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<blockquote data-quote="Asisreo" data-source="post: 8335297" data-attributes="member: 7019027">Many people have a different definition of Railroading, so one's definition might not align with another and the arguments may start to talk past each other. The method in which railroading is enforced also changes.Some people define railroading as a linear path the player's must complete. First, get the sword. Next, climb the tower. Then, defeat the wizard. Finally, rescue the princess.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Certain DM's force this structure through their adventure design: The player's can't defeat the wizard without the sword and the wizard never leaves his tower and the spell imprisoning the princess is magically tied to her life.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Other DM's force this structure through external means. &quot;Can we go rescue the princess first?&quot; &quot;No. Kill the wizard first.&quot; &quot;Why?&quot; &quot;Its more interesting.&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Some DM's regard railroading as controlling the very last outcome, meaning that as long as the wizard is defeated, you win. But that still means that the DM must somehow enforce that the wizard is defeated somehow. The previous two methods occur but there is a third for this case.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Some DM's may decide that the wizard just dies no matter what because the next steps of the adventure requires it. So even if the players are able to reason with the wizard, the wizard dies anyways because Chapter 2 is about the aftermath of the wizard's death. Clever writing could make this work, but many times it falls flat.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Asisreo, post: 8335297, member: 7019027"] Many people have a different definition of Railroading, so one's definition might not align with another and the arguments may start to talk past each other. The method in which railroading is enforced also changes. Some people define railroading as a linear path the player's [I]must[/I] complete. First, get the sword. Next, climb the tower. Then, defeat the wizard. Finally, rescue the princess. Certain DM's force this structure through their adventure design: The player's [I]can't[/I] defeat the wizard without the sword and the wizard never leaves his tower and the spell imprisoning the princess is magically tied to her life. Other DM's force this structure through external means. "Can we go rescue the princess first?" "No. Kill the wizard first." "Why?" "Its more interesting." Some DM's regard railroading as controlling the very last outcome, meaning that as long as the wizard is defeated, you win. But that still means that the DM must somehow enforce that the wizard is defeated somehow. The previous two methods occur but there is a third for this case. Some DM's may decide that the wizard just dies no matter what because the next steps of the adventure requires it. So even if the players are able to reason with the wizard, the wizard dies anyways because Chapter 2 is about the aftermath of the wizard's death. Clever writing could make this work, but many times it falls flat. [/QUOTE]

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