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

[Micah Sweet]

But what does “ignoring it other than on die rolls” even mean?

How do you quantify it in a way that’s satisfactory? How different is an 8 from a 10?



One would hope there are better opportunities for roleplaying besides pretending to drop a torch and then remarking on how big a klutz you are!

Sure, but I wouldn't really like to see a lot of physical grace from a character with a 6 Dex either.

 

[Micah Sweet]

In real life, fancy speech from a low charisma person can be very entertaining. It can even help explain their low charisma.

I don't know what this means. Please assume I both speak and listen literally unless I suggest otherwise.

 

[Bill Zebub]

Tell me why they're there then. Are they intended as nothing more than modifiers to specific die rolls? They're not everything of course, but IMO they should be something.

Modifiers to die rolls is plenty.

But they also can be inspiration for roleplaying, for those who so choose.

 

[AnotherGuy]

In real life, fancy speech from a low charisma person can be very entertaining. It can even help explain their low charisma.

Totally agree. Explaining the unexpected low or highs is actually part of the memorable narrative that develops. As DM I'm first to explain away, but often enough table input comes up with a better explanation and we run with that.

 

[Bill Zebub]

I don't know what this means. Please assume I both speak and listen literally unless I suggest otherwise.

I thought you were saying that a player of a low-charisma character using fancy speech would be poor roleplaying because their character would be incapable of it.

I was suggesting that low charisma doesn't necessarily mean an inability to speak floridly, eloquently, etc. It just means that doing so is unlikely to achieve the desired effects.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Modifiers to die rolls is plenty.

But they also can be inspiration for roleplaying, for those who so choose.

Modifiers IMO aren't enough if the stats present themselves as part of the character's definition. Look at those name. Those are definitions, not simply modifiers, and without evidence I can't accept them as just that.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I thought you were saying that a player of a low-charisma character using fancy speech would be poor roleplaying because their character would be incapable of it.

I was suggesting that low charisma doesn't necessarily mean an inability to speak floridly, eloquently, etc. It just means that doing so is unlikely to achieve the desired effects.

Why not?

 

[Bill Zebub]

Why not?

...err....because the low charisma comes with a penalty to die rolls.

 

[Bill Zebub]

Modifiers IMO aren't enough if the stats present themselves as part of the character's definition. Look at those name. Those are definitions, not simply modifiers, and without evidence I can't accept them as just that.

Well there's the evidence where it says pretty explicitly that the player gets to choose actions for their character. A constraint on those actions...not on their success, but their declaration...based on scores would directly contradict that.

EDIT: That was a 5e reference. Forgot we are in the TTRPG General forum.

 

[FrogReaver]

It's railroading because somebody not playing my character (the GM in this case) is controlling my character's choices in a way that violates expectations that have been set at the table. If the expectation was the GM could control my character like this, I wouldn't have joined.

Lack of 1 particular choice, especially for a particular aesthetic reason, isn’t railroading.