Railroading, Agency, and Choice | Running the Game

[@CitanulsPumpkin]

Aragorn's player had a lot of problems during that part of the campaign because he chose forests and grasslands as his favored terrains.

[@kereminde]

At least he didn't use Charisma as a dump stat. That could have ended badly.

[@paulcoy9060]

Should have multi-classed into another Ranger archetype, then chosen a new favored terrain.

[@AlbertaGeek]

@@paulcoy9060 Except that RAW you can't do that. And it'd take a pretty generous DM to allow it.

[@paulcoy9060]

@@AlbertaGeek If there was an in-game reason, like a Forest Ranger got kidnapped, and sent on a ship across the world like Odysseus, he could pick up some nautical Favored Enemies. I'd allow it, if the story held water (Ha Ha!).

[@AlbertaGeek]

@@paulcoy9060 Allowing a PC ranger to re-choose their favored terrain and a favored enemy after a certain amount of in-game time is one thing, but *_multi-classing to a second archetype_* is very much another. And just throwing this in here: Odysseus never went anywhere near "across the world'. He didn't even do the _known_ world at the time. He spent all those decades wandering around maybe half the Medierranean Sea.

[@ryancarter8672]

"Players think the DM has all the answers; in fact we have all the QUESTIONS" I feel so seen by this statement

[@KuneTear]

I loved this line too!

[@DrgoFx]

"What are you guys even doing? Did you all forget about the fact the Mob Boss has you blood to track you? Who is keeping track of the inventory? Omg why aren't you using the cool magic item I gave you?? WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T WANT TO ENGAGE WITH THE DUDE OBVIOUSLY GONNA TEACH YOU THE COOL MULTICLASS IDEA YOU WANTED???"

[@Fallingtower969]

Plo

[@jhinpotion9230]

@@DrgoFx "Mob boss has your blood to track you" sounds like a plot only a true gentleman would consider

[@DrgoFx]

@@jhinpotion9230 Most certainly. Though this gentleman is my setting's equivilent of Bahamut (Neutral Good tho) polymorphed as a French Elven mob boss. The idea is their ideology is innocent until proven and protect the innocent, and this city where they operate is run by a corrupt government and upper class, so this Dragon has taken matters into their own hands as laws the do not protect the innocent should be abolished. Also one of my players was a follower of his.

[@GameJade]

Gandalf knew what he was doing. He wanted that sweet balrog exp all to himself.

[@CathrineMacNiel]

Also Gandalf was just an DMPC and the players were finally following what John prepared, so he killed him off.

[@Joshua-dr1ev]

honestly

[@dirkmaes3786]

Those nasty Hobbits thought they could skip straight from level 3 to 5 just by hiding behind a pillar.

[@samleonard2557]

Got the XP and the sweet level up.

[@jayl2298]

Nah, Gandalf's player read the module ahead of time and knew there was a sweet chase encounter in the mines that they knew everyone would love.

[@christimarie8822]

We use the same strategy regarding choice with toddlers. It's not, "Are you ready for dinner?" It's, "Do you want the Paw Patrol plate or the Mickey Mouse plate?" It gives the child a sense of ownership in the decision even though you decided it was dinnertime.

[@allgreatfictions]

I work in aged care and there's an old lady that would always refuse her shower and lie and say she had it the day before or in the morning. So instead of asking if she wanted a shower, we'd ask her, "Do you want your shower before dinner, or after dinner?" And that worked like 95% of the time.

[@CptnHammer1]

using this

[@eddarby469]

Yes! We learned this as parents early too. Do you want the red popsicle or the orange? Not, what do you want for desert? Too many choices mess up kids heads, especially if you can't deliver their choice.

[@frigginsepone446]

Me: I learned something new about DMing, from now on I'll treat you like toddlers Players: Dada...

[@joelfabes]

Yes!! I came to the comments to say exactly this / make sure someone had said it! It gives toddlers choice inside the narrative. I love the parallels between good parenting and good DMing.

[@PhoenixAgent003]

I love how this episode subtly recontextualized the previous “Lord of the Rings is a railroaded campaign” narrative from the old video.

[@satiricalbard1]

His comment about the Fellowship not prepping for a tough mountain pass and then getting some bad rolls was perfect.

[@robertmiroballi158]

Their prep was: ‘oh, hey, it gets cold up there, grab some wood.’

[@christopherclubb9167]

@@satiricalbard1 players are really good at not planning adequately. I often wonder for certain situations why players didn't do things a certain way. I ran an encounter once in Princes of The Apocalypse where the players came up with a brilliant plan I didn't think of, then proceeded to derail their own plan, though still succeeded. One of the party members was a drunken master monk who started his own brewery. The plan was for him to approach an enemy keep under the guise that he was a local merchant looking to sell a few barrels of ale. The party arranged for a cart and horse, and even had some of the barrels filled with actual ale in case anyone decided to inspect further. They were very convincing in their roleplay so the guards at the keep talked to their boss and agreed to buy the ale. Now the whole party minus the monk gets wheeled inside of the keep, Trojan Horse style. I thought "man, that is just genius. I bet they will wait until nighttime and sneak around the keep, slowly dealing with the enemies in small groups rather than all at once". Nope, 5 minutes later the party bursts out of the barrels in broad daylight and tries to fight the entire keep all at once. I panicked because I thought this would surely end in a TPK with 40 some enemies not including the boss and miniboss who were both in the keep. After a 2 session long combat, the party emerged victorious, and somehow managed to avoid anyone getting dropped to zero HP (the encounter was really tough, but they strategized and used really good teamwork to achieve this, so it was 100% because of how they handled it and not DM intervention). Ironically, this is also the same session I learned that CR is meaningless.

[@oz_jones]

"Subtly"

[@brunofranchini]

"You just suck at climbing, Aragorn" I'm still laughing.

[@MrSilvUr]

Wow, that was five hours ago. Are you okay!? :-P

[@bucklalonde9529]

"Then I wouldn't need players, I would go write another novel" Don't threaten us with a good time, Collville.

[@SpaceSoups]

Rat-catchers 3!

[@Cybermaul]

"[The module authors] expected the players to take the path of least resistance." That's a mistake made often, and remembered long.

[@mitigatedrisk4264]

They *do* take the path of least resistance ... when the path of least resistance is bypassing the adventure.

[@Bluecho4]

@@mitigatedrisk4264 And, really, nothing takes less effort than saying "we excavate the collapsed tunnel", and the DM spends a couple minutes describing how they took days of hard work clearing it out. To the players, it basically happened in an instant, even if their _characters_ are cursing their players for the back-breaking labor they did. This, incidentally, is why random encounter tables exist. While they're trying to brute force their way around the adventure, they're also rolling every 20 in-game minutes or so to see if the monsters come to them.

[@Jaybirderino]

KZbin Algorithm, I summon you to fulfill your oath.

[@paulmiller6431]

Totally going to steal this xD

[@KikoKay-Kay]

Join in our prayer in our song of conquest and love

[@707thSteelLegion]

Seriously. I haven't gotten a MC-DM video recommended in a while. :/

[@TooLateForIeago]

I found this one between an actual train-hopping video and a railfan video on how crossing signals work.

[@kereminde]

@@707thSteelLegion It shows up about as often as 'Puffin Forest' does. Which is to say, anytime I view a D&D-related video, suddenly - a wild Matt appears! No ... not THAT one, THIS one.

[@tafa_matai3184]

I was literally rewatching the catastrophic failure video, and was at the part where you warned against taking away agency, when I received this notification. Fantastic timing. “Nobody throws me my own guns and says ride. Nobody.”

[@MarxMayhem]

19:43 "The people you meet aren't problems to solve: they're people." Life axiom right here.

[@Drekromancer]

Let us bask in his wisdom.

[@LeviathanLP]

Yep. Helpers can still be misanthropic if the reason they help is just to feel the pride and relief of fixing something. On the other hand, if it gets you to help, if it gets you to participate, it's good. It's just it'll only get you so far.

[@AlexDeMiro]

First three minutes and you made me realize I was about to make a grave mistake towards my players. Thank you.

[@silentobserver6908]

Would love to hear more about this if you don't mind sharing. Helps instill the lesson to hear more examples.

[@leovaeg]

It says a lot about you that you can see that, recognize it, and improve for yourself and your players :) We'd love to hear about your game/situation and how you move forward

[@AggroJordan86]

It's all about learning.... I've DMed maybe only maybe 200 hours so far, but I am in awe of people like Matt, Jim Murphynor Cody who have so much under their belt and are ready to share it!

[@AlexDeMiro]

@@silentobserver6908 Veyr briefly: Party encounters a Circle of Druids, that gather more and more people grieving over dead ones. A fungal "entity" (it's Zuggtmoy, lets be real) creates copies of those dead people, to lure grievers, and slowly convert them into mulch for herself (plus make a new species - not important). The way I saw this - I was gonna have the party fight Zugg... but now I want to give them more options, and not railroad them into an epic fight with a massive Abomination, made from all the bodies in the Circle, no matter how cool it sounds in my head. I'm gonna give them an option to purge Zugg through Druidic means, or even scare her off.

[@AlexDeMiro]

@@leovaeg Instead of twisting everything towards the epic head I envision in my head, I'm gonna give the players a few options to choose from, when dealing with a demonic fungus possession. A purge system of energy-beaming basalt cubes; finding allies to weaken the demon; cutting her ties to the material plane; basically the "epic fight" would be a last resort, instead of the main dish.

[@TheHalcyonCalamity]

As an illustrator, I feel the "if you give someone all the options, they will always choose the one you like least" on a downright spiritual level. the number of times I have thought about removing a composition option from my sketches, didn't, and then lived to regret it....uncountable

[@Bluecho4]

I've heard a similar thing about creating portfolios. That is, never include work in a portfolio that you wouldn't enjoy creating loads more of. Inevitably, the client will be attracted specifically to the work you don't enjoy, and hire you exclusively to do that.

[@eddarby469]

Art! This is my greatest weakness as a DM. Certainly not the greatest artist, or even in the top 10%, but I can do a passable job on many things. So I believe art makes the adventure memorable. If the players don't pursue my path, I can't share my now irrelevant artwork I prepared for them in this session. That is my challenge to overcome as a railroading DM.

[@TheHalcyonCalamity]

@@eddarby469 I definitely feel that! I do all our tokens and maps and I definitely feel a bit sad when a cool monster mini I made doesn't get a chance to shine, but it is useful to remember that none of the stuff you prepared ever goes to waste! If they miss it this time, then that's just one piece of prepwork you don't have to worry about when you fold the missed area or encounter into a different game some day down the line! :>

[@kevinbarnard355]

@@eddarby469 For sure. As emergency says in their reply, it's never wasted. You can always move something to a new location. That encounter, map or monster that the PCs avoided can still be used in a different spot. If they actively avoid something "No, we are NOT going to that spooky castle", then you shouldn't force it. If they just miss what you created because they went a different way, no reason you can't "move" that abandoned tower or forest glad to another part of your world/adventure.

[@piemaniac9410]

@@kevinbarnard355 No need to even move it further into the adventure, just base your next campaign around the idea of going to a spooky castle to confront the big bad. You could spin that for any level range pretty easily by using necromancers with zombies for levels 1-5, vampires and witches for levels 5-10, demon/devil worshipers for levels 10-15, or liches and even more demons/devils for levels 15-20. Bonus points if the lich is in a Demiplane that resembles an spooky castle like maze with shifting staircases and hidden corridors straight out of hogwarts.

[@TheNerdySimulation]

"Imagine people complexly." Is worthy of a shirt, if not a damn plaque.

[@ZyndtheLucky]

@@Dyundu +

[@NickGreyden]

+

[@mutanttugboat9266]

Running the game is definitely a series that gets clicked when a new episode hits.

[@OfficialPizza]

yup. the only channel i have notifications for.

[@henriquedelarosa5419]

By far my favorite series on KZbin!

[@xaviercarmona4439]

Always 💪🏽💪🏽💪🏽

[@BigDaddyZelos]

If you, Sir, were an item in DnD, it would be on the highest table, the one were you need to roll a 100! You really are a treasure to the dnd community!

[@mcolville]

High praise indeed! :D

[@Corvus-fw2hr]

This is probably the best niche complement that I could imagine.

[@JusDoc]

I like how you re-used "getting past the Misty Mountains" from your previous Railroad video as an example of a Non-Railroad. How the players view it vs how the DM sees it

[@dirus3142]

It was good to flip it.

[@Voldine2]

That wasn't the Misty Mountains, it was Caradhras. (Might be spelling that wrong.)

[@XvicvicX]

@@Voldine2 Know I'm late, but Caradhras is a mountain in the Misty Mountains.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

This feels like a classic running the game video! Reminds me of watching your videos when I was just getting into D&D 5-6 years ago. Man, what a crazy couple of years!!

[@anthonynorman7545]

I've been playing D&D longer than I thought!

[@at0067]

Yay! Bob - I watch your icespire peak videos before every session!

[@TaberIV]

"I could just write a novel", yes, please do continue working on Fighter!

[@ca7582]

Oh my god YES!! hype

[@TomMentink]

Or... use that glorious voice to make audiobooks out of Priest and Thief

[@Drekromancer]

@@TomMentink Ugh, yes. If there's one author who needs to voice his audiobook personally, it's Matt. That voice is smooth like butter.

[@Amikas117]

I see Ajax sitting in the back, listening to the wisdom of his creator.

[@CaptainJoteda]

Ajax, called Immortal. What a legend.

[@CountsDigGraves]

Kinda looks like a weiner.

[@happymonkeygames]

The river flows again... Let the algorithm be sated

[@ThePomoAa]

"You just suck at mountain climbing Aragorn" is my next DM shirt

[@chadnine3432]

"this huge tome!" *Holds up a 32 page adventure module*

[@rylanvillard]

Well it IS Castle Amber. Those are some very heavy pages!

[@fabulous_finn7810]

32 pages is more work than I half of the people who play D&D with me lol.

[@paulcoy9060]

Maybe he was supposed to pick up the hardcover version that Goodman Games made into a 5th edition conversion?

[@nikkibrowning4546]

@@rylanvillard I thought I recognised that cover. I read that thing twice and still don't understand what was happening in it.

[@rylanvillard]

@@nikkibrowning4546 it's so bonkers. I can't wait to run it for my group

[@tylerthompson5859]

6:34 my favorite phrase to use when I'm talking to players or potential players is: "This isn't my adventure. It's yours. I'm just the guy that tells it."

[@luketfer]

The strangest thing, literally a week ago my D&D group was talking about this exact same topic and basically had the exact same conclusion that there is a vast difference between "having a plot" and "railroading" and that having a plot often gets mistaken for railroading. When I was DMing I would always end the session with a "Ok, so you can go to this place, this place or this place, what are your plans for next session?" that way I had a week to actually prep content for what they were planning, make tweaks to things, alter some plot hooks to fit the location without worrying about having to prep ALL the directions they could have gone (which would have been utter madness). Like you said, players like options, it gives them a guiding hand and when you lay out all the options infront of them and they get to choose, it lets them take ownership of that choice.

[@johnathanrhoades7751]

I missed doing this in my second to last session. And I quickly remembered why I do this. I had to sketch out at least three different directions and it was WAY more work than normal 😳 Not making that mistake again any time soon.

[@davidmorgan6896]

Surely it would be better to have lots of plots. A world ready for adventure might have many interesting situations and conflicts, many overlapping, that the PCs can get involved in. They might start attempting to rob the palace, but on the way to the loot see a murder. The murder might be something I throw in as set dressing, but if the players do something with that situation then it becomes part of the emergent story. I would be very unhappy with a GM who didn't let me just explore her world and find fun.

[@solsystem1342]

​@@davidmorgan6896 It really depends on what the players and DM want. In my case there isn't really an adventure. Players can choose between different groups that need jobs done sort of adventure board style or pitch their own ideas if they can get some people behind it. Sort of like exploring the wilderness you can see a good distance ahead and plot a course but the exact path or over the next bluff is hard to anticipate. I have a pretty good idea where most sessions are going but, things further along are up to player ambition and exactly how the session plays out.

[@johnturner112]

DM: "The passage to the left is blocked by a collapse. The passage to the right is clear." Players: "Hold my beer"

[@Pete--]

"The world reacting to the adventurers' actions" is always a cool feeling, even in video games. One of my favorite small details from Fallout: New Vegas is hearing of my character's exploits on the radio.

[@sillyking1991]

bruh, dishonored 2's 'a crack in the slab'. i mean, the entire series is somewhat based on player agency affecting the world (for example, high chaos in the first one meaning more guards/rats). but that particular mission was freaking epic for making your choices feel weighty

[@Pete--]

@@sillyking1991 Dude, Samuel betraying me in the Dishonored 1 when I finished in high chaos actually gave me a heart pang the first time I experienced it. And then Emily's reaction at the end of that mission was terrifying.

[@sillyking1991]

@@Pete-- oh its a good story for sure, but in the moment im referring to, theres sometjing you can do that changes the entire level

[@Bluecho4]

This is why NPC bards are so useful. Nothing cheers up a party like hearing their heroics portrayed in ballad.

[@jjkthebest]

"The dm spends all this time reading the adventure and making notes while you're playing Valheim" this feels like a personal attack

[@leavemealone930]

This reminded me of something that happened a month ago in my game. The party found an old ruin and eventually ran into petrified people. They knew there was a basilisk here already so they said they were gonna turn around. I then reminded them that they were gonna get paid to steal the basilisk eggs. I’ve never seen a party turn on their heels so quickly

[@kfisher723]

"Well, you could have tried asking the Eagles to just fly you there..."

[@Haiddon]

they did. the eagles said no

[@seannicolson136]

Because they didn't like their odds when there's a great big f'ing EYE in Mordor looking for exactly the thing you're asking them to carry in right into Sauron's airspace. On the other hand, If you're the right level, dogfighting against nine liches riding dragons would make for a cool bossfight.

[@Bluecho4]

@@seannicolson136 Also, because the Eagles are intelligent and powerful, they are subject to the Ring's temptation. At that point, we already saw both Gandalf himself and Galadriel tempted by the Ring, and have to stop themselves from taking it when offered. Later in that adventure, we saw a member of the party succumb, and try to steal the Ring. You think the eagles wouldn't have been tempted as well? Instead of a Dark Lord or a Queen, you might have had skyborne horrors, barons of the winds, whose eyes see all and who cannot be outrun.

[@kfisher723]

@@seannicolson136 Arcadia issue 3 dog fighting rules seem like less of a coincidence now 🤔

[@danielclark-hughes692]

@@Bluecho4 thank you for seeding the idea for my next campaign 😁

[@O4C209]

I like how Matt looks five years younger than he did five years ago.

[@bryceaustin4995]

He probably just got his hands on a Potion of Longevity.

[@wraithreaper22]

Kinda rude but okay

[@jeredperez7797]

My favorite DM once used a set-piece in our second session of Spelljammer to try and hammer in the sense of our rag tag ship-for-hire vibe, that we truly were small fish in a big mean world, by having us boarded by an imperial navy right after our first salvage operation. Our seeming options were to attempt escape, be taken prisoner, or somehow defeat the crew of a naval vessel with 2-3 times our crew size, all while being dispossessed of Big Shiny Thing that screamed Plot Hook. The DM mentioned later that those were how every group she had run in a similar scenario had responded. Instead, our warlock with high charisma and a tool belt full of deceit forged imperial credentials, sweet talked the imperial captain, and fooled the lieutenant enough to let us proceed to our fence without any of their crew proceeding below deck to see the Big Shiny Thing. Our DM was flabbergasted and delighted after the session and she said so. It was a cool moment for all of us at the table.

[@killfear]

8:03 -- "what were we supposed to do??"... "think about what could go wrong with your idea and be ready to deal with it"

[@StephireGG]

I don't know if I've EVER been this quick on an upload! Exciting!

[@bloodlustrous]

The returning theme from you that NPCs are not problems to solve but just their own minds is the best advice you give.

[@isadoramuller5590]

I'm a new DM and one of those surprised moments was when my party's wizard planned to cast tiny hut in front of a door they were eavesdropping, so that if they were found out they could run and the bag guys wouldn't be able to pass through. They ended up picking another plan, but it was so creative, I loved it. There was also another time that the paladin was fighting in an arena competition, so the bard started spreading rumors that he was a really bad fighter to tip the odds of them getting more money from bets haha. And when the final fight was a draw, the paladin was declared the loser, so they started chanting for a rematch, and got the whole crowd to join in. It was so much fun. They always come up with great stuff!

[@dbroccoliman]

Here for the advice, commenting for the algorithm!

[@X.davidWilliams]

Yes, yes... we must feed the all mighty ALGORITHM! Blessed be the Dice God's! HaHa

[@EthOrlen]

Ditto, I keep forgetting how what we do impacts the algorithm.

[@tahm22]

Same

[@justincenter4061]

ENGAGEMENT FOR THE ENGAGEMENT THRONE!!!!

[@IONATVS]

+

[@budgoodrich6000]

I've been struggling lately with going with the flow. I never tell my players they can't try something, but I always feel paralyzed when they go off script. This video was just what the doctor ordered.

[@jacobgrodman]

He said "I would go write another novel" three times. Book 3 confirmed?!

[@wanderingshade8383]

Yeah, its gonna happen eventually. I remember hearing Matt say on a stream that there's going to be "Priest," "Thief," "Knight," "Wizard," and "Paladin." I might be misremembering some of the ones in the middle there, but I distinctly remember the last one being called Paladin.

[@Incurafy]

@@wanderingshade8383 Fighter is the name of the third book, he reads excerpts occasionally on stream. :-)

[@greenlock592]

Matt is my D&D dad. I watched so many of his video before I got the courage to introduce and run D&D to and for my friends. While I’ll never be a perfect DM, I know that, thanks to Matt, I’ll be a better one every time I play.

[@jarrettsterrainminis]

You WILL be a perfect DM for some players. Just keep having fun :)

[@Cyberpuppy63]

Excellent observation. I'm guessing it took me 10 years to comprehend subtle AD&D methods. Some of my X-gm's grew tired of AD&D and (later) moved on. Stuff like handling thieves; using a 10' pole to probe ahead; using NPC's properly; casting Cleric Spells in proper context (and in proper situations).

[@andrewhagy2209]

No one has changed my life more profoundly than Mr. Colville. I’m so thankful for him and his content; I wish there was a way for me to give back meaningfully that didn’t involve money.

[@matthewshroba1511]

Here here (hear hear?)

[@Ellebeeby]

@@matthewshroba1511 “hear, hear” is correct: it’s short for “hear him, hear him”

[@matthewshroba1511]

@@Ellebeeby thank you!

[@Ellebeeby]

@@matthewshroba1511 you’re welcome :)

[@stevebreedlove9760]

I watch quite a few gm shows and matt definitely has well constructed arguments and good vocal pacing.

[@CazTails]

This couldn't have come at a better time, I'm going to start DMing my first campaign soon. I've only ever done oneshots and short adventures before!!

[@cyfreusz]

Best of luck!

[@matthewgallaway3675]

Sweet Caroline (bam bam bam!) You're game will be super cool!~

[@chaoshead87]

I've been a GM for a long time, I agree with almost everything you relate through your videos, so much so that I have had most of my players watch them as well. You know what happened, they have become better players for it. Thank you for sharing your accumulated knowledge and wisdom.

[@reddeblack9473]

This reminds me of a downtime i've done with One of my players, the character had to gather information about the location of a dragon's lair: he could go search a library, ask some veterans ecc.; In the end, he climbed a mountain and look around. It has been tough, but very fun to play.

[@dariandavis6332]

Whenever I’m struggling as a DM for my friends whether I’m lacking confidence or just hitting a block on where to take the story next I come back to your channel and you give me words of encouragement without even realizing you’re doing it. Thank you

[@dubCanuck1]

Missed these Matt.

[@CobaltGM]

I miss Matt’s “Running the Game” videos as well.

[@jjkthebest]

"The adventure thought we would take the path of least resistance" As a player, this is usually the exact opposite of what I do.

[@PrincessMadeira]

Me as a DM "There are road signs pointing to two towns, where are you going to go? You can do whatever you want, including running off into the woods, but I am asking you nicely not to do that because I haven't prepared for that and so it would be very hard on me." Also as someone who loves to write and has a ton of cool ideas and has trouble finishing my stories... having player characters play with the cool situations I've come up with is honestly... the best feeling in the world.

[@Calebgoblin]

As per Alfred Hitchcock, the building anticipation of watching you practice and record this video makes the cathartic climax Amazing

[@michaelthomas1916]

There've been at least two points in my DMing career where my players made a decision that i was grossly unprepared for. I simply called it early for the night, being completely up front that i needed time to prepare something to continue on. There're alwaye fine with it.

[@bigboyart1]

In the most recent (and last) session of my game, my players bypassed most of my meticulously planned plot. It ended up being the most fun I've ever had running a session.

[@eunafiendish3041]

The best way I've heard it is the DM prepares scenarios, the railroader scripts scenes

[@AnarchyintheUK1]

"He let us get in over our heads." Three weeks ago, the party I DM for TPKed. My very first in roughly a decade of play (on and off.) They witnessed the boss of the area and their tier of play going to kill a family they knew was innocent. I wanted them to see it to make them want to take out the boss/give them a reason to hate him and to give them maybe a small scale of what he could do. A taste. But half of them knew, in character, they would not let him do that and they attacked. They died in a fight way too strong for them. Listening to you, I can't fathom trying to stop them from doing that. It was epic and sad and gripping and rewarding. Losing all of that just because I would want them to fight the boss when /I/ decided to. Wild.

[@Aurum925]

This is one of the best Running the Game videos in my opinion. Super helpful as both a DM and a player to understand the difference between player choice and player agency.

[@samuelG4815]

I recently asked my players for feedback and their advice was to streamline the story. Like a pendulum, I was trying so hard to not railroad that I let the story get lost. Glad you produced this video as I search for the middle ground!

[@davidmorgan6896]

It isn't for the GM to write the 'story'. Stories are emergent; resulting from player actions against a backdrop of a world you create.

[@lukecash3500]

This series is practically a DMing bible. Matt may not be the definitive voice (although he kind of is for me and the way I think), but he has laid out all the tools a DM could need to make fun sessions. Thanks man you've been at it uploading these for a while and they've been a companion to more than one of the best campaigns I've experienced, period. And I was the guy running them! Go figure.

[@GreenHam0929]

My favorite notification.

[@redfox_hh8046]

Dude so true!

[@bobfrancis123]

My son, playing a Paladin, surprised me with a brilliant move while fighting a Venom Troll. He used his Healing Hands ability on the Troll to “neutralize the poison” in it. We had to stop and look up the wording on Healing Hands, so I ruled that the Troll couldn’t use Poison Damage until the end of his next turn. Brilliant use of a class ability and out of the box thinking! They also surprised me early on in the campaign by using Mold Earth to dig open murder holes in earthworks. The wizard dropped fireballs down the hole! Lol.

[@imperialadvisoraremheshvau3788]

Matt said he puts the best bits at the start of the vid - only partly true. At the 12:25 mark he says if you present players options, almost always they will pick the option you as DM like least. This is so true.

[@theendicott2838]

YES! This video is exactly what the D&D community needs. I am so tired of being told that I’m railroading my players when I talk about having a plot in my game. I have also been told a bunch of times that I don’t even understand the purpose of the DM, because I have a plot in my game.

[@validpostage]

"Imagine people complexly" thanks for dropping that in there :')

[@alexi4829]

alternative title: Matt Colville threatens to write a dozen or so books

[@dynawesome]

One time my players were tasked with chasing after a train and blowing it up. They instead blew up the train tracks as the train was above them, bypassing my entire fully planned out fight. But I had to let the do it, because if I didn’t it would be _railroading._ (I soon realized the pun)

[@emhooaryou698]

Wanted a text reference for that last bit, so here we go. Open World: You didn't pick this map, but within this map, you are free to go wherever you want. Sandbox: You didn't choose this problem, but you are free to choose how to solve it. Player Choice: You get to choose the content. You can be self-directed. Player Agency: You own your character. You decide what they think, how they react, what they want, and what they do. Your unique ideas will affect the world. Railroading: When the DM ignores the player's good ideas for no reason other than, "that's not what I want you to do."

[@tikazombie37]

as someone who started watching the chain only last month, it's quite nice to see the stuff mentioned in these videos and I can't get "IPA: Illithid Pituitary Ale" out of my head

[@obompaladino9224]

I believe the thing I love the most when watching this videos is hearing things I believed already, but in a plausible, well constructed way of saying. It gives me the good fuzzies!

[@canamrock]

I think the real rub with railroading comes from players thinking they can make choices only to then find they can't. Like if I know I'm in a module or something where the game is basically on rails, I can be fine with feeling the handrails and fences in the game. But when I'm given the illusion of choice only to have it slaughtered in-session, that is the frustration.

[@calicoixal]

One time my DM said, flat-out, "This is a railroad-y oneshot." We had a BLAST. I think it all comes down to expectation and execution. The first solved by communication, and the second solved by experience

[@GrimsFedora]

Matt Colville being a KZbin nerd as well as a genre nerd is very important to these videos. I dig it.

[@MrTombombodil]

In my experience, many players want rails, they just don't want to notice there are rails.

[@chalor182]

Man every time one of Matt's videos comes out it's like a breath of fresh air. Good content, well presented, and always fun and relaxing to listen to. Never been disappointed by a click on MCDM.

[@steveharrison76]

Man, if I agreed any harder with this I’d probably burst a blood vessel. Awesome, as per.

[@stevengreen11]

I had to go back and rewatch this as a player. Recently I've felt railroaded and had no chance in combat, no agency to do anything. But it's possible I don't have the right perspective and am just not playing creatively enough.

[@shepherd6473]

These videos legitimately make bad days better. Thank you Matt and team MCDM, y'all were a bright spot today.

[@WallySketch]

I feel like this video is a recap of different old ones. It's nice to have that type of content from times to times.

[@Riegnas]

Matt's videos inspire me like nothing else, I wish I could capture this kind of inspiration and bottle it up for a rainy day of writing.

[@FunLovingPotato]

In my current game, my players complained about how overly complex my game has become. Your advice of choice vs agency is much appreciated.

[@jroastpotatoes]

This is a prime example of these brilliant videos, and also incredibly (almost spookily) relevant to a problem I came up against in the first major 'set' piece of my first real actual DM foray. Amazingly rich and rapidly succinct as ever.x

[@johnnye87]

"Sure, you can do that, just give me a few weeks to prep it" is an *excellent* bluff-call that would work in a whole lot of similar situations. No harm reminding players how much work you're doing for them...

[@travelingtango]

"When she buys the module" love the inclusive language, and as always, love the content!

[@wavetail1]

Came here to say the same! Nothing turns me off RPG content more than consistent use of exclusively male pronouns, etc.

[@matthewshroba1511]

Yes I thought that was considerate, without being forced. Very nice. Classy.

[@galechan4724]

If I remember correctly, most of the time in 3.5 books if the player was referenced directly in the text, they were treated as female.

[@paulcoy9060]

@@galechan4724 I recall they switched the pronouns, from first example to the second, and then second to third, etc.

[@_Optional_]

I'm definitely not gonna argue against it, but I found it weird to switch between "he" and "she" vs just using "they" the whole way through. This way it's more obvious when you first heard "he" and it then switches to "she", so you have a short moment where you're surprised and have to think about it. But I think "they" would be more inclusive.

[@turrurim]

This video has been liberating for me. I'm a new DM, and thought I had to create an open world, and was spending a lot of time creating a bunch of different missions and spreading them over the map before the sessions. So knowing that it's ok to have a linear plot is really nice

[@nerd_mus]

Ohhh, this is a topic I wanted to see again! Nice!

[@danielhale1]

I have at least one player who has explicitly told me they want more linear, railroady campaigns. They want their character to be presented with a chain of situations they can react to, and to not have to spend a lot of time thinking about how to assertively/proactively make choices about what to do next. My other players want much more open-ended campaigns where they get to choose what to do next and where to go and why, and bristle at linear campaign design. The first thing they want to do is jump the rails. Balancing these conflicting desires is very difficult, but I've generally managed. At least I think so?

[@ericjkier]

The phrase, "what other ideas did you have?" I could give you gold for that. This video is so good, from the LotR comments, to the breakdown of each term, I'm hooked. Where do I ship this gold brick?

[@jobobminer8843]

I was there on stream and I believe the person who asked about only one solution really agreed with you. If you, A PC, can bypass or invent new solutions than there are multiple solutions.

[@stefanocasella7076]

That's an idea for a tshirt: "Sorry, you just suck at mountain climbing Aragorn!"

[@MisterFeline]

Wow...I JUST made a video about this topic with RollWithAdvantage where I called out your old Sandbox v. Railroad video. These are all my thoughts articulated x5 better. Glad to see someone else expressing this

[@damianspence]

Hank Green created his company "Complexly" for the real world equivalent of how you see D&D worlds

[@tubebobwil]

Just once again enjoying seeing StarForce, Talisman and Dune on Matt's bookshelf, but noticing Racko for the first time! Bravo!

[@halifaxsteppenwulf7980]

Sometimes I think about the idea of railroading, and I think certain groups can benefit from being a on a railroad in the most literal sense. You're all going one place at the same speed, but you can move around the plot cars of the train, you can get off at the various stops and spend some free time in town, and if you really want you can try to hijack it and send it right off course. Basically, players have freedom to do what they want within the confines of the narrative. Sometimes though, instead of trying to railroad people, you need to learn to just outright tell them you need to think about what comes next when they try something unexpected.

[@liammackey961]

My friend just DM’d his first session for us and it went super well! He asked us for feedback and my one piece of advice was along these lines. Thank you once again Mr. Colville for being a river to your people

[@QuirkyEclipse]

Your videos are always an inspiration and amazing. Thanks for what you do! :)

[@XraynPR]

I never played DnD but still watch all these videos, it's not just game tips, some things are genuine life tips.

[@HammerDowneyJr]

"The DM spends all weekend reading this tome, and taking notes, while YOU'RE PLAYING VALHEIM-" ....I feel personally attacked LMAO

[@johnnymillar9056]

You say that you try to put the most important information at the front (rightly so) and then the penultimate thing you hit out with is "imagine people complexly" what fucking excellent advice for any walk of life

[@Jan-gh7qi]

Greetings from a guy who made his group climb a mountain for three months :)

[@chadmckenzie2362]

Castle Amber was a piece if brilliance as far as I'm concerned! It was one of the first modules I ever played. (I'm old school too!) Great stuff! I wish all my DMs had this kind of attitude!

[@elijahkeytickler]

Clicked without reading the title, was very confused until I realized this is the 4th time I've heard this script! Forgot the video hadn't actually been released yet.

[@OddTitan]

Perfect timing, I’m trying to break free from the module I’m running and everyone is releasing content to help with improv and sandboxing.

[@Griffolion0]

A great example of a player doing something the DM absolutely hadn't thought of was in (spoilers): ... Critical Role when Jester modify memory'd the hag into releasing Nott's curse by using some dust of deliciousness on a cupcake that caused the hag to fail the wisdom save. Matt looked absolutely furious but also unbelievably proud that Laura the player had come up with that.

[@_UPRC]

Got an episode an time stamp for that?

[@qubit1788]

You know what? I needed this today. DMing a game on Saturday night and was abou to railroad my players. Gotta rethink a few things I planned