Off the Rails: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

 

The [[Game Master]] has created an epic plot that spans time, space and dimensions. Its scope is exceeded only by its elegance, its elegance only bettered by its plot, its plot only bested by its setting, and the whole thing is held together by a compelling supporting cast of NPCs. The campaign is ''perfect''.

* The book ''[[The Munchkin's Guide to Power Gaming]]'' features another hypothetical example, in which a GM wants the players to go into a dungeon, but 'all they want to do is find out what's down the road from the dungeon entrance'.

* ''[[Honor Harrington]]'' telegraphs much of the plot if you understand [[Horatio Hornblower|what the story is based on]]. Then someone goes ahead and nukes Napoleon...

 

== Live-Action TV ==

* Inherent in ''[[Paranoia (game)|Paranoia]]'' to such a degree that many GMs recommend not installing the rails in the first place. (Especially since by the first 'station', everyone will probably be dead.)

** On the other hand, if the GM really ''really'' wants the characters to be at Point X, all it takes is one order from The Computer, and they are being [[Railroading|frog-marched X-ward]] by a heavily-armed Vulture Squadron "escort".

 

== Theater ==

Go to {{spoiler|the garage with Vault 112}} early, or

Skip straight to {{spoiler|Little Lamplight/Vault 87}} [[Replay Value|if you already know how to find any of these places]]. }}

* ''[[Fallout: New Vegas]]'' has a few major factions that you can ally with to complete the game. Performing quests for each faction may make opposing factions warn you that they'll stop accepting your support if you persist in helping the other factions - if you continue, you'll no longer be able to progress in their missions (though they will remain non-hostile as long as you don't). You can then make all three major factions mad at you - possibly by meeting with their leaders, killing them, and [[I'm a Humanitarian|eating their corpses]] - which will give you [[Bragging Rights Reward|a special perk]]. This leaves you only one way to beat the game - going off the rails the three factions built and '''taking over Vegas yourself''' with the help of {{spoiler|Yes Man}}. Unfortunately, it's impossible to go off this rail since {{spoiler|Yes Man}} is more or less immortal, and doesn't even care if you open fire on him repeatedly {{spoiler|since his programming will just be transferred to another securitron if the one he's in is destroyed.}}

** This is intentional in the design -- the only two NPCs who are entirely unkillable are the Vendortron (because he's sealed inside an invulnerable enclosure) and Yes Man (because he has infinite robot respawns). This is so that no matter how far the PC tries to rampage off the rails, there will still be a minimum of one merchant to sell stuff to, and one viable ending path to the game.

== Web Comics ==

* Happens ''far'' too many times to count in ''[[Dork Tower]]'', usually due to their overzealous gaming strategies.

*** In the second attempt, one of the players is assigned to play Gandalf... but with his abilities [[Nerf|limited to talking to birds and casting fireworks]]. The players ended up using Gandalf as a [[Bulletproof Human Shield]] and battering ram.

** Another session ended with the players having taken over the kingdom, forged an empire, and conquered all of the known lands... when their goal was to just [[Your Princess Is in Another Castle|rescue the princess.]]

*** In ''[[The Wizard of Oz|Magicians & Munchkins]]'', everybody decides to be a [[Min-Maxing]] [[Munchkin]], including the GM, whose [[Final Boss]] is an all-powerful Wicked Witch with the drawback of "[[Weaksauce Weakness|Vulnerability to Water]]". Which the players accidentally discover 3 Sessions earlier than the GM intended them to.

*** In ''[[Casablanca|Trenchcoats & Turncoats]]'', Ilsa and Victor are [[Dirty Communists]] who steal the [[MacGuffin|plans]] and [[Karma Houdini|escape on the plane]] because [[The Real Man|Jim (as Rick)]] is [[Too Dumb to Live|dumb enough]] to believe their cover story that they're Americans despite the facts that [[The Roleplayer|Annie (as Ilsa)]] speaks with a thick Russian accent and [[The Loonie|Sally (as Victor)]] only speaks in stock Russian phrases. But what really gets the GM [[Big No|frothing at the mouth]] is that he'd intended the campaign to be an epic, exciting, globe-spanning adventure but the players hardly ever left [[You All Meet in An Inn|the bar where they all met in.]]

** The DM does face a problem when {{spoiler|Legolas kills Gollum}} early on. And later on they even get to {{spoiler|kill Grima Wormtongue and Saruman}}.

*** In a smaller example, [[The Roleplayer|Gimli's player]] manages to derail [[GMPC|Gandalf's]] battle against the Balrog by pointing out that it would be against their alignments to squander the [[Heroic Sacrifice]], meaning the [[Final Speech]] the GM had written up for that scene goes unused while the Fellowship legs it.

* A very common plot seen with the ''[[Knights of the Dinner Table]]'' comics. In some strips they manage to go off the rails before the adventure ''starts'' because they refuse to listen to they guy who's supposed to tell them what the adventure is. In one, after they've stolen the king's silverware during a banquet and therefore had a huge battle with the guards rather than be sent on a quest, B.A. finally storms off after Bob says the adventure was much better than he expected, and Brian recommends he get the other modules in that series.

* Happens quite a lot in ''[[Full Frontal Nerdity]]''. One good example would be [http://ffn.nodwick.com/?p=436 this].

 

== Web Original ==

*** The end result of the GM's plot getting between a ''[[Deathwatch (game)|Deathwatch]]'' kill team and [http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_N1UanV4-p4/TxNMFj9YvWI/AAAAAAAAAM4/upeuPWtERTY/s1600/SpaceWolvesDemotivator.jpg loot.]

**** The Plot would still be derailed, but it is easily fixed. If they run before the Avalanche, they get crushed while trying to lift off. If they go after the Avalanche, the enemies burn their way out of the bunkers and slaughter them. The next team will choose another way.

*** [//archived.moe/tg/thread/19582796/ Fur-gotten Realms] (noticed the trend?)

*** [http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?searchall=Elf+Murderin%27 There was] a fangirl's attempt to pass "''[[Avatar]]'' with yaoi" as ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]] 4'' campaign without telling the players beforehand. The party was supposed to [[Easy Evangelism|See The Light]] and save elven tree-hugging [[Mary Suetopia]] from evil humans, but most chose to ''[[Bothering by the Book|actually roleplay the proposed roles]]'' instead, leading to what become known as "[[Screw You, Elves|The Elfslayer Chronicles]]".

*** Play-by-post is overrun by [[Mary Sue]] characters indulging in narcissism... Enter [http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Oscar Oscar the Stoner]. [http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?searchall=Oscar] He's [[Unfazed Everyman|just a human, but acts too stoned to be very impressed by anything]], while being immune to few things that would ''make'' him impressed and retaining some caution. He trolls simply by not going with their plots while being more interesting to chat with than Sues (which in itself isn't too hard, since they by definition tend toward monologuing) even in that character. The result: everyone gets an excuse to act as [[The Loonie]], the game turns into one big [[Stoner Flick]], marysues are [[Attention Whore|deprived of attention]] and [[Rage Quit]] - as well as anyone not in a mood to laugh the behind off. As [http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/12669503/ the second Oscar thread] says -

{{quote|The now significantly thinned out group started to grow weary of Oscar's influence. It seemed as though their own craving of randomness and cheap thrills, combined with his never ending supply of happy grass, slowly began to stop being enough, and the group gradually grew even more fractured than ever before.}}

 

== Western Animation ==