Re: Role-playing games

by Eldorion Fri Sep 26, 2014 3:04 am

Pettytyrant101 wrote:Stick to Gygax's original helpful instructions, dont trust any D&D book after 2nd edition, they just want to sell you stuff.

THAC0 or bust. Very Happy

The D&D groups I was in tended to be pretty informal and loose with the rules, which really annoyed some of the older (by which I mean like ... 15) members of the group. And most of us, myself included, weren't really that into the story/characterization aspects of roleplaying. But it was still a lot of fun. Get your hands on some actual rule books (older ones are cool though personally I have no problem with v. 3/3.5, although they're very different from AD&D 1 and 2, so you should really pick just one and stick with it) if you can. There's nothing like rifling through the pages while you're sitting at the table. I'm sure nowadays there are apps that can tell you everything you need to know but I don't think that'd feel the same. Razz

Plus you wouldn't stumble on as much cool stuff just by accident.

by Radaghast Fri Sep 26, 2014 5:13 am

Pettytyrant101 wrote:Probably the hardest bit of being a DM is getting the balance between letting people have fun and keeping it all going and on track. If you are too strict you risk being seen as a bit of a dick and if you dont get some control it can all get out of hand very easily.

Exactly. Especially when the DM gets drawn into the joking around Very Happy

But you can't discipline players without taking the fun out of the game like you said. It's up the individual players to rein themselves in.

by Pettytyrant101 Fri Sep 26, 2014 6:11 am

I think you can coax and coral players a bit to get on with it as DM. It a matter of letting things go for so long then pulling the focus back in. If you are playing with friends, generally most likely, then its easier as you know them well enough to do it without offending or coming over like an anally retentive school teacher.

by Radaghast Sat Sep 27, 2014 3:25 am

How frequent were PC deaths in your campaign(s), PT? Just curious because they were rather frequent in ours Mad

by Forest Shepherd Mon Sep 29, 2014 5:04 am

I can appreciate the appeal of killing off your impetuous player's characters, but I think I would become rather attached to my characters if I played rather than DM-ing.
I mean there's always ways to work in whatchayacallit, where you bring them back from death, I suppose.

by Forest Shepherd Mon Sep 29, 2014 5:25 am

Radaghast wrote:FS, have you tried Meetup? I don't have much experience with it but it may be worth checking out.

http://dnd.meetup.com/

Thanks for the link. I've tried that website in the past and had no luck, but I messaged a couple people again and am waiting for responses.
I suppose the best way to go about this would be to visit my local RPG table-top thingy.
It's just that I don't really make friends all that quickly, and the whole idea of actively pursuing other people to play with is rather daunting.
I mean, I live in the Bay Area of central California, there are tons of people here. The problem is that there are no solid, straightforward ways to find other 20-somethings with a love for Tolkien who are casually looking for a small DnD group. There are too many dead-ends and false-starts through websites like meetup.com. I've already exhausted all the listed gaming groups on the site (the ones listed were all dead or full).

by Pettytyrant101 Mon Sep 29, 2014 5:57 am

How frequent were PC deaths in your campaign(s), PT? Just curious because they were rather frequent in ours- Raddy

Killing players is one of those areas that depends a lot on the players and the style of DM.
Annoying players who do stupid things all the time deserve what they get.
On the other hand if you have players who invest a lot in their character , the character background and the role playing you dont want to casually kill off their characters all the time or they will stop investing as much in their characters to the loss of the whole game.

A good DM should balance the game anyway so that really only being stupid or some really unlucky rolls will be a problem. There is a reason when players start they fight gnolls and rust monsters and not dragons and demons.
A well balanced game should always favour the players surviving, but with some exciting near scrapes. And of course its within a DM's prerogative to fudge some rolls if necessary, this is especially the case on difficulty checks as the DM will determine the number to be rolled for them. Any roll made behind a screen can be fudged if the DM feels its necessary- sometimes its necessary if the players have had a series of bad luck but played well to throw them a bit of good fortune to stop them getting the hump with the game.

Another problem that can arise with some players is that they view the DM as the competition to be beaten. A DM is not a part of the game and players should not be trying to beat the DM, but rather the created game world.
And a DM that competes with players is always going to end in trouble and a poor game. The DM should never be viewed as the main adversary to be overcome.

If you want an example of one of my games, the sort of style and story of them, and an example of the player characters in the games then have a read of Circle of Stone (On here somewhere do a search for it) as thats a novel based entirely on the last campaign I created.
It had four player characters- Tain, the Baron Ironfang, the Druid and Canthiss and took about 2-3 years to play through (the novel is only one third of the total campaign).
I tend to find as DM that 3 is the minimum number of players required for a decent game and about 6 or 7 the upper limit to ensure everyone gets enough game time and dont spend too much time waiting their go.

by Nagual Mon Sep 29, 2014 1:20 pm

Radaghast wrote:How frequent were PC deaths in your campaign(s), PT? Just curious because they were rather frequent in ours

by Eldorion Mon Sep 29, 2014 1:34 pm

Damn, long time no see, Nagual! Very Happy

Hope you've been well. Smile

by Nagual Mon Sep 29, 2014 1:39 pm

Eldorion wrote:Damn, long time no see, Nagual! Hope you've been well.

Indeed. All is well and good at Chateau Nagual. My spider senses were tingling and felt the need for a pointless post. As is my want Very Happy

by Radaghast Mon Sep 29, 2014 3:03 pm

Forest Shepherd wrote:I can appreciate the appeal of killing off your impetuous player's characters, but I think I would become rather attached to my characters if I played rather than DM-ing.
I mean there's always ways to work in whatchayacallit, where you bring them back from death, I suppose.

Yeah, there were a couple of times I was devastated by a character's demise Sad

But the DM I played with was just very strict and by the book. He probably fudged a lot of rolls for the players' benefit; at other times, he seemed to turn the screws on us. He recently emailed me how he redid a combat for the first time ever because of an error he made that resulted in two PCs' deaths. After the redo, the characters were not dead. I found that rather surprising.

by Radaghast Mon Sep 29, 2014 3:04 pm

Forest Shepherd wrote:
Radaghast wrote:FS, have you tried Meetup? I don't have much experience with it but it may be worth checking out.

http://dnd.meetup.com/
Thanks for the link. I've tried that website in the past and had no luck, but I messaged a couple people again and am waiting for responses.
I suppose the best way to go about this would be to visit my local RPG table-top thingy.
It's just that I don't really make friends all that quickly, and the whole idea of actively pursuing other people to play with is rather daunting.
I mean, I live in the Bay Area of central California, there are tons of people here. The problem is that there are no solid, straightforward ways to find other 20-somethings with a love for Tolkien who are casually looking for a small DnD group. There are too many dead-ends and false-starts through websites like meetup.com. I've already exhausted all the listed gaming groups on the site (the ones listed were all dead or full).

Yeah; out of curiosity, I checked that site right after posting it here and it showed me places on the opposite coast. Don't think I'll be using that site for anything.

by Radaghast Mon Sep 29, 2014 3:06 pm

Pettytyrant101 wrote:How frequent were PC deaths in your campaign(s), PT? Just curious because they were rather frequent in ours- Raddy

Killing players is one of those areas that depends a lot on the players and the style of DM.
Annoying players who do stupid things all the time deserve what they get.
On the other hand if you have players who invest a lot in their character , the character background and the role playing you dont want to casually kill off their characters all the time or they will stop investing as much in their characters to the loss of the whole game.

A good DM should balance the game anyway so that really only being stupid or some really unlucky rolls will be a problem. There is a reason when players start they fight gnolls and rust monsters and not dragons and demons.
A well balanced game should always favour the players surviving, but with some exciting near scrapes. And of course its within a DM's prerogative to fudge some rolls if necessary, this is especially the case on difficulty checks as the DM will determine the number to be rolled for them. Any roll made behind a screen can be fudged if the DM feels its necessary- sometimes its necessary if the players have had a series of bad luck but played well to throw them a bit of good fortune to stop them getting the hump with the game.

Another problem that can arise with some players is that they view the DM as the competition to be beaten. A DM is not a part of the game and players should not be trying to beat the DM, but rather the created game world.
And a DM that competes with players is always going to end in trouble and a poor game. The DM should never be viewed as the main adversary to be overcome.

If you want an example of one of my games, the sort of style and story of them, and an example of the player characters in the games then have a read of Circle of Stone (On here somewhere do a search for it) as thats a novel based entirely on the last campaign I created.
It had four player characters- Tain, the Baron Ironfang, the Druid and Canthiss and took about 2-3 years to play through (the novel is only one third of the total campaign).
I tend to find as DM that 3 is the minimum number of players required for a decent game and about 6 or 7 the upper limit to ensure everyone gets enough game time and dont spend too much time waiting their go.

All very good points.

Thanks, I'll check out that thread if I can find the time.

by Radaghast Mon Sep 29, 2014 3:09 pm

Nagual wrote:
Radaghast wrote:How frequent were PC deaths in your campaign(s), PT? Just curious because they were rather frequent in ours

by Pettytyrant101 Mon Sep 29, 2014 6:22 pm

Yes, I'm afraid Nagual is of the (strong) opinion that I was too lenient with players (or at least certain players) and that they deserved to die on more than one occasion and probably violently and messily. Very Happy

by Nagual Mon Sep 29, 2014 6:32 pm

Pettytyrant101 wrote:Yes, I'm afraid Nagual is of the (strong) opinion that I was too lenient with players (or at least certain players) and that they deserved to die on more than one occasion and probably violently and messily.

I can't quite recall... how many players have you killed off over the past .. 10ish years? What a Face

by Pettytyrant101 Mon Sep 29, 2014 6:41 pm

Well as you know I haven't played that much in the last 10 years, really just that one big campaign, I think. drunken

So, um,1. And I cant remember his name! (Obviously I should have killed you off!)

by Radaghast Mon Sep 29, 2014 6:58 pm

I went through at least 10 characters in my time playing, though not all of them died. Some I had to retire because the DM wanted a break from DMing and to play a PC for a spell and/or everybody else died. Or something; my memory of events is somewhat fuzzy. But I had three characters that never died but were exiled to limbo, I guess.

by Forest Shepherd Fri Oct 03, 2014 7:29 am

Dear Meetup.com,
All is forgiven!

I just got a group email from the guy who's old DnD group I had requested to join. It turns out that he actually moved away about a year and a half ago, but he's been getting emails, over the last few months in particular, concerning his old group. Anyway, he took the time to connect us all together with a group email, explaining how he had moved but that we all sounded like nice friendly people.
The end result is that there's about 5 or 6 of us going to meet up sometime soon and see if we can a group going. Success!
I'll keep you guys posted.

by Forest Shepherd Fri Oct 03, 2014 5:13 pm

I'm kind of nervous about the meet-up now. It might happen this Tuesday night, although I've been trying to get a weekend thing going because who wants to stay up late on a work-night. (I have to be up by six on workdays).
Then again people have weekend-plans and stuff.

by Radaghast Fri Oct 03, 2014 6:03 pm

Forest Shepherd wrote:I'm kind of nervous about the meet-up now. It might happen this Tuesday night, although I've been trying to get a weekend thing going because who wants to stay up late on a work-night. (I have to be up by six on workdays).
Then again people have weekend-plans and stuff.

Good luck—hope something works out!

by Forest Shepherd Sat Oct 04, 2014 11:04 pm

Thanks! We're meeting today at a coffee-shop at five.
I think they may be older than me, perhaps considerably. I'm quite nervous...

...What if they make Seinfeld jokes or something? Neutral

by Eldorion Sun Oct 05, 2014 12:33 am

I hope it goes well, Forest. I hosted a four hour D&D session the night before my first ever college final (and then stayed up really late finishing a paper). Sometimes you just need to keep your priorities straight. Nod

by bungobaggins Sun Oct 05, 2014 4:36 am

Forest Shepherd wrote:

...What if they make Seinfeld jokes or something?

Sounds like a group of people I could get along with. Very Happy

by Forest Shepherd Sun Oct 05, 2014 5:41 pm

It went really well!
We're meeting again on the 19th at 1 o'clock; it should be a great time.