Aaron Fenwick
@aaronwfenwick.bsky.social
If you’ll be my bodyguard, I could be your long lost pal.
#ttrpgs and stuff
#ttrpgs and stuff
The decider is what the huge cohort that started the hobby with 5e does. I don’t think it’s a given that they redistribute across the TRPG space. Many will , but the numbers that don’t will be the story of the next 5 years. The whole history of the hobby is reactions to D&D…
November 27, 2025 at 9:59 PM
The decider is what the huge cohort that started the hobby with 5e does. I don’t think it’s a given that they redistribute across the TRPG space. Many will , but the numbers that don’t will be the story of the next 5 years. The whole history of the hobby is reactions to D&D…
As usual that rules. Wonderfully beautiful and evocative.
November 27, 2025 at 7:59 PM
As usual that rules. Wonderfully beautiful and evocative.
That’s interesting (not being a person that follows CR) but it lends credence to the idea that a D&D killer needs some external factor to occur. It doesn’t need to be the right game , it needs to be the right game at the right time.
November 27, 2025 at 7:34 PM
That’s interesting (not being a person that follows CR) but it lends credence to the idea that a D&D killer needs some external factor to occur. It doesn’t need to be the right game , it needs to be the right game at the right time.
Or, have spare packs make a weapon take up more inventory space but grant a UD increase. Laser pistol is UD6 taking up one slot, spare packs take up an additional slot and boost the pistol to UD8
November 27, 2025 at 7:31 PM
Or, have spare packs make a weapon take up more inventory space but grant a UD increase. Laser pistol is UD6 taking up one slot, spare packs take up an additional slot and boost the pistol to UD8
You could have a reload action that replenishes the weapons UD. (You could also use a UD to express carried ammo, rolling when you take a reload/restock action) Or you spend the ammo packs to prevent the UD from dropping.
November 27, 2025 at 7:29 PM
You could have a reload action that replenishes the weapons UD. (You could also use a UD to express carried ammo, rolling when you take a reload/restock action) Or you spend the ammo packs to prevent the UD from dropping.
Aha, there is a mountain of work in psychology, sociology and economics that will tell you that isn’t necessarily the case. But essentially it comes back to being not a structural concept but a sociographic one.
November 27, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Aha, there is a mountain of work in psychology, sociology and economics that will tell you that isn’t necessarily the case. But essentially it comes back to being not a structural concept but a sociographic one.
So the deception is the inflection point? The railroad is actually a sociological element rather than a structural one. (Because if a guided/fixed structure is signposted and consented to it is not a railroad definitionally?)
November 27, 2025 at 6:58 PM
So the deception is the inflection point? The railroad is actually a sociological element rather than a structural one. (Because if a guided/fixed structure is signposted and consented to it is not a railroad definitionally?)
Is advancement/mechanical incentive a form of coercion? I’m honestly not looking for a particular answer just interested in the philosophy of the concept.
November 27, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Is advancement/mechanical incentive a form of coercion? I’m honestly not looking for a particular answer just interested in the philosophy of the concept.
To be fair, I see as much interest as pretty much all the OSR or PbtA games combined. So it’s not insignificant, but not dominant either.
November 27, 2025 at 2:01 PM
To be fair, I see as much interest as pretty much all the OSR or PbtA games combined. So it’s not insignificant, but not dominant either.
That’s the interesting thing isn’t it? Lots of games have fixed elements, many have structures that are essentially unavoidable (procedural loops can go that way despite narrative variance between loops) Do these become railroads only when players stop buying in?
November 27, 2025 at 1:59 PM
That’s the interesting thing isn’t it? Lots of games have fixed elements, many have structures that are essentially unavoidable (procedural loops can go that way despite narrative variance between loops) Do these become railroads only when players stop buying in?
There are totally tables being run based on local rpg group postings I see. But it isn't anywhere near the volume of 5e tables a year or so ago and comparable with other popular games like Call of Cthulhu or whatever Free League games is currently the vibe.
November 27, 2025 at 1:38 PM
There are totally tables being run based on local rpg group postings I see. But it isn't anywhere near the volume of 5e tables a year or so ago and comparable with other popular games like Call of Cthulhu or whatever Free League games is currently the vibe.
So if it isn't unfair or unwilling is it not a railroad despite having other traits associated with the term? (Fixed plot points, inability to divert the structure of the narrative etc)
November 27, 2025 at 1:27 PM
So if it isn't unfair or unwilling is it not a railroad despite having other traits associated with the term? (Fixed plot points, inability to divert the structure of the narrative etc)
Popular very quickly but I’ve not sensed it breaking the Chaosium ceiling yet? How sustained its popularity remains is also unknown.
November 27, 2025 at 12:37 PM
Popular very quickly but I’ve not sensed it breaking the Chaosium ceiling yet? How sustained its popularity remains is also unknown.
Oh yeah no wrong answers here haha. It’s an interesting topic which I think is more complex than people assume.
November 27, 2025 at 6:10 AM
Oh yeah no wrong answers here haha. It’s an interesting topic which I think is more complex than people assume.
It’s a post D&D fragmentation. A lot like the late 80s. Someone will make a game that grabs the zeitgeist (V:tM) or another version of D&D will show up for everyone to react to. The interesting thing is what the thousands of pandemic 5e fans do, that will dictate where we are in 5 years
November 27, 2025 at 6:09 AM
It’s a post D&D fragmentation. A lot like the late 80s. Someone will make a game that grabs the zeitgeist (V:tM) or another version of D&D will show up for everyone to react to. The interesting thing is what the thousands of pandemic 5e fans do, that will dictate where we are in 5 years
Situation is actually a better term, a plot is a situtation as is a setting or sandbox. A plot is a series of events and becomes a railroad should that series of events be unescapable? Does that sound right? Does forking that series of events change that? Two (or more) paths leading to the same end?
November 27, 2025 at 5:49 AM
Situation is actually a better term, a plot is a situtation as is a setting or sandbox. A plot is a series of events and becomes a railroad should that series of events be unescapable? Does that sound right? Does forking that series of events change that? Two (or more) paths leading to the same end?
I do think that pushes towards an idea platonic ideal of play that I can't say I am fond of. There are absolutly play groups that don't desire the story to go in unexpected directions. (Not my prefered play style but it exists and is valid)
November 27, 2025 at 5:41 AM
I do think that pushes towards an idea platonic ideal of play that I can't say I am fond of. There are absolutly play groups that don't desire the story to go in unexpected directions. (Not my prefered play style but it exists and is valid)
Great con modules/one shots as well, sandboxing is hard to do in threeish hours and generally won't be satisfying. One shots are a different animal as they have fundimentally different audience expectations.
November 27, 2025 at 5:32 AM
Great con modules/one shots as well, sandboxing is hard to do in threeish hours and generally won't be satisfying. One shots are a different animal as they have fundimentally different audience expectations.
I don't think there is any debate there, it is a matter of degrees though. Fiction based refusal of action can go to obstructionism and then to railroading. (Refusal of all action other than the one the GM wants the players to take) Any tool can be overused but few are inherentily bad...
November 27, 2025 at 5:30 AM
I don't think there is any debate there, it is a matter of degrees though. Fiction based refusal of action can go to obstructionism and then to railroading. (Refusal of all action other than the one the GM wants the players to take) Any tool can be overused but few are inherentily bad...
Yup that is the question and the term is chucked around a pejorative all the time. Once you work out the bounds of the idea you can then get into the tougher question... is that necessarily a bad thing? Are there good railroads or audiences that enjoy railroads?
November 27, 2025 at 4:54 AM
Yup that is the question and the term is chucked around a pejorative all the time. Once you work out the bounds of the idea you can then get into the tougher question... is that necessarily a bad thing? Are there good railroads or audiences that enjoy railroads?
I got this edition recently and it's *fine* but not the cool red cover
November 27, 2025 at 4:16 AM
I got this edition recently and it's *fine* but not the cool red cover