The Nature of Railroading

[Quertus]

So by ''game physics" your talking only about "game rules".

Hmmm... I'll have to say "no". But game rules are a subset of game physics.

Like what if the DM gets the ''tense game moment" by simply having Boccob NOT seeing or hearing the spell’s verbal or somatic components?

There are rules governing what Boccob perceives. A GM ignoring those rules is still violating game physics.

So are you altering your defination of railroading to ''if the DM wants anything: it's railroading". It sounds a bit like you are.

Sounds? Maybe. You're not the first to think so. So this isn't the first time (in this very thread, my senile self believes) that I've said no, I'm discussing the nature of railroading, the roots of railroading, not the definition of railroading.

The GM wanting something is the dark magic that allows rails to form in their mind. The party taking actions is the white magic that can produce actions whose "logical" outcome from following game physics would produce a result that runs counter to the GM's desires. It is in this clash of light and dark magics that some GMs fall to the dark side of railroading, and choose to ignore game physics to invalidate the players' actions, whereas other GMs rise above their petty desires and follow game physics.

Biased? Me? Nonsense!