Whilst it would be lots of fun to share with you the trip-down-memory-lane I took this weekend while reading the MasterBook stuff, the shadow that has loomed largest for our group has been the question of who wants to play, why they want to play, and what they want to play.
When a disagreement bursts forth at Friday Night Roleplay, as it inevitably does from time to time, it usually does so out-of-session and by email. This week’s problem was no exception. It started with one person having the honesty to express a long-held frustration from our gaming table and, when others were asked about it, proved to be a more wide-spread issue.
Strangely, though, when frustrations are aired they usually begin with a moan about something to do with the game… and this later proves to be a smoke-screen for other issues. The roleplayers at my table seem reluctant to make complaint about another person and unaware of the issues that surround playing style.
If you’ve found yourself uncomfy at the table, and not entirely sure why, then my tip is to fess up and talk to the others.
Who’s Sitting In Whose Chair?
Bob is into tabletop wargames and has just started roleplaying, being attracted to the idea of playing a role and developing a story collaboratively. He wants to enjoy tactical challenges from time to time… but mostly he wants to tell a cool story. He’s into settings that range from Victoriana through to SF.
Mike is also a tabletop wargamer and enjoys the detail that roleplaying games bring to combat scenes. He also like a bit of story but feels easily confused if choices are not clear. He wants to smite a few bad guys and follow the mission plan… and enjoys the company of like-minded heroes. He doesn’t care too much about the setting as long as it’s clear and easy to grasp.
Jimmy is a long-time roleplayer who can remember the first time he played D&D, back before the dawn of time. He likes the structure that D&D’s fantasy has always provided and likes to play the system for advantage. He loves to design a detailed heroic character and then tinker it up to perform in the situations that the party will face. Ultimately, Jimmy wants to show off his cool character and all the stuff it can do. He says he’ll play anything, and he means it… but he is, at heart, a D&D fan.
Owen is a young player who has come to roleplaying recently and is enjoying taking part in games that give him the freedom to imagine the cool stuff he wishes he could do when he plays computer games. He likes to mash the gribblies, playing a very straight-forward character, and will avoid the roleplaying stuff unless he really needs to. Mostly, he’s still trying to figure out how to fit in with the others. He wants to play games that feel like computer games.
Larry is there sometimes too. He’s a quieter and more withdrawn player who loves to tell stories. He doesn’t really enjoy looking up rules and isn’t good at making a “top-notch” hero like Jimmy. He just likes to come and hang out, tell the story and roll some dice. He’s not always free to come so he tends to be behind on the details and slower when making decisions because he’s having to get up to speed again every session. He likes to play games in settings he’s played before… so he’s not a fan of home-spun games.
Chris is the GM. He is, like me, a butterfly-head who really finds it hard to settle on any single setting or system unless he feels he is “on a roll”. The longest campaign he ran was modern day, featuring conspiracy and weirdness, and he misses that campaign more than anything else. He’ll run anything… for a while… but, right now, when the guys gather around the table he feels unable to inspire them. Without that spark, Chris is going to be looking for the next cool idea that he can try out in the endless quest for another “cool campaign”.
The theory in this situation is good until you find that your players may not actually know for themselves what they really want.
If they could nail it down for you that would be wonderful, but either from personal indecision, lack of experience to know, or by lack of reviewing each session to use that introspection etc to help them know what they want.
I believe that the players’ non-committal responses to the GM’s cries for help are most frequently just that because they don’t really know either.
Our group posted up the desires they wish to achieve from their gaming sessions, but reading through them, I doubt that any of this is more than the GM already knew / strongly suspected / has already based decisions on in the past.
In my own experience, I’ve tried things that were so rules heavy ‘roll’play that I may as well have been playing Heroquest, to pencil and pad, no minis, rules light stuff. I’ve enjoyed both extremes and find it very difficult to pick out the best balance.
Like a nite out somewhere, the primary issue to me is the mix of players. As with my recent tabletop gaming I’ve found with a small number of gamers then you will always have the issue of imbalance.
If there are a greater number then you can break off into the smaller groups that fit to whatever roleplay campaign fits them. There’s room for if the majority are having fun, but a couple find themselves in the wrong group to switch.
The more prevalent small groups don’t have such flex and thus the desperate GM keeps switchin system to try and please all, when realistically he may only ever please about 80% of his group with the exception forcing them never to find that golden mix.
It appears quite a pessimistic view but in experience it seems quite realistic to me. I hope to experience the exception to my theory.
Jimmy says…
Old school dnd is fun, easy to jump into, and great when the Conan moment kicks off. Who doesn’t love the big fight against mad odds, especially when you win through!
Picking what I want to play is tricky – I love dnd, the quest to save the day, run a fun character, and work as a team to overcome all the GM can throw at the PCs. I like the way you can jump into a fantasy game without worrying about the world – as most are the same, slight mix on how magic works, but most run on the same track as others.
Sci fi on the other hand is more difficult to pick up – tech levels, space travel, etc are harder to keep track.of, as the levels can change greatly between settings. But it can be just as rewarding as fantasy.
I will play anything, as getting to play and meet friends is my main want from the game.
The rules are not a important thing for me, but I do like to own them, and take a active role in learning them.
The setting is the thing that interests me – to build a pc that fits the setting, and allows me to help the group, be active in the game at every session – nothing can be worse than turning up to play, and not able to change anything in the game.
And every now and then come through a gun/sword fight as the hero, gives you a buzz – even dying gloriously can be just as much fun.
And settings that we have yet to touch can be great. We have yet to do any steampunk, mad max style gang warfare, horror, etc – the list goes on.
Pathfinder and the Chasm campaign is fun, fast and easy to run with – hardest choice is what to hit first! And I love it!
GURPS and infinite worlds is a different ride altogether – fun and rewarding like Pathfinder, but harder to play, but more rewarding for it. The plots are harder to play, the style changes with easy jump, and the characters are more realistic to play. And that is why is can be slower, as the group wonders what to do – its not as black and white as dnd, and therefore more thought is needed to play it (is the science at this time line able to do that, who is the enemy, etc).
I’m looking forward to playing Pathfinder and searching the Chasm, but I love the mystery of IW and what could happen on the next jump – players just need to think quicker, ask more of what is going on, and push through that next closed door.
Heh – I’m Bob.
Looking forward to the Chat. Hoping for a positive and dynamic exchange of honesty around the table.