Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="EzekielRaiden" data-source="post: 9758884" data-attributes="member: 6790260">Critical difference here, compared to previous framing, at least as I had understood it.Here, you're saying that these techniques can be railroading, if used in a manipulative, deceptive manner. Bull-rushing toward GM-desired things, digging in heels against GM-undesired things.Previously, you had said these things simply were railroading. As in, if the GM ever includes any timeskip for any reason whatsoever, no matter how banal, no matter what the context, then it simply is railroading, guaranteed.That's why you're getting so much pushback on this. The extremely mild claim "this can be used for railroading" is unobjectionable, in part because that's true of nearly anything. Situational bonuses and penalties can be used for railroading. NPC services can be used for railroading. Random (or "random") tables can be used for railroading. Frankly, if there's a mechanic out there that can't be used for railroading, I'd be pretty surprised!The extremely strident claim "this always is railroading when used" is quite objectionable. Again: Is it railroading to timeskip over the characters sleeping for 8 uneventful hours? I asked this previously, but I don't recall what your response was (if you had in fact responded). If it is railroading to timeskip over 8 uneventful hours of sleep, why? What agency is being lost? In what way are the players being "locked in"/etc.? And if it is not railroading, then how can it be the case that timeskips are always railroading?When I do any kind of time-skippy-type stuff, I always leave it to my players whether that actually happens. Sometimes, they agree--it's not much fun roleplaying out an otherwise uneventful camel-taxi ride across the city. Sometimes, they don't. Perhaps because they want a quiet moment to discuss. Perhaps because they're looking for something and this is a good opportunity to do it. Perhaps because they just want to hear description of the city as they move through it. Reasons vary.</blockquote>

Verification