Railroading - Revision history

Sdhjk at 11:03, 16 July 2025

2025-07-16T11:03:03Z

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			{{topquote\|This time, to make sure we don't get lost, I've employed the help of The Stanley Parable Adventure Line™!\|The Narrator, ''The Stanley Parable''}}
	{{topquote\|It's the only way.\|[[Adventure Time]]}}		{{topquote\|It's the only way.\|[[Adventure Time]]}}
			{{topquote\|Just write a book. Or play with yourself, controlling both PC's and NPC's.\|Common meme phrase replied in cases of extreme railroading, where player's choice is outright non-existent. In such case, it would be easier for GM to control all characters himself, without wasting time of other people.}}

	'''Railroading''' occurs when the [[GM]] has a particular story or sequence of events planned out and will not allow the players to deviate from it. A less-insulting synonym is the "linear" adventure; antonym is the "sandbox" or, back to insults: Calvinball.		'''Railroading''' occurs when the [[GM]] has a particular story or sequence of events planned out and will not allow the players to deviate from it. A less-insulting synonym is the "linear" adventure; antonym is the "sandbox" or, back to insults: Calvinball.
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	* [https://tatabletop.com/2020/06/22/quantum-ogre-theory/ This article] on the "Quantum Ogre", a frequent symptom of Railroading.		* [https://tatabletop.com/2020/06/22/quantum-ogre-theory/ This article] on the "Quantum Ogre", a frequent symptom of Railroading.

	[[Category:roleplaying]]		[[Category:roleplaying]][[Category:Gamer Slang]]

imported>Administrator: 32 revisions imported

2023-06-22T15:21:59Z

32 revisions imported

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imported>Administrator: 1 revision imported

2023-06-19T03:20:04Z

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1d4chan>Saarlacfunkel: /* See also */

2023-05-06T19:32:55Z

1d4chan>Saarlacfunkel at 19:32, 6 May 2023

2023-05-06T19:32:43Z

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	One of the ways to spot a railroading GM is to pay attention to the way they handle [[adventure hook]]s. If there is only one proper reaction to the hook, and nothing else will work, you're on probably on rails as tight as a Disneyland dark ride.		One of the ways to spot a railroading GM is to pay attention to the way they handle [[adventure hook]]s. If there is only one proper reaction to the hook, and nothing else will work, you're on probably on rails as tight as a Disneyland dark ride.

	There exists a practice known as "Schrodinger's Railroad", where multiple options are given, but which one is picked doesn't actually matter. Say, the BBEG is hiding in one of five locations: A cave, a ruined temple, a ruined castle, a recently abandoned fortress, and another cave. Well, no matter which you chose, you're going to meet an odd NPC at the first location, some of the BBEG's minions at the second, nothing at the third, and the BBEG at the fourth.		There exists a practice known as "Schrodinger's Railroad" or the "Quantum Ogre"<ref>For a hypothetical ogre who is guarding two mountain passes a mile apart simultaneously</ref>, where multiple options are given, but which one is picked doesn't actually matter. Say, the BBEG is hiding in one of five locations: A cave, a ruined temple, a ruined castle, a recently abandoned fortress, and another cave. Well, no matter which you chose, you're going to meet an odd NPC at the first location, some of the BBEG's minions at the second, nothing at the third, and the BBEG at the fourth.

			==See also==

			* [[https://tatabletop.com/2020/06/22/quantum-ogre-theory/ This article]] on the "Quantum Ogre", a frequent symptom of Railroading.

	[[Category:roleplaying]]		[[Category:roleplaying]]

1d4chan>Zimriel at 01:47, 27 February 2023

2023-02-27T01:47:57Z

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	{{topquote\|It's the only way.\|[[Adventure Time]]}}		{{topquote\|It's the only way.\|[[Adventure Time]]}}

	'''Railroading''' occurs when the [[GM]] has a particular story or sequence of events planned out and will not allow the players to deviate from it. A less-insulting synonym is the "linear" adventure; antonym is the "sandbox"~~. Or~~, back to insults: Calvinball.		'''Railroading''' occurs when the [[GM]] has a particular story or sequence of events planned out and will not allow the players to deviate from it. A less-insulting synonym is the "linear" adventure; antonym is the "sandbox" or, back to insults: Calvinball.

	Where the campaign has a story at all, some small amount of railroading must occur - especially smaller one-shot encounters - and is considered reasonable and necessary, considering no one amongst humans are psychics (at least not yet) and cannot guess what to do all the time. Excessive railroading, however, destroys the illusion of freedom that [[RPG]]s provide and alienates the players.		Where the campaign has a story at all, some small amount of railroading must occur - especially smaller one-shot encounters - and is considered reasonable and necessary, considering no one amongst humans are psychics (at least not yet) and cannot guess what to do all the time. Excessive railroading, however, destroys the illusion of freedom that [[RPG]]s provide and alienates the players.

1d4chan>Saarlacfunkel: /* Side notes */

2022-10-31T14:46:30Z

Side notes

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	==Side notes==		==Side notes==

	One of the ways to spot a railroading GM is to pay attention to the way they handle [[adventure ~~hooks~~]]. If there is only one proper reaction to the hook, and nothing else will work, you're on probably on rails as tight as a Disneyland dark ride.		One of the ways to spot a railroading GM is to pay attention to the way they handle [[adventure hook]]s. If there is only one proper reaction to the hook, and nothing else will work, you're on probably on rails as tight as a Disneyland dark ride.

	There exists a practice known as "Schrodinger's Railroad", where multiple options are given, but which one is picked doesn't actually matter. Say, the BBEG is hiding in one of five locations: A cave, a ruined temple, a ruined castle, a recently abandoned fortress, and another cave. Well, no matter which you chose, you're going to meet an odd NPC at the first location, some of the BBEG's minions at the second, nothing at the third, and the BBEG at the fourth.		There exists a practice known as "Schrodinger's Railroad", where multiple options are given, but which one is picked doesn't actually matter. Say, the BBEG is hiding in one of five locations: A cave, a ruined temple, a ruined castle, a recently abandoned fortress, and another cave. Well, no matter which you chose, you're going to meet an odd NPC at the first location, some of the BBEG's minions at the second, nothing at the third, and the BBEG at the fourth.

	[[Category:roleplaying]]		[[Category:roleplaying]]

1d4chan>Saarlacfunkel at 08:43, 31 October 2022

2022-10-31T08:43:44Z

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	Most GMs can get flustered by their players when they start acting too quickly, because they need time to catch up with book-keeping (both statistically or with pages of text). Conversely, the Railroader already knows what is going to happen to the players regardless of what they do. A Railroader only gets flustered and annoyed when players insist on not following a carefully laid trail of breadcrumbs, leading to [[Rocks fall, everyone dies]].		Most GMs can get flustered by their players when they start acting too quickly, because they need time to catch up with book-keeping (both statistically or with pages of text). Conversely, the Railroader already knows what is going to happen to the players regardless of what they do. A Railroader only gets flustered and annoyed when players insist on not following a carefully laid trail of breadcrumbs, leading to [[Rocks fall, everyone dies]].

			==Side notes==

			One of the ways to spot a railroading GM is to pay attention to the way they handle [[adventure hooks]]. If there is only one proper reaction to the hook, and nothing else will work, you're on probably on rails as tight as a Disneyland dark ride.

			There exists a practice known as "Schrodinger's Railroad", where multiple options are given, but which one is picked doesn't actually matter. Say, the BBEG is hiding in one of five locations: A cave, a ruined temple, a ruined castle, a recently abandoned fortress, and another cave. Well, no matter which you chose, you're going to meet an odd NPC at the first location, some of the BBEG's minions at the second, nothing at the third, and the BBEG at the fourth.

	[[Category:roleplaying]]		[[Category:roleplaying]]

1d4chan>Zimriel at 04:42, 5 July 2022

2022-07-05T04:42:36Z

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	'''Railroading''' occurs when the [[GM]] has a particular story or sequence of events planned out and will not allow the players to deviate from it. A less-insulting synonym is the "linear" adventure; antonym is the "sandbox". Or, back to insults: Calvinball.		'''Railroading''' occurs when the [[GM]] has a particular story or sequence of events planned out and will not allow the players to deviate from it. A less-insulting synonym is the "linear" adventure; antonym is the "sandbox". Or, back to insults: Calvinball.

	Where the campaign has a story at all, some small amount of railroading must occur - especially smaller one-shot encounters - and is considered reasonable and necessary, considering no one amongst humans are psychics (at least not yet) and cannot guess what to do all the time. Excessive railroading, however, destroys the illusion of freedom that [[RPG]]s provide and alienates the players~~. For this reason it is important that a [[GM]] be able to improvise when the players go off the planned trail without simply forcing them back onto it again~~.		Where the campaign has a story at all, some small amount of railroading must occur - especially smaller one-shot encounters - and is considered reasonable and necessary, considering no one amongst humans are psychics (at least not yet) and cannot guess what to do all the time. Excessive railroading, however, destroys the illusion of freedom that [[RPG]]s provide and alienates the players.

	~~A common design pattern in longer-form published adventures~~ is to ~~start~~ the ~~action with a linear plot, open to a sandbox in~~ the ~~middle, and bring~~ the story ~~back~~ to ~~linearity for~~ the ~~endgame. This is particularly notable for [[Monte Cook]]~~'~~s remake of [[Temple of Elemental Evil]] which~~, ~~at its end~~, ~~simply buries~~ the ~~bulk of~~ the ~~classic Temple under rubble excepting where Monte wants you to go. The middle part of that remake occurs somewhere else, though; so remains a sandbox~~.		For this reason it is important that a [[GM]] be able to improvise when the players go off the planned trail without simply forcing them back onto it again. Where the story has to get from A to B, a nimble GM must accommodate the players' decisions, allowing for occasional zigs and zags, or arranging such that the apparent detours still end up where the story must lead.

	~~Where~~ the ~~story has to get from~~ A to B, a ~~nimble GM can also accommodate~~ the ~~players~~' ~~decisions~~, ~~allowing for occasional zigs and zags~~, ~~or arranging such that~~ the ~~apparent detours still end up~~ where ~~the story must lead~~.		Orrrr the GM can ... ''plan ahead''. A common design pattern in longer-form published adventures is to start the action with a linear plot, open to a sandbox in the middle, and bring the story back to linearity for the endgame. This is particularly notable for [[Monte Cook]]'s remake of [[Temple of Elemental Evil]] which, at its end, simply buries the bulk of the classic Temple under rubble excepting where Monte wants you to go. The middle part of that remake occurs somewhere else, though; so remains a sandbox.

	If you feel you're being ''excessively'' railroaded, it is common to make a "Choo choo!" noise, if you are a jerk, or other train related sounds. Alternatively, you can just pull a [[Old_Man_Henderson\|Henderson]].		If you feel you're being ''excessively'' railroaded, it is common to make a "Choo choo!" noise, if you are a jerk, or other train related sounds. Alternatively, you can just pull a [[Old_Man_Henderson\|Henderson]].

1d4chan>Zimriel: restoring, sort of, the zigzag comment, now that i understand it

2022-06-24T02:34:27Z

restoring, sort of, the zigzag comment, now that i understand it

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:34, 24 June 2022
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	A common design pattern in longer-form published adventures is to start the action with a linear plot, open to a sandbox in the middle, and bring the story back to linearity for the endgame. This is particularly notable for [[Monte Cook]]'s remake of [[Temple of Elemental Evil]] which, at its end, simply buries the bulk of the classic Temple under rubble excepting where Monte wants you to go. The middle part of that remake occurs somewhere else, though; so remains a sandbox.		A common design pattern in longer-form published adventures is to start the action with a linear plot, open to a sandbox in the middle, and bring the story back to linearity for the endgame. This is particularly notable for [[Monte Cook]]'s remake of [[Temple of Elemental Evil]] which, at its end, simply buries the bulk of the classic Temple under rubble excepting where Monte wants you to go. The middle part of that remake occurs somewhere else, though; so remains a sandbox.

			Where the story has to get from A to B, a nimble GM can also accommodate the players' decisions, allowing for occasional zigs and zags, or arranging such that the apparent detours still end up where the story must lead.

	If you feel you're being ''excessively'' railroaded, it is common to make a "Choo choo!" noise, if you are a jerk, or other train related sounds. Alternatively, you can just pull a [[Old_Man_Henderson\|Henderson]].		If you feel you're being ''excessively'' railroaded, it is common to make a "Choo choo!" noise, if you are a jerk, or other train related sounds. Alternatively, you can just pull a [[Old_Man_Henderson\|Henderson]].

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:32, 6 May 2023
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	==See also==		==See also==

	* [[https://tatabletop.com/2020/06/22/quantum-ogre-theory/ This article]] on the "Quantum Ogre", a frequent symptom of Railroading.		* [https://tatabletop.com/2020/06/22/quantum-ogre-theory/ This article] on the "Quantum Ogre", a frequent symptom of Railroading.

	[[Category:roleplaying]]		[[Category:roleplaying]]