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

[TwoSix]

Brilliant!

Sorry! I could hypothesize, but it would be all guesswork.

 

[Thomas Shey]

Yeah, I'll agree there's a degree difference. But not a category difference.

Degree can matter quite a bit in things like this. Like I said, there's not even any halfway consistent model in what D&D-style hit points in particular represent. You can't even count on any two random people to agree whether it represents damage in any real way.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I suspect that poster wasn't so much saying they were as saying that they weren't different in ways that matter to them.

Fair enough. Would have been nice for them to actually say that though.

 

[Thomas Shey]

Yeah....no.

Your choice. I've expressed my position, you've expressed yours.

 

[FrogReaver]

Sorry! I could hypothesize, but it would be all guesswork.

I’m just amazed you jumped on the - ‘your way looks like dm fiat’ without having a viable alternative to offer.

 

[TwoSix]

I suspect that poster wasn't so much saying they were as saying that they weren't different in ways that matter to them.

As "that poster", that is correct.

Like most things in life, it's easy to gloss over distinctions between things you're not particularly interested in.

 

[Thomas Shey]

I'm not a very big fan of this. It's like the GM playing the game with themself.

And I'm not a big fan of having attributes that don't serve the functions they seem like they should serve.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I’m just amazed you jumped on the - ‘your way looks like dm fiat’ without having a viable alternative to offer.

Makes sense if they don't do things that way because they see it as GM fiat. It's just not a viable option for them.

 

[Thomas Shey]

What do you do when someone cheats at cards?

When people break the rules of the game, it's time to step outside of the game and fix things up. I think the idea that seems to come up in relation to RPGs, that the GM can fix rules breaking by making moves within the game is a pernicious one.

Stepping out is my preferred method. But the point is I don't buy into the idea that nothing should be done, even if I dislike some solutions.

 

[Thomas Shey]

@pemerton

Thanks for the example. I'm not familiar with Apocalypse World or Mythic bastionland, but i get the gist.

In this case, it was more problem with players themselves. They wanted character driven sandbox, but they aren't really group for that kind of play. They are reactive for most part, but this kind of game requires pro active players.

Yeah, that's kind of a variation on the Tigger problem, in that the kind of campaign they claim they want, and the kind they're able to engage with usefully aren't the same. If you can't get the players to step back and examine the issue, it can be pretty intractable.