Xwitter has in recent weeks been host to two fascinating topics of conversation for me. Firstly there was the lively debate on Milestone vs XP Level systems in TTRPGs. Secondly came the conversations surrounding Story, Setting, #ZeroPrep, and Rail Roads.
The former was more my comfort zone than the latter if only due to the more established boundaries of the debate. Mechanics are simple to discuss. They tend to be more concrete than than ideas surrounding stories and the role of Game Masters in them. The latter I believe was the more interesting topic, yet the more difficult to frame. Indeed I believe that the Xwitter poll posted above was less than stellar for the complexity of the conversation, hence I now set finger to keyboard here.
I take the position that story and setting are of great importance to a table’s overall gaming experience. Before I begin to write on that I shall attempt to fairly frame the positions presented to me over the prior week. Firstly, to define terms:
- Story
Story is the result of actions taken by the players interacting with the game world as presented by the Game Master. In other senses it can also be the result of actions taken by non-player characters. - Setting
Setting is the overarching theme, plot, population, and lore of the game world prepared by the Game Master. - Rail-Roading
The act of the Game Master overruling player decisions and forcing them down pre-determined paths in order to achieve a desired outcome. - #ZeroPrep
The style of play in which little to no preperation on the part of the Game Master is needed. Nearly all outcomes are based on dice rolls on random tables found in rule books, from encounters to loot and to locations and NPCs. More of a procedural generation style of play. - GM Fiat
Game Master Fiat is the idea that any choice taken by the GM that is perceived as outside the rules is tyrannical and overrules player agency. (This is an accusation that came up often in the Milestone conversation as well.)
Firstly, to frame the position for the #ZeroPrep side of things as fairly and charitably as I can manage;
“In order to prevent the player’s choices from being overruled, a Game Master should make no effort to step outside the bounds of the rules as written.”
In order to back up my understanding of the position I shall quote some of the conversation here also:
I note that, in most cases of arguing against GM Fiat, the assumption is made that any involvement by the GM is tantamount to tyranny.
Here, my dear reader, I depart from framing and seek to better understand the crux of the debate.
It appears to my eyes that a conflation of terms is being made. Those opposing my point of view are hyper-aware of any and all possible encroachment on their, and their character’s, agency. This is not wrong of them in the slightest degree. In this writer’s humble opinion they are right to be vigilant. Yet they are so focussed on the trees that they miss the wood.
Allow me to sum it up as succinctly as I may;
A Game Master may make rulings outside of written rules that benefit player agency and immersion.
Now I shall be the first to say that one must have a competent and trustworthy GM that knows when to exercise their powers over the table, yet never once in my fifteen years of playing Dungeons and Dragons (even with the worst of my GMs) have I ever seen a GM actually go against a player’s agency.
Indeed, the phrase ‘You can most certainly try’ is common due to GMs worldwide allowing their players to try some truly awful (or awe-inspiring based on your perception) ideas. Most Game Masters will make efforts to accommodate the wishes of their players.
To go further, I remember reading D&D comics and memes in school, all the way back in the 2000s, about players going off in a direction that scuppered the plans of their GMs and forced them to re-evaluate the encounters that the party was going to experience.
And now onto the more interesting part of the conversation;
To what extent is Setting and Story tantamount to Rail-Roading Players?
Now for the meat and potatoes of the discussion, the section that gets away from arguments about definitions of ‘referee’ and ‘arbiter’ and focusses fully on how much Game Master plot is too much.
At the start of this missive I posted a poll that, in hindsight, did not do the best job at separating out and analysing this conversation.
Rather than subject the denizens of Xwitter to another version of the same post, I have chosen to explain my position here instead.
Those championing the #ZeroPrep procedural generation style of play have come across quite strongly to me as holding any and all involvement of GM creativity as being a Rail-Roading experience.
I hold that one may easily achieve a sandbox, freeform game without the need for complete reliance on dice rolls. Simply knowing the lore, history, and locations of my world has enabled me to successfully improvise encounters, NPCs, villains, heroes, and whole quest lines on the fly for many years. The advantage of this is that the content I improvise around my players will always be relevant to them, rather than seeming out of place – which is always a risk when rolling on tables.
Furthermore the Story of the Setting, i.e the myths, legends, and events of the Game World, should feed into the player’s experience of that world. I bought this up in another conversation on the topic. I, as a player, do not like ‘random’ monsters. Why is this giant in this tiny room a few miles underground? Why is this dragon hanging out with goblins and dire badgers? And why, pray tell, did we just find the kidnapped girl on floor seventy-three of this randomly generated dungeon?
Each thing should exist in the Game World not as a result of near random chance but as a result of cause and effect. The GM defining the series of events that brought a dragon to a place within the setting where it would threaten the players is not a Rail Road. The players are free to deal with the dragon as they wish – yet there is still a dragon to deal with.
Below is a comedy sketch by the channel ‘XP to Level 3’ that I believe is a far greater example of a Rail Road, albeit taken to an extreme.
The existence of a narrative that surrounds the players’ actions does not preclude the party from acting in any way they may wish. For example, my most recent campaign has a plot for the party to pursue – and they have each done so to varying degrees. Yet it moves along without them. It proceeds differently based on their actions.
For many months of sessions the party mainly stuck to the capital city, doing small odd jobs and interacting with NPCs. It was a very hefty RP style of play – and when they desired a change of pace the world was prepared for that. Dice rolls on tables can supplement the party’s experience but I doubt it will result in the same level of depth I know myself to be capable of.
Now, all this being said, I do believe that I should very much like to try the #ZeroPrep style of play as a player. I do not have access to such a group to do so but the experience of the play style may change my opinions to an extent.
I have probably now rambled on for long enough. Suffice it to say that you should run your games in whichever way you wish, whether that be #ZeroPrep or hand crafting. Don’t be afraid to try new techniques to freshen up your table’s experience.
Just don’t Rail Road your players.
Lost Lore Library 