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*Dungeons & Dragons
The Great Railroad Thread
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<blockquote data-quote="zarionofarabel" data-source="post: 9735870" data-attributes="member: 7026405"><p>Only in that, as a player, I always thought that I was happy to jump on said railroad. As an old geezer, I had always heard the dichotomy of playstyles framed as railroad vs sandbox. In that a railroad is a game where the GM creates a plotline in advance for the players to follow, and the sandbox, where the GM doesn't have predetermined plotlines for the players to follow.</p><p></p><p>It turns out that I am instead a player who buys in to GM guided narrative and thus is happy to participate in a linear adventure style game.</p><p></p><p>As I said before, functionally, railroad and linear adventure games appear identical. The difference lies in whether or not the players want to go along with the predetermined plotline. If they are, it's a linear adventure, if not, then it enters a fail state and becomes a railroad instead. Just like how, functionally, sandbox and wasteland games appear identical. The difference lies in whether or not the GM provides meaningful situations for the players to actively engage. If the GM does, then it's a sandbox, if not, then it enters a fail state and becomes a wasteland instead.</p><p></p><p>At least that's where my understanding lies at this particular point based on the discussion I've experienced throughout this thread.</p><p></p><p>Hence the whole reason for the discussion happening in this thread. As all these wonderful terms we are tossing around have no strict definitions. Honestly, it's been a great discussion for me personally, as it has made me realize a few things about my preferences in regards to how I like to participate in this hobby. If nothing else it's made me realize that I am a lazy AF participant, as no matter what side of the screen I'm on, I prefer that someone else is driving the narrative. I just want to sit back, enjoy the ride, and wait to see what the story will be once the game ends! <img class="smilie smilie--emoji" alt="🤪" src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f92a.png" title="Zany face :zany_face:" data-shortname=":zany_face:" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="zarionofarabel, post: 9735870, member: 7026405"] Only in that, as a player, I always thought that I was happy to jump on said railroad. As an old geezer, I had always heard the dichotomy of playstyles framed as railroad vs sandbox. In that a railroad is a game where the GM creates a plotline in advance for the players to follow, and the sandbox, where the GM doesn't have predetermined plotlines for the players to follow. It turns out that I am instead a player who buys in to GM guided narrative and thus is happy to participate in a linear adventure style game. As I said before, functionally, railroad and linear adventure games appear identical. The difference lies in whether or not the players want to go along with the predetermined plotline. If they are, it's a linear adventure, if not, then it enters a fail state and becomes a railroad instead. Just like how, functionally, sandbox and wasteland games appear identical. The difference lies in whether or not the GM provides meaningful situations for the players to actively engage. If the GM does, then it's a sandbox, if not, then it enters a fail state and becomes a wasteland instead. At least that's where my understanding lies at this particular point based on the discussion I've experienced throughout this thread. Hence the whole reason for the discussion happening in this thread. As all these wonderful terms we are tossing around have no strict definitions. Honestly, it's been a great discussion for me personally, as it has made me realize a few things about my preferences in regards to how I like to participate in this hobby. If nothing else it's made me realize that I am a lazy AF participant, as no matter what side of the screen I'm on, I prefer that someone else is driving the narrative. I just want to sit back, enjoy the ride, and wait to see what the story will be once the game ends! 🤪 [/QUOTE]
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