(Gaming) the very definition of a railroaded game

[roseembolism]

While searching some old Usenet threads, I found this post I remembered from the from the old days, which gave an example of a game where the GM absolutely would not let the characters off the leash.  It's stuck in my mind as a textbook definition of a railroaded game.

Courtesy of Michael Richter and rec.games.frp.misc: No winning, no detours, no escape, not even through death.

Comments

[seawasp]

That was what we called "Lee and D" after Lee G., the GM in question. he was as a player a True Munchkin, and as a GM the Railroading Showoff (i.e., Follow my Plot, and Ooo my NPCS are SOO MUCH COOLER THAN YOU!).

Of course, the best example to tell to other people is to point to Final Fantasy VII. "Imagine THAT as a FTF game. Note that they don't even try to HIDE it. They use the railroad metaphor IN the game."

[roseembolism.livejournal.com]

I have to wonder if its common for True Munchkins players to be Railroading Showoffs as GMs. It just seems reasonable that the same personality type would be behind both types of rpg disfunction.

[devonapple.livejournal.com]

Sadly, in some cases I imagine GMing allows a True Munchkin to show off "all the cool ideas *YOU* didn't allow him to do in *YOUR* stupid game!"

[roseembolism.livejournal.com]

"And I have the GM's screen, SO YOU WILL LISTEN TO EVERY GODDAMN WORD I SAY!"

[devonapple.livejournal.com]

We had one ALMOST like that at a convention once, except it was a CyberPunk game (listed as a CyberPunk game, and the GM denied that there were any elements of fantasy in the game) that almost immediately went down the rabbit hole into a Fantasy game, into what was perhaps intended to be a spectacle of contrasts ("lookit, MAGIC! I have a gun!") but turned out to be a game where we were basically there to absorb hit point damage while the GM's girlfriend got to save all our butts as a fairy-born cyberpunk who was returning to her world to Right Wrongs. One of us did try to commit something close to suicide (bad-mouthed the powerful enemy NPC at the diplomacy table and said, basically, "bring it"), was slain by the bad guy, and then brought back to life by the protagonists.

[roseembolism.livejournal.com]

Ouch! I wonder what would happen if the PCs tried to kill themselves or each other?

It really does seem to be more of an issue of power and dominance, than simple bad gaming habits.