~Beyond the Border~ > Rumia's Party Games
Stuffman's weekly game, maybe not D&D? (Maybe so!)
Stuffman:
So.
I'm thinking that I may be able to start running a game again sometime in January, when my living arrangements will (hopefully) finally be sorted out, enabling me to have free time to work on stuff during the week again.
However, I'm wondering if I want to bother restarting D&D. I've had a lot of time to think about it and I've decided it may be too much work for what you get out of it.
D&D has a lot of overhead, and a very systematic way of doing things. Constructing a session involves making sure the party is fighting X monsters while getting Y gold and Z magic items; I have a big checklist to adhere to which can result in a bland and formulaic game. It also requires a detailed map to play because of all the small-scale movement, meaning the players cannot go anywhere that I haven't made a map for, thus running the rails is sometimes a necessity. Furthermore, in battle, the number of small factors and different actions that come into play per turn results in a complex and slow battle system, and it gets even slower because people tend to look away when it's not their turn (and really, I can't blame them).
In short, D&D 4E is a neat tactics game, but given my audience I think employing a more cinematic system is called for. I'd like to get more plot progress per session and have more freeform action, rather than slogging you guys through trivial encounters to make sure you're getting enough XP and loot and such.
Do you feel the same way? Let's talk about what you guys would like to run, since I'll probably be able to start again after the holidays and I could use some time to do a bit of brainstorming.
Here's a couple of system options, offhand;
- We can keep playing D&D if you want to, of course.
- As far as I know, Rabbit's game isn't running anymore, so I could run a game using Tri-Stat/BESM.
- Mutants and Masterminds is another system I'm interested in trying. It's a freeform points-based version of d20, and looks fairly well designed.
- If you know of any interesting systems you'd like me to look at, feel free to recommend them. (I'm not running Maid.)
Since we may be starting a new game, this isn't just for my old players, go ahead and chip in if you'd like to play in one of my games.
Rabbit:
Time and scheduling issues made running my game with a healthy lineup virtually impossible and then work for uni dragged me down. I'm sorry about the game but I agree with most of what you've said; D&D can be pretty tough to create a narrative story with. I kinda get the feeling sometimes that it's what separates the good DMs from the bad ones (no comment on you of course, I think you did fine) - good DMs will be able to create a narrative story with D&D and bad ones will get mired in the d20 mechanics and end up hating the system generally.
If we're going to do a D&D campaign again, or even something completely different, I have some advice to dispense. I was thinking about running a little game myself, to be honest.
--- Quote from: Rabbit's Thoughts on Roleplaying ---I've said this before, and I'll say it again. Roleplaying is a social contract between the DM and the players, and I won't deny that I've been as guilty as anyone of breaking it in the past. A lot, in fact, and it's a constant struggle to remind myself to follow it. You get as much out of a good RPG as you put into it. So, here to help people in the future is the triangle of player commitment:
Skill
I'm not saying that newbies aren't welcome. New people are here to learn and D&D is one of the easiest systems to learn on. It is the gateway into Roleplaying. But one of the easiest pitfalls that players fall into is not becoming familiar with your character, mechanics-wise. You need to have a good understanding, even if it takes you a few sessions, of what your character can and can't do from the perspective of saving time during encounters and not dying during encounters. Resurrection spells, while they exist, are not cheap. Players need to know:
- The fundamentals of combat - move, then attack. Charge if you want to be really fancy. Something as obscure as the grappling rules you can look up as the situation calls for it.
- Your character's own attack rolls - have them written down. Draw up a list of all the weapons you carry and what kind of bonuses they have to hit and damage. It'll save you time and effort later on.
- Your character's abilities - Dailys, Encounters, Unlimiteds. Keep track of them all because no one else is going to do it for you. This takes honesty and integrity as well but that's not an issue with this community...is it? :3
My only request is that you do not take this as an insult to your intelligence because it's not. I know many people who are so, so guilty of neglecting this aspect of themselves if they don't have someone to do it for them. Stuffs was very nice with his D&D campaign but all you BESM players, if we ever pick up that campaign again I am crackin' the whip!
Understanding
Roleplaying is just that. You're playing a role. You are not yourself, you are someone else. So another area in which I've found that players are lacking a bit is in character development. A lot of people tend to write up a character background and not much else, and it's not even a very detailed one at that. I remember when I did my BESM campaign Stuffman actually gave a model character sheet - it wasn't elaborate, richly detailed prose. It was a document that outlined the basics of who his character was, where she was born, where she grew up, what she liked and disliked, how she approached certain situations. That's step one.
Step two is to be consistent. Roleplay those characteristics. The more you practice the more you will find yourself fitting organically with your in-game self and if you find that difficult, well then maybe you can try a new character or suffer some life-changing event that affects your character's outlook. Talk with your GM in private about your ideas. Give them a better idea of what your character likes and doesn't like, of what they want and don't want. I have a little story to relate to you of a Star Wars campaign I'm in:
We have a Jedi character. Let's call him Jason, for the sake of argument. Jason is pretty awesome but not in a broken way. He devises creative ways to use his Force powers, always has a plan for the situation, and seems to single-handedly win combat encounters by himself. We're all a little jealous of Jason and his one-man army ways but he keeps us alive and lets us continue enjoying the story, plus his player is a really nice guy when you get past the jackass exterior. No, what really bothers us is that Jason is always getting all the cool plot hooks and interesting events seem to be happening to him behind our backs. No one else is there so we can't know what's going on but there seem to be an awful lot of one-to-one exchanges between him and various GM characters.
So, on the very last session of the year, one of us finally has the courage to speak out. Actually, it wasn't me. But this other player says what we've all been thinking. Jason is getting an awful lot of airtime. We're part of the party too, right? That's when we find out: Jason's player has been emailing our GM once a week every week with thoughts, ideas, or random chatter about his character. Our campaign has been going on for several months now, with around one session a month, so you can imagine how much information has been accumulated over this period of time. As a result, our GM has a very good idea of what Jason wants and doesn't want. He knows Jason almost as well as he knows Jason's player and can see when he does things to advance his character's own personal goals and actively reward him for that.
Now you all don't have to do that and I wouldn't expect anyone in one of my groups to send me a PM every week about their characters, but this is a perfect illustration of how you can get the most out of a game. The more you tell your GM, the more material he has to work with when writing stories. You could get derailed from the main plot for ages working out something and that's all well and good because when it comes down to it, the GM's main story will always be there. He might gently (or not-so-gently) try to lead you back onto the beaten path but at the end of the day wouldn't you want a good story to last forever?
Communication
This ties in with the above two very well. If you want to do something or try something, or if you have problems, or if you want advice talk to the GM. Poor communication kills. Poor communication is why my campaign died. And scheduling conflicts, and school work, and blah-blah-blah but you get the idea. Contrary to popular belief most of us (I'm not sure about Purvis, to be honest but...) are not here to kill you or make your life difficult. I can't vouch for anyone else but it makes me happy when people come and talk to me and say "oh my god, when so-and-so did that thing with the two wands of lighting and the keg of alchemist's fire it was AWESOME" or "I bet so-and-so is going to show up again later. He's totally not dead." It also gives me an idea of who's causing trouble or who you want to see more of. That sort of thing.
So, in conclusion, the more effort you put into your character, both through the mechanics and the writing, the more you will get out of the experience. I'll say it as many times as I need to. Oh and, forgive me for slipping in a parting shot, but it's so easy to criticise a system for 'roll-playing' without actually bothering to write your own character or flesh them out. Only a poor craftsman blames his tools.
--- End quote ---
Take these as you like. I'm just giving us something to think about if/as we gear up for another round of games. If I'm not mistaken most of the Maid RPG campaigns that dominated UGW back in the day have died so we might not have to share the same day. Who knows?
EDIT: Oh, and in keeping with my current obsession with A Shoggoth on the Roof: OOH! OOH! STUFFMAN! RUN CALL OF CTHULHU! RUN IT NOW!
Pesco:
I've been keeping a time slot just for you, Stuffman. I'd be happy to do DnD again (less learning of a new system and PSYCHADELIC BEARS!). If it's something else, I'll still give it a try.
Rabbit:
--- Quote from: Pesco on December 18, 2009, 01:38:23 PM ---PSYCHADELIC BEARS!
--- End quote ---
Our Call of Cthulhu game must now include psychadelic bears.
Spoiler: Not that you should feel pressured to run CoC or anything. Don't do it if you don't want to.
Stuffman:
I don't think anyone would be able to take a game of CoC I ran seriously :V (Also, I'd like you guys to survive more than two sessions).
I don't actually mind doing the work to run D&D, I just kind of got the sense you guys weren't having fun because of how rigid it can be.