatever other in-fiction reason/backstory exists.Perhaps.It's kind of analagous to a choke-point in dungeon design - in general they're not great but now and then having one makes sense, so in it goes.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Lanefan, post: 8009236, member: 29398"] As in, the GM will only let one choice succeed and all the rest must fail no matter what? If yes, I agree - that's railroady...perhaps. However, there's also nothing wrong with now and then a situation where, while the players for whatever reason have reason to believe there's a choice of options, there really isn't. They just don't know that. A hypothetical example: consider a party trying to gain access to a building or castle, which unknown to the players has been sealed against access* except via the sewers, which the defenders assumed were already sealed and never checked on. The players, however, think they have options such as trying the main door, trying to fly to the roof and go in that way, trying to climb to what looks like a window but is now bricked up from the inside. Now if the players/PCs come up with something truly inventive (or destructive!) that bypasses the sewers as an access, let it happen and let the chips fall where they may; but in normal play the sewers will eventually turn out to be the only viable access - never mind a party might luck out and try the sewers first without realizing they've stumbled onto the only way in! (as DM I've had the latter sort of thing happen more than once, in different situations) * - maybe due to some Necromancer taking years to cast a spell inside without interruption that the PCs have been sent to interrupt, or whatever other in-fiction reason/backstory exists. Perhaps. It's kind of analagous to a choke-point in dungeon design - in general they're not great but now and then having one makes sense, so in it goes. [/QUOTE]

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