'''Basic Trope''': The players of a tabletop game derail the Game Master's story.
* '''Straight''': Bob's very silly questions prevent Carol, the Game Master, from revealing the BigBad's plot before Alice kills the BigBad.
* '''Exaggerated''':
** Bob shoots the BigBad before even Carol could think of a plot.
** [[Blog/ThingsMrWelchIsNoLongerAllowedToDoInAnRPG Bob casts power word stun in town, revealing who the villain of the plot is by his immunity to it.]]
* '''Downplayed''': Alice and Bob generally follow Carol's plot, but get past a BeefGate earlier in the game than Carol intended, [[SequenceBreaking breaking the intended sequence of events]]. They also tend to [[CuttingTheKnot force their way past Carol's stock puzzles]].
* '''Justified''': Bob wants to teach Carol a lesson about RailRoading.
* '''Inverted''':
** Carol, The Game Master unleashes a very silly CardCarryingVillain, much to the surprise of the players.
** Alice is a [[TheLoonie Loonie]] trying her hand at being a GM. Unfortunately for her, Bob and the other players are StopHavingFunGuys and want to play the game by the book and follow the story.
** Carol sets up a very open-ended campaign by surprise. The players search for rails that don't exist searching for extended plots instead of taking greater initiative.
* '''Subverted''':
** Carol creates two series of events: a general obvious one that she likes and two more that she ''really'' likes. The player's attempt at going OffTheRails [[XanatosGambit is what allows her to put the second into action]], ensnaring the players into an even tighter narrative.
** Carol had set up her plot in such a way that [[XanatosGambit no matter what Bob does, everything will end up her way in the end]]. When Bob shoots the BigBad, Carol points out that if he had waited he'd know that the BigBad was armored and bullet proof from the very beginning of her campaign.
* '''Double Subverted''': Unfortunately, she forgot Bob had an item that allowed him to immediately break the backup plan, too.
* '''Parodied''':
** Any action at all that Bob makes seems to derail Carol's plot.
** Alice and Bob work together to derail the plot into constructing rails and building a train, so they can ''literally'' go off the rails.
** Alice is interrupted so much that the plot goes off her set of rails and onto Bob's. The most Alice can manage throughout the campaign is a couple words of narration (before being cut off of course) and calling for checks.
* '''Zig Zagged''': The players switch between following the rails and going off the beaten path.
* '''Averted''':
** There are no attempts at derailing the plot from the players.
** The plot is loose enough that the players would have to intentionally be seeking the break up the plot.
* '''Enforced''': Carol's storyline is stuck because she [[DidntThinkThisThrough failed to think it through all the way]] or [[UnintentionallyUnwinnable accidentally left it unwinnable under the circumstances]], and the players literally have no other way to proceed.
* '''Lampshaded''': "Is this the week to follow the tracks or go off them?"
* '''Invoked''': "Are we messing with the Game Master's {{plan}} again?" "No. I learn not to plan ahead any more than ten minutes."
* '''Exploited''':
** Carol, while annoyed, uses the sudden swerve to practice her storytelling skills
** Carol knows Bob will ignore everything she says especially the things she expects him to and [[CassandraGambit starts giving good advice]]. The next thing Bob knows is his character doesn't like [[RocksFallEveryoneDies rocks]] or [[BoltOfDivineRetribution electricity]]. Now everyone blames Bob for taking the IdiotBall (that Carol gave him in first place).
* '''Defied''': In anticipation of the other players' attempts to derail the plot, Carol [[DevelopersForesight thinks of many ways to keep her story going (or alternative story paths)]] by being CrazyPrepared.
* '''Discussed''': ???
* '''Conversed''': ???
* '''Deconstructed''':
** After having her intricate plotlines derailed too much, Carol gives up and runs module after module.
** ...Or she decides to just ban Bob after her patience runs out, something that ends up creating lot of tension among the remaining members of the group in a chain of events that lead to [[BreakingTheFellowship the eventual dissolution of it]].
* '''Reconstructed''': After having her intricate plotlines derailed too much, Carol decides to run a more flexible campaign [[DevelopersForesight that gives bonuses for ingenuity]].
* '''Played For Laughs''': Alice and Bob create hilarity and silliness by their derailings such as turning a duel between noblemen into a CookingDuel.
* '''Played For Drama''': Alice and Bob end up throwing the kingdom into chaos and creating a long and bloody war of succession.
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AliceAndBob want to you to read "OffTheRails," much to Carol's dismay.
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%% Optional items, added after Conversed, at your discretion:
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%%* '''Implied''': ???
%%* '''Plotted A Good Waste''': ???