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Message: <blockquote data-quote="EzekielRaiden" data-source="post: 9759900" data-attributes="member: 6790260">Exactly.If [USER=4937]@Celebrim[/USER] would prefer it, think of "railroad" as meaning an on-rail public transit system, such as Chicago's "L" trains.Passengers do not get a choice about:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">when trains arrive. They appear when they appear.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">where a given train goes. It follows a planned route.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">where they disembark. Stations are fixed places.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">how frequently trains arrive. The number of cars is set.</li> </ul>That is what "railroad" is referring to. This, then, in contrast to driving, biking, or walking, where--up to the limit of safety and legality, which are pre-existing obligations and thus not impinging on any freedoms, assuming the laws are reasonable--the driver/cyclist/pedestrian has full control over all of the above. You decide when to depart, where you go, where you disembark, and how frequently you travel.That is what railroading communicates. You are on rails. You do not get to go anywhere other than where the train is going. If, by sheer coincidence, you only ever want to go to train stations, then awesome! But it is exceedingly unlikely that ALL you ever want to do is visit (say) London underground stations. It is much more likely that you want to visit places that you can reach from said stations. And, therefore, it's also much more likely that there can be friction because you'd prefer a stop closer to where you want to go.GMs desiring to have fun and to run a campaign they're interested in running are not railroading solely for those reasons. That, in fact, is one of the biggest benefits of a "session 0"; it helps you tell your players what you want to do, so they can make an informed decision about participating. I, for example, was up-front with my players that I'm not into grimdark $#!+, I think that's the most tedious garbage ever committed to the page--but I do include dark things in the world. It is a bright world threatened by darkness...and heroes can be (part of) what prevents or permits that threat to come true.</blockquote>

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