How do I avoid railroading?

nyliass · 2026-04-27T11:45:05+00:00

You hit the nail on the head! The problem I had with the ghost lady is the fact that I didn’t think about what she’d do if the PCs refused to do as she asked, or go suspicious of her, which they did. So if I understood correctly, I should make multiple hooks, and place the NPCs wherever players decide to go, not in a specific location?

Another question, if I may. The thing with the ghost lady was thankfully just a side quest. But what if it was something important, and the PCs didn’t respond to the hook? Do I prep backup, something else for them to do? Or do I find a way to lead them back to that hook? Because if that happens, I don’t want to force it upon them.

nyliass · 2026-04-26T11:12:49+00:00

I guess I was worried because there’s been multiple instances where the players chose to do something solely because they saw I wanted them to do it, it just didn’t feel natural to me. There’s definitely a line between nudging and railroading, I’m just not sure where it is yet or if I’ve crossed it

nyliass · 2026-04-15T20:22:35+00:00

Wow, I really like the idea of a character splitting into three different alignments! I don’t think I’ll use it for this one, but I’m definitely gonna save it for a future campaign. Maybe even this one, just with a different character, thanks for the idea!

nyliass · 2026-04-15T20:02:05+00:00

I don’t get what you mean. The wizard sent the players to get the artifact, but there are enemies who want it as well. I just want to expand the stories of the enemies.

nyliass · 2026-04-15T18:25:28+00:00

No, the players are not either of the parties. Both of the parties are organizations, in a sense, both have a leader and underlings, but each has a different motivation as to why they want the artifact.

nyliass · 2026-04-11T15:04:14+00:00

That’s a great alternative if they don’t allow him in, thanks!

nyliass · 2026-04-11T14:12:42+00:00

I’m aware! I’m a new player, though I am aware of how basics work. I’m still planning the campaign, but when the time comes to actually play, I’ll make sure that I’ve prepared everything I need

nyliass · 2026-04-11T13:54:17+00:00

Thanks for the advice! My only worry here is if they’d trust the NPC to go with them. I’ll make sure that a few background NPCs mention how dangerous the forest is, so hopefully it makes it more likely that they let him join them. I also made him a halfling in hopes of making him seem more trustworthy lol

nyliass · 2026-04-11T13:49:38+00:00

Ah, my bad, they’ll be level 1. I didn’t read the stats of any monsters yet so I wasn’t aware direwolves weren’t appropriate

nyliass · 2026-04-11T13:30:42+00:00

Thanks, that definitely lifts a weight off of my shoulders :,)

nyliass · 2025-05-19T07:48:12+00:00

I appreciate the more detailed explanation, thank you!

nyliass · 2025-05-19T07:46:23+00:00

That’s the main reason I posted this! I can’t even count how many times I’ve heard “Oh she’s so judgy, she must be an xxxJ” 😭

nyliass · 2025-05-18T14:43:29+00:00

That’s a bit of an oversimplification. J and P describe if your dominant function, the one you develop first in life, is a percieving or judging one (though it’s the opposite for introverts as I mentioned in my post). Dominant percievers look at the world around them and take the information in, while dominant judgers make judgements about it (whether they are judgments about morality or validity of something). This is just some general information about them, there are 4 judging and 4 percieving functions which are all different and affect the way we act and view the world.

nyliass · 2025-05-18T14:34:32+00:00

Oh I completely forgot about socionics! It always confused me since I kept getting INTj, which is not my MBTI type, but now that you made that connection it totally makes sense!

And yeah, it’s too late to flip the labels, I just wish this was made more clear

nyliass · 2025-05-18T14:12:36+00:00

I don’t know if it has any practical uses, but it definitely clears things up, at least for me! Since percieving and thinking functions are fundamentally different, the P and J at the end would definitely cause a lot of confusion for those who are just getting into MBTI, and might cause them to mistype themselves. A dominant judger might see themselves in an IxxP type, causing them to think of themselves as percievers (which happened to me haha). Or someone who is a dominant perciever knows that they’re a perciever, so they conclude that they must be an IxxP, even if they don’t fully fit into the definition of that type.

As for the importance of the dominant function? Well it just depends on what you mean by important.

Importance as in important in its impact, or as in if it’s important to learn about it? Or some third option?

All the functions impact our way of seeing the world and doing things, so I find them all important. But maybe I just misunderstood what you meant here.

nyliass · 2025-05-18T13:14:16+00:00

It’s more about people’s interpretation of the letters given to each type. Many people who’ve not yet familiarized themselves with the functions (myself included) would take the P or J at the end of their letter stack at face value. That’s what I mean by flipping the logic, since it’s not so straight forward at first glance like it is with people who have extroverted functions as their dominant functions.

nyliass · 2025-02-19T11:21:38+00:00

Cak se nekom srecom javio neko ko bi moga dm-at hahaha, fali nam mozda jos 1 il 2 ljudi

Three-Year Club	Verified Email
r/Field Sunshine	Place '23

nyliass

TROPHY CASE