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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Raven Crowking" data-source="post: 5175314" data-attributes="member: 18280">Hussar, I would define as a railroad only those scenarios in which the GM has determined what the party will do, or what will happen to the party.  Examples would be "The PCs will go here, then they will go there, then they will go the third place" or "This fight should be a big one, so I'll keep changing the monster's stats/fudging die rolls until I get what I want."To be meaningful, though, any choice must have both (1) context and (2) consequences.  Providing those is not a railroad, so long as they both make sense within the context of the campaign milieu.  Thus, "If you don't do something about it, Bugs will marry Elmer" is fine, whereas, "If you don't do something about it, anvils begin dropping from the sky until you change your mind" is not.You seem to be conflating the plots of NPCs, or the "plots" of world events with the "plot" of an adventure, or the "plot" of what happens to the PCs.  Conflating terms in this way belongs in the "logical fallacy" thread.  <img src="http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/laugh.png"  class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":lol:" title="Laughing    :lol:" data-shortname=":lol:" />Lets use this one example:If you think that is a backtrack, you seriously misunderstand my point.Allow me to explode my point along a timeline.  Please note that this is a very sketchy timeline (in a real game, there would be many more threads), and that the PCs in the example are deciding what to do; the DM is deciding what happens next in reaction to the same:0 - Game Setup.  Evil Baron doesn't know the PCs.  DM knows that EB is trying to consolidate power in region.  At the same time, several other things are going on in the campaign milieu:  evil cultists of spider goddess kidnap folks, slavers are operating, another local lord is concerned about border raiders, ruins are waiting to be explored, etc.1 - Sessions 1-5.  PCs explore small local ruins, hear about folks going missing and slavers with yellow sails (they do not know that some of the folks are being kidnapped by cultists).  They hear that both EB and Other Local Lord are trying to conscript soldiers.  They hear about border raids.  They decide that they don't like EB.2.  Sessions 6-10.   Everyone continues to follow their own agendas.  PCs start running into NPC parties that are agents of EB and OLL, looking in the same ruins for things that will increase their respective lord's powers.  PCs sometimes help either faction, sometimes play one against the other, sometimes ignore them.3.  Sessions 11-15.  PCs hear about spider goddess, and decide to eliminate the cult.  Skirmishes between forces of EB and OLL occur in background.  Agents from EB approach PCs to purchase an item they found.  Let us say that PCs have learned that EB is evil, and decline.  EB and PCs become enemies.  OLL still having problems with raiders; these have gotten worse.  Raiders include slavers.  OLL asks PCs for help; PCs decline.4.  Sessions 16-20.  OLL petitions EB for help.  EB decides to unite with OLL, and tries to arrange marriage with OLL's daughter and alliance.  Bans are posted.  EB helps stave off raiders.  PCs elminate local spider cult, go back to ruins.5.  What now?  The PCs have many options:a.  Offer EB the item he wanted earlier as a "wedding gift" to get on his good side and end animosity. b.  Offer to eliminate raiders so that OLL doesn't need EB, maybe ending wedding in this way. c.  Try to kill/kidnap bride, and blame it on slavers/spider cultists. d.  Ignore it, and hope it goes away. e.  Try to enlist another faction to deal with it. f.  Assassinate the EB. g.  Move to another part of the campaign milieu. h.  Accept change, and prepare to deal with a stronger EB, while continuing to explore ruins. i.  Something else that I haven't thought of right now.  (Players are, IME, very good at this last one.)The best possible choice is not always obvious.  That the players decide what is the best possible choice is "how is this not railroading?"Would dealing with the raiders first have been the best possible choice?  Would giving the item to the EB been the best possible choice?  Wouldn't the spider cultists now be causing a greater problem had they not been dealt with earlier?  If the PCs had dealt with the raiders earlier, would the EB's henchmen have gotten the item the EB wanted?  What would the consequences of that be?Yup.  You are definitely missing something.1.  Some things don't become more difficult, some things do.2.  There is no "plot" (in the sense of a story plot) to "do".3.  The DM doesn't care what the players do, and is not punishing them for making choices; he is only making the world react to those choices in a consistent fashion.RC</blockquote>

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