Holistic Railroading
We’ve all heard the stories of control-freak GMs who rob their players of agency by shoving them face-first along a predetermined path during a game with little to no actual decision-making done by the players. This is called railroading, and it is one of the cardinal sins of game mastery and role playing in general. But what if I told you that not only is a little GM railroading not the heinous crime it’s been made out to be, but can actually help your players have a more enjoyable time at the game table?
Before I get into it, there are a couple important details to remember in any discussion involving the (many) play styles in our beloved hobby. First, it’s vital to remember that your job as the GM is to, as much as possible, ensure that everyone at your table has a good time. Second, it’s important to understand that there are many different play styles in our beloved hobby, and that not every play style will suit every player. Be as flexible and generous as you can.
Now, back to railroading. As human beings, we have a tendency to judge everything by its’ most extreme elements. The countless tales of GMs who railroaded their players to ridiculous lengths tend to overshadow the times where railroading was employed in a more sane manner for the benefit of all. For example, imagine you’re the GM of a group of players who, for whatever reason, just can’t seem to collaborate. Everything turns into an endless debate, and the game grinds to a halt. Now, some GMs with a mean streak will take this opportunity to punish the players’ indecision by throwing something nasty at them – but that usually only delays the indecision until after the combat.
As the GM, it’s your job to keep everything flowing so you do what every good GM does at one time or another – you give your players a nudge, a push or sometimes a boot in the ass to get everyone moving in the right direction. Understand this: when no one is able to make a decision, it becomes the GMs’ job to do so. Is this railroading? Yes. Will it help the players to have a more enjoyable time? Yes.
Of course, the form that this railroading takes is up to the GM – make it fun. Use humor. If the players just can’t decide whether to take the left corridor or the right corridor, have the roof collapse on the right. If the party wants to endlessly debate whether to kill or capture the evil baron for hours on end, have the poor bastard trip and fall on his own sword. It’s up to you as the GM to keep things moving. Or, you could just sit back and let the table argue for the rest of the game session and go grab a sandwich, do your taxes, etc. Which sounds like a better time to you?
No one is talking about leading your players around by the nose on a continual basis, here. But there will be times. Believe me. There will be times. In the end, the whole reason why we bother to roll up characters, write adventures and roll shiny math-rocks is to have fun. And if that means that you, as the GM, need to help bail your players out of their decision fatigue from time to time, so be it.