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<blockquote data-quote="Imaculata" data-source="post: 8039011" data-attributes="member: 6801286">Whenever I design a sandbox adventure, there are always bounderies regarding where the players go. The adventure is confined to one region, and I ask my players to respect those bounderies. Likewise, the plot will have a predefined beginning and end, with some plot points that we'll probably come to in the middle. The players are free in their choices, and I adapt the plot to those choices, while also steering it to a satisfying conclusion. I think it would be a mistake to catagorize this as railroading. What it is, in my opinion, is inserting some lineair elements into the adventure. A predefined or partially predefined plot is not a railroad. Some people may argue that this is a railroad with multiple paths, but I think this muddles what we mean when we talk about actual railroading. Railroading the players, means negating their choices or ability to choose entirely. It refers first and fore most to action resolution. In other words: the players can't attempt to escape, or I've made it nearly impossible, because as a DM I've decided that they get captured. This is different from an adventure where the players start in jail, because no action resolution has occurred, and so no choices were negated.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Imaculata, post: 8039011, member: 6801286"] Whenever I design a sandbox adventure, there are always bounderies regarding where the players go. The adventure is confined to one region, and I ask my players to respect those bounderies. Likewise, the plot will have a predefined beginning and end, with some plot points that we'll probably come to in the middle. The players are free in their choices, and I adapt the plot to those choices, while also steering it to a satisfying conclusion. I think it would be a mistake to catagorize this as railroading. What it is, in my opinion, is inserting some lineair elements into the adventure. A predefined or partially predefined plot is not a railroad. Some people may argue that this is a railroad with multiple paths, but I think this muddles what we mean when we talk about actual railroading. Railroading the players, means negating their choices or ability to choose entirely. It refers first and fore most to action resolution. In other words: the players can't attempt to escape, or I've made it nearly impossible, because as a DM I've decided that they get captured. This is different from an adventure where the players start in jail, because no action resolution has occurred, and so no choices were negated. [/QUOTE]

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