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<blockquote data-quote="DumbPaladin" data-source="post: 5444267" data-attributes="member: 90770">Railways and the rails themselves have existed since the 1750s or so ... but the term &quot;railroaded&quot; to refer to a swift and/or unjust criminal conviction of a person on trial didn't come into being until the 1880s.But the terminology makes sense if you think of two of the possibilities of playing D&amp;D: one where the &quot;point&quot; (or goal) is to collectively tell a story and develop characters in a variety of ways, and one where the &quot;point&quot; is to get to point B from point A the way the DM expects you to.&nbsp; One focus is the journey; the other is the destination.If you want to get somewhere and you do not expect to deviate in any way from the established norm, you can utilize a railroad.&nbsp; It'll get you to point B the same way it's gotten everyone there ... the problem is, you had no say as to where the tracks get laid down.&nbsp; That's all been done long before you -- in this case, by the DM, not underpaid workers from other countries.But if you want to take a side trip somewhere, or NOT go head directly to point B after leaving point A, you can't take that train ride.&nbsp; Instead, you want the freedom to make the journey to point B a memorable one.&nbsp; Players who prefer this method absolutely resent being told exactly by a DM how their characters' lives are going to unfold.My take? There's nothing wrong with railroading, unless you are a smart player, a creative player, an inquisitive player, or an opinionated player.&nbsp; If you are one of those, it's probably not going to go over well with you.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="DumbPaladin, post: 5444267, member: 90770"] Railways and the rails themselves have existed since the 1750s or so ... but the term "railroaded" to refer to a swift and/or unjust criminal conviction of a person on trial didn't come into being until the 1880s. But the terminology makes sense if you think of two of the possibilities of playing D&D: one where the "point" (or goal) is to collectively tell a story and develop characters in a variety of ways, and one where the "point" is to get to point B from point A the way the DM expects you to. One focus is the journey; the other is the destination. If you want to get somewhere and you do not expect to deviate in any way from the established norm, you can utilize a railroad. It'll get you to point B the same way it's gotten everyone there ... the problem is, you had no say as to where the tracks get laid down. That's all been done long before you -- in this case, by the DM, not underpaid workers from other countries. But if you want to take a side trip somewhere, or NOT go head directly to point B after leaving point A, you can't take that train ride. Instead, you want the freedom to make the journey to point B a memorable one. Players who prefer this method absolutely resent being told exactly by a DM how their characters' lives are going to unfold. My take? There's nothing wrong with railroading, unless you are a smart player, a creative player, an inquisitive player, or an opinionated player. If you are one of those, it's probably not going to go over well with you. [/QUOTE]

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