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<blockquote data-quote="bloodtide" data-source="post: 9762583" data-attributes="member: 6684958">It is common enough.&nbsp; So, random action, right?&nbsp; You don't know anything about the ball.&nbsp; You are just saying 'pop' the ball is there, and wait for the players to react.I get it feels pure to just say &quot;Ball&quot; and let the players do things.......except what happens after that?&nbsp; Once the PCs take any action, you will need to know why the ball is there, what it is, what it is doing and so on.&nbsp; You and only YOU, the DM, has to make up all of that.&nbsp; And you can't make it up without at least a vague &quot;agenda&quot;This is just basic role playing to me.I guess the problem is the &quot;Classic Railroad&quot; definition.....even more the one you find in nearly EVERY RPG adventure module.&nbsp;&nbsp; So, with a group that just &quot;wants to play and have fun&quot;&nbsp; and &quot;does not care at all what we do&quot;.&nbsp; The DM pulls out an Adventure Module, and:Start:&nbsp; &quot;As you walk down the road, you see an overturned wagon in a ditch several feet off the road.&quot;Classic Adventure Module Railroad:&nbsp; &quot;So your characters go over to check out the wagon and see what happened.....AND...&quot;.&nbsp;&nbsp; Okay, so this is pure blatant No Choice.&nbsp; The Adventure Plot Needs to have the PCs investigate the wagon to start and get the PCs hooked.&nbsp; It has to happen, so the Adventure Forces it to happen.&nbsp; The DM running this adventure wants to start the adventure and is willing to railroad the PCs to force it to happen.Normal DM:&nbsp; Says the 'start' above and then waits.&nbsp; If the PCs investigate the wagon, something will happen.&nbsp; If the PCs just walk on, nothing will happen.My game:&nbsp; Well, I ignore the silly 'wagon' and say &quot;off the road you see a gold and crystal crashed dragonfly spelljammer pulsating with strange purplish strokes of lighting. So, my description is sure to have a great many players saying &quot;wow, my character runs over to check it out!&quot;.&nbsp; Why?&nbsp; Well, &quot;powerful magical spelljamming ship&quot; very much attracts most players.&nbsp; This is not classic railroading, but some players will say it is....My game two: If the players are playing Very Good alignment characters and/or caring helpful characters and/or local militia,&nbsp; I could say &quot;the over turned wagon&quot; as good characters should investigate a scene of trouble.&nbsp; In either case, they are both examples of me tailoring the game world around the players, and to a lesser extent the characters...unless the players are good role players(the acting kind).&nbsp; Greed is the easy lure: put anything of value around and the players will run towards it.&nbsp; Giving the players what they think they want, is also an easy lure.&nbsp; and making something interesting, to the players, is sure to get their attention and lure them in.In my game, there is not much Railroading here....unless you could the &quot;lures&quot; as Railroading.....</blockquote>

[QUOTE="bloodtide, post: 9762583, member: 6684958"] It is common enough. So, random action, right? You don't know anything about the ball. You are just saying 'pop' the ball is there, and wait for the players to react. I get it feels pure to just say "Ball" and let the players do things.......except what happens after that? Once the PCs take any action, you will need to know why the ball is there, what it is, what it is doing and so on. You and only YOU, the DM, has to make up all of that. And you can't make it up without at least a vague "agenda" This is just basic role playing to me. I guess the problem is the "Classic Railroad" definition.....even more the one you find in nearly EVERY RPG adventure module. So, with a group that just "wants to play and have fun" and "does not care at all what we do". The DM pulls out an Adventure Module, and: Start: "As you walk down the road, you see an overturned wagon in a ditch several feet off the road." Classic Adventure Module Railroad: "So your characters go over to check out the wagon and see what happened.....AND...". Okay, so this is pure blatant No Choice. The Adventure Plot Needs to have the PCs investigate the wagon to start and get the PCs hooked. It has to happen, so the Adventure Forces it to happen. The DM running this adventure wants to start the adventure and is willing to railroad the PCs to force it to happen. Normal DM: Says the 'start' above and then waits. If the PCs investigate the wagon, something will happen. If the PCs just walk on, nothing will happen. My game: Well, I ignore the silly 'wagon' and say "off the road you see a [B]gold and crystal crashed dragonfly spelljammer pulsating with strange purplish strokes of lighting. [/B]So, my description is sure to have a great many players saying "wow, my character runs over to check it out!". Why? Well, "powerful magical spelljamming ship" very much attracts most players. This is not classic railroading, but some players will say it is.... My game two: If the players are playing Very Good alignment characters and/or caring helpful characters and/or local militia, I could say "the over turned wagon" as good characters should investigate a scene of trouble. In either case, they are both examples of me tailoring the game world around the players, and to a lesser extent the characters...unless the players are good role players(the acting kind). Greed is the easy lure: put anything of value around and the players will run towards it. Giving the players what they think they want, is also an easy lure. and making something interesting, to the players, is sure to get their attention and lure them in. In my game, there is not much Railroading here....unless you could the "lures" as Railroading..... [/QUOTE]

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