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Message: <blockquote data-quote="ExploderWizard" data-source="post: 5445610" data-attributes="member: 66434">The lens through which railroading is viewed depends heavily upon the personalities of the players involved. Some casual player types just want to put their brain on autopilot, follow the presented plot, roll dice and kill stuff. These players are a perfect match for a DM with a particular story to tell.  These players might be railroaded often, even blatantly so but if they are happy with the results and the game overall then nothing wrong is happening.  More engaged players who like to make plans of their own and have a greater interest in the meaningful impact of their characters actions would not be as happy with such a game. These types of players require a much more flexible DM. In a game run for them, the railroading method wouldn't last very long.  Railroading is thus a matter of interpretation.  On a related note I have often heard the claim that more open or sandbox style games require so much more work from the DM. Over the course of running games for 30 years I have found the opposite to be true.  In railroad game, the prep work is indeed more focused. The DM can plan out details of each scene with confidence knowing that events will transpire as planned. The thing is though, at the actual table running the game for a crowd of passive, casual players is exhausting. All the creativity, thought, and energy the game has must come from one person. The players are happy to go with whatever floats the DMs boat because it frees them from having to put forth any effort. The players can just sit back and be entertained.  A sandbox game offers more choices for meaningful player activity as far as deciding the direction of the campaign. The DM needs to be prepared for a much larger range of PC action which might seem to involve a lot more prep work. At the actual game with a table full of engaged players with goals and plans of their own, the burden of entertainment and driving the game is more equally distributed. Everyone involved is thinking on their feet which takes the campaign to places that would be much harder to reach on just the creative force of a single individual.  Of course these two groups are polar oppsites and extreme examples of playstyles. I would guess the vast majority of gaming groups have players of both types, as well as many shades in between, playing in them. Thus the railroading problem.</blockquote>

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