Traveller Discord?

As the others have said, I just straight talk with my players. I don’t mind if they take a different direction and I honestly enjoy when they take the initiative to do what they want. I don’t try to force them back onto the railroad track, but I will save bits of whatever they would have encountered for later (especially if I’ve already prepped it!).

If, however, they are taking that exit because I gave them the wrong directions, I will try to get them back on track. I don’t consider this railroading, but nudging them in a direction. My players are willing participants in the adventure, but they don’t always pick up subtle clues. If they need some more-obvious direction, I try my best to do that without taking away their freedom of choice.

This is excellent. Most of the answers here are what game to play, in other words, what mechanics can be used to force the horror feeling. This is purely about narrative, which can apply to any system. Thank you for sharing.

That paperclip looks about as handmade as the map!

Yes, I agree. As far as I can tell, these are compiled by an actual human, Darryl Mott, and the quality shows.

Thank you for pursuing making the community. I am willing to talk about Traveller and other sci-fi themed topics.