Railroading: The Definitive Definition

Railroading chat devolves into nonsense, as people are working with unclear definitions. Here’s the solution:

‘Railroading’ means that an out-of-game white-list constricts in-game actions.

A ‘white-list’ is a complete list of things one can do. A ‘white-list of websites’ would mean that someone can only connect to those websites, and no others. Conversely, a ‘black-list’ is a list of things which one cannot do, such as a list of websites which one cannot visit.

Having a blacklist on in-game actions isn’t a problem; in fact it’s universal. We don’t look at the details of in-game languages because most players cannot. Every table avoids one uncomfortable subject or another, depending on what they find uncomfortable. Black-lists are fine.

And, of course, everyone expects in-game white-lists, like a dragon telling the PCs what they must do, or an enchantment forcing them to travel North.

Supergeek Mike’s Confusion

Supergeek Mike received a question in his October Q&A , and provides this definition:

Railroading essentially means, the players want to do something, and [the GM] tells them ’no’.

This would cover players who want their D&D thief to invent dynamite, or use Facebook.¹ Clearly, nobody who complains of railroading thinks that the party thief should (in character) be allowed to use Facebook.

Showing the Problem

The worst Railroading I’ve ever seen has to be Feast of Goblyns, a Ravenloft module from when the writers were still trying to find their feet.²

It goes like this:

1. The players are trapped in a jail because - plot - and witness a scene with a woman being pointlessly whipped.
2. Woman tells players to go to not-haunted castle.
3. At not-haunted cavern, Doctor Not-a-Vampire gives them an item. They take this item where he says, because he’s definitely not a vampire, and this isn’t suspicious.
4. Woman tells PCs to go to a tavern, but insists on travelling separately for unclear reasons. Luckily the PCs don’t press her on this, or refuse to go to the suspicious tavern with the suspicious item.
5. PCs are shocked to find tavern is full of wolf-weres (like werewolves, but also not).
6. PCs are shocked that Doctor Not-a-Vampire was, in fact, a vampire.
7. PCs must go to mysterious cave now, because of something to do with a crown.

The moment the players say ‘hey, has anyone offered to pay us for everything?’, the game’s over. Every step is a white-list; the PCs must travel to A, then B, then C, and cannot realize that the man who only comes out at night, and only drinks wine, is in fact a vampire.

The initial definition clearly shows where the problem is, and defines railroading in such a way that it will always be a problem. It avoids any examples where people might feel the temptation to say ‘railroading can be good sometimes’.

Of course, it will never go away. Even in the most open games, if the PCs simply decide to go North for as long as possible, the GM will eventually run out of material, and have to start laying the tracks ahead of them, and quickly become burnt out. But then I think everyone can agree that the minor white-list caveat of ‘please stay within this continent’ won’t hurt any game too much.