What is "railroading" to you (as a player)?

[bsss]

I don't agree. By that philosophy, homebrew is a bad idea. If you want to add a new subsystem to your D&D-style game, who are any of us to judge that?

Yeah, I wasn't sure if I wanted to agree with that statement or not, because I think homebrewing is good but I agree with the gist of the statement, I think. I believe that bolting some mechanics onto D&D or toolkitting a solution is great as long as the players are satisfied. What I would say would be a mistake would be to bolt those deterministic outcomes into a system that doesn't do anything to support them.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

I don't agree. By that philosophy, homebrew is a bad idea. If you want to add a new subsystem to your D&D-style game, who are any of us to judge that?

With that I agree! One should not be shy to homebrew a game to be more of their liking. Though of course it is wise to choose a starting point that it is at least close to what one wants in order to avoid unnecessary extra work.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Yeah, I wasn't sure if I wanted to agree with that statement or not, because I think homebrewing is good but I agree with the gist of the statement, I think. I believe that bolting some mechanics onto D&D or toolkitting a solution is great as long as the players are satisfied. What I would say would be a mistake would be to bolt those deterministic outcomes into a system that doesn't do anything to support them.

Sure. Which is why you make sure it supports them as part of adding the homebrew.

 

[Micah Sweet]

With that I agree! One should not be shy to homebrew a game to be more of their liking. Though of course it is wise to choose a starting point that it is at least close to what one wants in order to avoid unnecessary extra work.

Level Up is a solid enough base for me to add all manner of subsystems to it as I see fit, including social rules.

 

[hawkeyefan]

Yeah, that's fair. Differences in playstyle has been mentioned many times in this thread, but underneath that I think there's also a difference in goal, in the sense of what kinds of stories somebody wants to explore, that probably drives 'playstyle'.

Character realization versus character discovery, maybe?

I can’t help but see the desire to have total control over the character’s mental state and decisions at all times as a form of power fantasy. And while there’s almost always a little bit of that in lots of RPGs, it’s not the part that appeals most to me as a participant.

 

[hawkeyefan]

I don't think with character feelings and reactions "unexpected stuff no one would choose" should be happen, because that to me indicates that it would be bizarre and completely out of character. If it wasn't, then it certainly is not something "no one would ever choose."

No, this is just your inability to approach play in any way other than with absolute authority of your PC’s mental state and decisions. You’re taking your preference and acting as though it should be the default approach.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

No, this is just your inability to approach play in any way other than with absolute authority of your PC’s mental state and decisions. You’re taking your preference and acting as though it should be the default approach.

What I mean is that if the reaction is plausible, then certainly it is something someone could choose, no? Or do we want implausible reactions now?

 

[soviet]

What I mean is that if the reaction is plausible, then certainly it is something someone could choose, no? Or do we want implausible reactions now?

The question is not 'could choose'. The question is 'will choose'.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

The question is not 'could choose'. The question is 'will choose'.

I'm afraid I don't quite follow.

 

[soviet]

I'm afraid I don't quite follow.

I IRL could choose anything. I could choose to put my computer in the oven and eat my MERP books. But I won't.

There is a difference between 'this could possibly happen' and 'this could plausibly happen'. If the choice I am asked to consider is 'does my character react in a way that is seriously disadvantageous, maybe also to others', and I have a complete and utter veto over everything he thinks and does, astoundingly he is not likely to react in such a way very often.