Author Archives: Jade

Notable Absence

Posted on 15 June 2010 | Leave a comment
No Gravatar

As you’ve all noticed by now, my writing has been rather sporadic recently. It’s not because I’ve run out of ideas or developed a sudden allergy to blogging. No, the reason I’ve been rather absent is because my fiance Jay and I just bought a house and (being a foreclosure), it’s taking a lot of work to make it livable. Since I work from home, this will also be the new office of rpgGM.com.

We’re currently in the middle of ripping out all of the carpet and priming the entire house for repainting. Luckily, most of the work that needs to be done is cosmetic and we saved enough on the purchase price of the house itself that we’ll be able to hire someone to install the bamboo floors we’ve picked out. But meanwhile, there’s a lot of “sweat equity” to be put into it.

I’ve got a couple of “before” pictures — photos of the place before we began work. You can see one of them above; I’ll be posting more on my martial arts blog On My Own Two Feet.

Popularity: unranked [?]

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Musings

Games…Must Have Games…

Posted on 28 May 2010 | 1 Comment
No Gravatar

I hate gaming dry spells. I think the longest period I’ve gone without gaming was two years, if you’re talking about actually sitting at the table, either as GM or player. If you’re counting game preparation and research, it’s more like, well, 6 months.

How to do I manage? Gaming is a priority for me: right after the important personal relationships in my life and equal to martial arts.  Which puts it way ahead of just about everything else, since rpgGM.com is my job as well as my love. It also helps that just about everyone in my immediate family are also gamers. I’ve been very, very blessed, especially with a fiancé who’s actively encouraging  me to (and supporting me while) I get my own game publishing company off the ground.

But this is about how to survive the drought. Like everyone else, I’ve had times when I couldn’t get a group together or couldn’t find one I wanted to play in. Here’s what I do when I’m game deprived:

  • Worldbuilding. Number one top slot. I love worldbuilding, which is why rpgGM.com’s first series of products is the game world, Guang Keshar. But it’s not just building worlds from scratch. I also consider rewriting the background of existing game worlds as worldbuilding.
  • Reading game systems. I try get my hands on and read as many game books as I can. This helps me keep the creative juices flowing, which leads to…
  • Campaign creation. I’ll spend a lot of time fleshing out the bare structure of a campaign for a game I’m itching to run. That’s a bit trickier, since I have a very hands-off GMing style and tend to build my games around my PCs. But I can do a fair amount of preparation work so that I’m ready for character creation when it does happen. I often have three or four campaigns I’m working on (but not currently running) simultaneously.
  • Reading about GMing. I’m always looking for ways to improve my GMing. I like reading game-related blogs, though right now I don’t have time to keep pace with more than a handful of my favorites. I also love reading books like Robin’s Laws of Good Gamemastering.
  • Playing RPG computer games. For me, this is something of a last resort. I generally dislike the rigidity of computer RPGs (though they are getting better). I prefer gaming with real people who’re in the same room as me.
  • Running “Play by Email” (PBEM) campaigns. This is actually one of my old stand-by’s when I can’t get a group together locally and the number one of the reasons my dry spells are so short.  They’re still not the same, but I find them a better substitute for a tabletop game than computer games. With the advent of MMOs, I know many people who prefer the other way around, though. To each their own ;) .
  • Writing about games (non-worldbuilding). Most of the game stuff I’ve written has happened when I was between game groups.
  • Painting miniatures and creating game-related art.

What can I say? I’m a game junkie. Gaming is one of the things my family does together and that’s something I’m very grateful for.

[This post is a part of RPG Bloggers' May blog carnival].

Articles Zemanta thinks may be related
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Popularity: unranked [?]

→ 1 Comment

Posted in GMing

Tagged , ,

27 Surefire Ways to Get Kicked Out of a Game

Posted on 21 May 2010 | 5 Comments
No Gravatar

Awhile back I did a post on 21 Surefire Ways to Loose Players. With this being Player Month here at Evil Machinations, I thought it time to do a post for the players. Even the most die-hard GMs will change sides of the table, even if it’s a pick-up game at a con. You’d think we’d make the perfect players, right? Wrong. Unfortunately, all too often GMs-turned-PCs are the most difficult players in a group. While orginially aimed at GMs, even players who’ve never sat behind the GM screen should enjoy this list as well.

[Photo courtesy of House of Sims via Flickr Creative Commons 2.0 license]

  1. Repeatedly arrive extremely late to a game session without calling to let people know.
  2. Repeatedly miss a game session after assuring the GM you’d be there.
  3. Refuse to read the rules of the system you’re playing.
  4. Hog the spotlight.
  5. Give long lectures on how the game you run is better than this one.
  6. Tell the GM what he’s doing wrong and offer frequent unsolicited advice on how to run the way you would.
  7. Recite a Monty Python or Princess Bride quote for everything that happens during the game.
  8. Insist on roleplaying every moment of a supply run.
  9. Turn everything said into a sexual innuendo.
  10. Make overt sexual advances to every eligable PC in the party.
  11. Make overt sexual advances to every eligable player in the group.
  12. Argue for every advantage you can squeeze out of the system, even if it takes an hour to win a +1 bonus.
  13. Insist that the GM look up an obscure rule in the middle of combat.
  14. Expect everything to go your way because the GM is your significant other.
  15. Loudly and frequently complain about how your favorite rules system is better than the one the GM is currently using.
  16. Insist that the group run your favorite system, especially if they don’t want to change.
  17. Constantly brag about your über-character in another game and how she would wipe the floor in this game.
  18. Refuse to get dice of your own and insist on borrowing someone else’s.
  19. Continuously forget your character sheet so you can make up numbers on the fly.
  20. Play while drunk (or high)–unless your entire group enjoys drinking to excess while gaming.
  21. Deliberately and/or constantly ignore the rules of the host who’s house you’re playing in (such as putting your feet on the coffee table, not using a coaster, etc.)
  22. Torment your host’s pet(s).
  23. Play computer games while you’re roleplaying
  24. Repeatedly charm members of your own party.
  25. Repeatedly steal from members of your own party.
  26. Insist on going off on your own on a regular basis.
  27. Claim every useful bit of treasure as your own.

How about you? What have I forgotten that really raises your hackles? Please share!

Related Posts

Article Zemanta thinks are related
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Popularity: unranked [?]

→ 5 Comments

Posted in Players

Tagged , ,

What’s My Motivation?

Posted on 14 May 2010 | Leave a comment
No Gravatar

motivation-chartYour GM picked out the adventure, did all of the background work, fleshed out the NPCs, balanced treasure and other rewards. Now it’s finally time to run the adventure, it’s up to the GM to find a way to motivate your character. Right?

[Photo from http://www.flickr.com/photos/philippeboukobza/ / CC BY 2.0]

Wrong.

True, the GM will most likely provide you a motivation for going on the adventure, but you can help by providing your own motivation for your character.

While “My character wouldn’t do that” can be a legitimate concern (I’m a “method actor”-style player, myself), it’s not helpful. If you try hard enough, there’s usually some way you can provide your character with a motivation to undertake the adventure.

Character History

Even if you don’t have a detailed backstory for your character, you can find a way to work something about this adventure into your character’s history. In fact, it’s probably easier to do it without a detailed history. But even if you’ve written down information for every month of your character’s life, you can still usually find a way to work a motivation for the adventure in there.

Perhaps you stumbled across this dungeon when you were growing up and always wondered what was down there that was so dangerous your parents wouldn’t let you explore it. Or your now-deceased mother had been an adventurer but had fled from this dungeon before exploring it thoroughly and you want to find out what could make a generally fearless woman flee in terror.

These are simply suggestions; you’ll do much better to find some reason yourself. The point is, that it doesn’t have to be a driving passion to provide motivation. Simple curiosity can be enough. Maybe the owner owes you some money and if you can’t get the money, you’re going to take payment in goods of equal value. Or perhaps you want to prove yourself a better adventurer than your mother who’s shadow you’ve been in since you started your career.

Character Relationships

That brings us to our next type of motivation: other people and the relationships your character has with them. It could be your favorite uncle asked you to check out the city sewers to find proof of the giant cybernetic rats and cockroaches he’s always said live down there. Maybe your familiar or a favorite pet wandered into the Mayor’s Mansion and hasn’t been seen or heard from since. Or maybe, just maybe, your brother dared you to go into the spooky cave.

Again, the reasons don’t have to be deep of life-changing or part of The Big Picture. It can be petty concerns. The important thing is to have a reason that will motivate you to undertake the adventure. It could even be something simply as the party’s cleric said “Please” when he asked you to come along. Of course, if you want to have this adventure affect your character deeply, go for it.

Character Goals

This brings us to our last set of motivations: your character’s goals. Maybe you want to collect one of every type of potion in the world. Or maybe you need some  scrapings from the wall to to mix the exact shade of grey paint to finish your current project. See, even here you don’t need grandiose ideas — simple ones will do as long as it gets your character moving.

Of course,  you’ll want to clear your motivation with your GM. If he hears, for instance, that you think there may be potions for your collection, then he’ll most likely go out of his way to put one in there as a reward.  Maybe you just want to complete your rock collection and the last type of rock you need is said to exist in this lich-controlled forest. placed in there.

Brainstorming or “Mind-Mapping” can help you find a reason. You can get special software for that, but I find good ol’ pen and paper work great for the job. If you’re really stuck, you might try having the GM other person you trust over for a brainstorming party. If something doesn’t come to you immediately, keep trying until you come up with something you can play. You’ll find the game much more enjoyable.

Other Player Month Posts:

Articles Zemanta thinks might be related

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Popularity: unranked [?]

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Musings

Tagged , , , ,

Upgrading Issues

Posted on 6 May 2010 | 1 Comment
No Gravatar

Please bear with me as I finish upgrading the theme for this site. I had technical difficulties installing the new theme and upgrading to the most recent version of WordPress (which for several reasons on my end, most of which come down to RTFM).

I’ll be finishing the set-up on the new theme over the course of the next few days. Everything’s there and you should be able to access it without difficulty. It just doesn’t look pretty yet.

Thanks for your patience.

Popularity: unranked [?]

→ 1 Comment

Posted in Musings

Top 10 of 100 and One

Posted on 30 April 2010 | 4 Comments
No Gravatar

This month, Evil Machinations celebrated it’s first anniversary. On top of that, this is my 100th post. Because of all that, I want to say thank you to everyone who’s made this blog a success.  Without my readers, there would be no Evil Machinations ;) .

Below is a count-down of your top ten favorite posts and pages on this blog since it began in April 2009:

10. An A-to-Z List of Lesser-Known Roleplaying Games: Part 1
9. X Marks the Spot: 11 Map Making Tutorials
8. Building Better NPCs III: Character Webs
7. Handling Problem Players
6. What’s Good About 4th Edition?
5. 20 Unusual City Encounters: From Beg, Borrow, & Steal
4. What GMs Really Want (Poll)
3. “Where are we again?”: Creating Unique Fantasy Cities and Towns
2. Character Questionnaire
1. Your Teacher Was Right … Creating Adventures with the 6 W’s

Next post will be the continuation of player month, which has now become extended through the end of May. Hey, that’s an idea: let’s turn this into a blog carnival. I hereby christen May “Player’s Advice” month here at EM. If others would like to join me on this, I’ll post a link from here to your page. Just leave me a reply to this post with your post’s URL.

Popularity: unranked [?]

→ 4 Comments

Posted in Musings

Tagged

How to (Respectfully) Disagree With Your GM

Posted on 16 April 2010 | 2 Comments
No Gravatar

parrot discussionHere it is–the first post of our “Player Month”, designed to give advice to the players on how to make a game better. After all, the GM isn’t the only one playing and the players share some responsibility for making a game great.

At some point or another it will happen: your GM will make a call you don’t agree with. Do you just sit there and take it? After all, it’s the GM’s game and his word is law, right?

Well, yes and no. True, the GM decides the rules and has the final say on all matters. But that’s just it: the final say is final. That doesn’t mean you can’t have your input on making that final decision before it reaches the “final” part. There’s a big difference between a ruling and a final ruling. Depending on your GM, you can sometimes make your case and see if you can reach a compromise.

The trick here is that you need to make your cases respectfully. No shouting, no temper tantrums, no storming off. Here are some tips for successful resolution with your GM.

[Image courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/taylar/ / CC BY 2.0]

Figure out what you want

You need to do this before you talk to your GM. What do you want to come out of this discussion? What specific result are you looking for? It’s amazing how many players get into a “knee-jerk” reaction. They take issue with something the GM says or does, but they have no idea how they want that changed. If you have an idea of your ideal result, you can figure out a compromise much more easily.

Wait until after the session

You’re much more likely to get a positive result from a GM if you approach her after a game session, rather than during it. Bringing up an issue during the session takes up valuable play time. At best, it leaves other players with nothing to do; at worst, it opens the floor to a free-for-all argument as the other players try to put in their complaints. Not only does this make the GM feel like she’s begin ganged up on, it tends to make her dig her heels in and stick to her ruling.

Sometimes you can’t wait–for example, if your character’s about to die–and you have to deal with the issue during the session. You will, most likely, gain a better result if these cases are rare. That way, you’re more likely to get the “benefit of the doubt”, such as “Gee, he always talks to me after a session. It must be really important if he’s bringing it up now.”

Talk about specifics

When you do talk to your GM, you want to bring up a specific issue or ruling. If the GM doesn’t know exactly what’s bothering you, how can he fix it? Focusing on specifics also avoids the “Your game sucks” attitude, which is guaranteed to cause a GM to ignore anything you’ve got to say. Remember what you’re bringing up is your problem, not your GM’s.

A related point is to “marshal your argument” ahead of time. Why do you disagree with the ruling? What about it makes you unhappy or uncomfortable? Focus on how the ruling affects you and your character and cite specific examples. It’s most likely that the GM just didn’t foresee the problems you’re experiencing or didn’t see them as problems. You need to let him know why this is a problem.

Have alternative suggestions

This goes along with knowing what result you want. It’s much more likely a GM will listen and adjust things accordingly if you have some ideas on how to fix the problem. Even if she doesn’t seem to keen on changing things, having something specific to try out (“Can we try this next week and see if it works?”) is much more likely to bring a change in your favor than a “this is a problem with your game–fix it” attitude.

When you’re thinking of suggestions, take the game as a whole in to consideration. Think about how your idea(s) will affect game balance and the other players. Also consider the plot of the game as you know it so far and what you foresee happening in the future. This communicates to your GM that you’re not just looking for a result that makes you the center of the game or gives you an über-character.

Take the GM’s final word gracefully

Only your GM knows the whole game. It’s possible that the “bad” ruling needs to stand because of something that’s coming down the pipe. There’ve been many times during a game when I’ve had to say “There’s a reason, trust me.” After all, if you can’t trust your GM maybe it’s time to find a new group.

Final thoughts

As always, watch your manner and your tone as you bring anything up with your GM. Remember your Ps and Qs and common-sense advice (focus on the problem, not the person; use “I” language; remember who owns the problem, etc.).

Articles Zemanta thinks might be related:
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Popularity: unranked [?]

→ 2 Comments

Posted in Musings

Tagged , ,

Livin’ the Good Life: More Random Background Events for PCs

Posted on 9 April 2010 | Leave a comment
No Gravatar
A roulette wheel.
Image via Wikipedia

Stumped for a background for your newest character? Why not try some randomly generated ones? Last week, we covered the steps for generating a random background event and the tables for bad things that could happen to your character. Today, we’re covering the good things. Check out last week’s post for full details.

Life Path Good Events

  1. Gain a local ally. You’ve gained an ally who has a fair amount of influence or clout in the city, town or village you’re in.
  2. Strike it rich. You come into a sizable sum of money.  Whether you won it gambling, received it as payment for services rendered or simply found it, the money is yours–free and clear. No strings. It’s not enough to retire on, but it can certainly keep in you in some comfort for 1d10 months.
  3. Big job. You perform a job that brings not only financial reward, but also some recognition. Whether your face is widely known in the streets or to an elite few is up to you. In either case, you gain a positive boost to your reputation.
  4. Find a weaponsmaster. You find a skilled warrior/fighter whose abilities exceed your own and who’s willing to teach you. You improve one of your combat-related skills or add a weapon proficiency. The GM will tell you how many improvement points you gain.
  5. Find a skills master. You find someone who can help you either improve a non-combat skill you already have or learn a new one at a beginning level. The GM will tell you how many improvement points you gain.
  6. Powerful favor. Someone in political power in your game world owes you a favor. Maybe you ran an important errand or maybe you just babysat his favorite nephew. In any case, you will be able to call in one favor from this person. The GM will decide whether or not the favor you’re asking for is equitable with the one you received.
  7. Friends in low places. You make some friends with a local group or gang. It could be the local thieves guild or it could be a teenage gang of misfits. In either case, you can call on them for one small favor a month. This does cut both ways and the gang will expect you to return small favors should they need them. These should be easy favors that won’t hurt your reputation or your bank account.
  8. Friend on the force. You make a friend on the local constabulary or town guard. You can call on your friend for information or minor favors once a month. Again, this is two-way street and you friend can also call on you for the same.
  9. Friends in high places. You make a friend to has some measure of clout. Perhaps you rescued a local prince or duke or perhaps the princess has simply taken a liking to you. You can call on your friend for a small favor once a month, but don’t push it.
  10. Gain an asset. You find or are given a very useful or minor magic item (GM’s choice). However you come by it, it’s yours with no repercussions or strings attached.

Of course, you can also use these for “down time” events in-between adventures.

Look for next week when we’ll begin a “Player Month”, with articles for the players in your group.

Articles Zemanta thinks might be related
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Popularity: unranked [?]

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Musings

Tagged , ,

Slings and Arrows of Outrageous Fortune: Random Background Events for PCs

Posted on 2 April 2010 | Leave a comment
No Gravatar

cartoon about simple choicesSometimes a good background is hard to find. Usually I have no trouble coming up with a full-fledged past for my characters, complete with NPCs, subtle plot hooks, and flaws ready-made for the GM to exploit. Usually, I hand the GM a six-page character questionnaire loaded with personality quirks and background events.

Usually.

A few months back, my fiance (I’ll call him “Jay”) started a 3.5 D&D game and I sat down to make a new character. I’m currently playing a bard/sorcerer in another D&D game and wanted to try something different. I thought playing a “blaster caster” would be a lot of fun, so I built my character as a half-even sorcerer/rogue. I pulled out my well-used list of character questions and sat down to fill it out.

Nothing.

I couldn’t think of anything really interesting to build this character around. All of my ideas seemed trite and over-used. Six months of play later, and I still didn’t have any background to this character.

Now, I know I can play the character without any background material. But I’ve always been a “method actor” type roleplayer and I find it really hard to get enthused about a character that’s just stats and abilities. That’s when I remembered Cyberpunk 2.0.2.0 and its lifepath tables. If I couldn’t think up a background for my character, I could roll one up!

[Image courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/draconianrain/ / CC BY 2.0]

The LifePath

Cyberpunk 2.0.2.0′s life path is a very thorough. It involves rolling on several charts to determine what the character’s personality is like as well as what’s happened to him in his background. I’ve simplified the process greatly and changed the options to fit a fantasy game setting.

First, determine how many life events you want to roll for. As a limitation, I decided I could stop rolling for events when I wanted to, but that I couldn’t remove any results already obtained. I developed two tables: one for bad events and one for good. To determine which table to roll on for each event, I rolled a d6. If it came up even, then I rolled for a good event. If the result was odd, I rolled for a bad event. Of course, you can also pick some thing rather than rolling for it at random.

Bad Events

  1. Money loss. You’ve incurred a major debt. Bill collectors track you wherever you go and, depending on the size of your debt, your lender may have hired someone who will take drastic measures to recover the money.
  2. Hostage or Imprisonment. You’re being held captive–either in prison or perhaps as a hostage–Roll 1d10 to find out how many months you’re imprisoned.
  3. Illness or Poisoning. You’ve contracted a serious illness or were poisoned. Roll 1d10 to determine how many months you need to recuperate.
  4. Betrayal. You’ve been betrayed by someone you trusted. Roll 1d10 on the table below:
    1-3 Your betrayer is blackmailing you
    4-6 A dirty secret from your past has been exposed
    8-10 You lost a friend, lover, ally, or job because your betrayer spread rumors about you (your choice whether or not they’re true.
  5. Accident. You were in a terrible accident. Roll 1d10 on the table below:
    1-2 You were disfigured or lost a body part
    3-6 You were under medical care for 1d10 months
    7-8 You lost 1d10 months of memory due to trauma
    9-10 You have frequent and terrible nightmares where you relive the event over and over
  6. Death. Someone close to you was killed. Roll 1d10 on the table below.
    1-5 The death was accidental
    6-8 Your loved one was murdered by an unknown assailant
    9-10 Your loved one was murdered by someone you know
  7. False Accusation. You were framed for something you didn’t do. Roll 1d10 on the table below to find out what you were accused of:
    1-3 Theft
    4-5 Cowardice
    6-8 Murder
    9 Rape or “taking advantage” of someone (like seducing the farmer’s daughter and getting her pregnant)
    10 Treason
  8. On the Run. You’re being hunted by someone in a position of authority. Maybe you committed a crime, maybe you were framed for a crime, or maybe you don’t even know why you’re being hunted. Roll 1d10 on the table below to find out who’s hunting you.
    1-3 Local constabulary or town watch
    4-6 The king’s forces
    7-8 Private guards
    9-10 Bounty hunters
  9. Hunted. You’re on the run from some organization who wants you bad for some reason. They may not want to kill you, but they certainly don’t have your best interests at heart. Roll 1d10 on the table below to determine who’s hunting you.
    1 The local assassins’ guild
    2-3 The local thieves’ guild
    4-6 A merchant’s guild or craft guild
    7-8 A slaver’s guild or gang
    9-10 A powerful local clan
  10. Mental incapacitation. You’re sufforing from something that’s causing you to not be fully in control of yourself and your behavior. Roll 1d10 on the table below to determine what the problem is.
    1-3 Mind control or possession. You’ve been possessed or mentally controlled by a powerful entity.
    4-7 Mental breakdown. Some kind of trauma has left you with severe anxiety attacks and maybe even a phobia.
    8-10 Severe mental illness. Your choice.

That’s enough for one day. I’ll post the good events next week.

Related articles by Zemanta
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Popularity: unranked [?]

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Musings

Tagged , ,

Want to be a Better GM? Ask Your Players

Posted on 25 March 2010 | 5 Comments
No Gravatar

rpg blog carnival logoHow do you know how good a GM you are? You’ll need to ask your players. Below is a questionnaire I hand out to my players from time to time to find out what’s good about my game and what needs to be improved. Please feel free to change, update, modify the questions to fit your game.

[This article is part of the March 2010 RPG Blog Carnival: How to be a Better GM].

GM and Game Evaluation Questionnaire

Please check all answers that apply. Feel free to add any commentary, answers, or smart-ass remarks ;) .

1. Game difficulty

  • I think your game is much too easy for characters. No matter how stupidly we play, we always achieve our goals
  • Your game is much too difficult. If I wanted the brutality of real life, I’d watch the evening news.
  • I think your game is at a good difficulty level.

2. PC experience / power level

  • I like to play beginning characters, who are just figuring out their abilities and how to use them.
  • I prefer to play mid-level character who know their abilities and have some clout in the game world.
  • Really powerful characters are the most interesting. I like the challenges that come from having a lot of ability.
  • I like starting with low-powered characters and work my way up to the be as powerful as the game allows.

3. Gaming Group Size

  • I prefer small groups of 2-3 players.
  • I think medium-sized groups of 4-8 work the best.
  • I fell that really large groups (10+ players) are the most fun.

4. Character Death

  • I don’t think PCs should die. Ever.
  • It’s okay if the GM kills a PC every once in a great while, but only if they die heroically and during a hard struggle, or if their death can have some meaning.
  • I don’t think the GM should kill PCs, but if the PCs get themselves into a fatal conflict, the GM shouldn’t rush in to save them.
  • PCs should drop like flies.

5. Threat of Character Death

  • I like knowing that my character probably won’t die. It allows me to take more risks than I would otherwise.
  • I would find it more interesting if there were more of a threat of death over my characters head.

6. NPC Quality

  • Your non-player characters really help bring your game to life. We run into the most interesting and/or believable people.
  • Your NPCs are okay. Every once in a while we get a really great one, but the rest are a little cardboard. They could use some more individuality or development.
  • Your NPCs are totally flat and unbelievable. Where did you get them–a Dover paper doll collection?

7. Story Quality

  • The stories in your game are really good. The make the game interesting and enjoyable.
  • Why do you make your players think so hard? I just want to hit things!
  • Your game is too intense; couldn’t you lighten up a little? Do we have to have to do major soul-searching every game session?
  • Your game isn’t intense enough. Let’s have some depth and meaning here.
  • I don’t care about a story–it just interferes with my hitting things.
  • You have a story?

8. Game Session Mood

  • I like it when GMs vary the moods of their game sessions, like running a silly session after a particularly dramatic one.
  • I prefer it when the GM varies the mood within the game session, but keeps the overall mood of the game the same.
  • I like roleplaying to be serious and intense. The GM should never let up on the pressure.

9. Game Humor

  • Your game has too much humor for me.
  • Your game has too little humor for me
  • Your game has just the right amount of humor for me.

10. Game Pacing

  • The pace of action in your game is just right. Things are happening fast enough to keep me interested, but not so fast that the game feels out of control.
  • I think thing are happening way to fast in the game. I can’t keep up with it.
  • Your pacing is too slow. Please pick it up a little, I’m getting bored.
  • Your pacing is too inconsistent from one game session to the next. Please smooth it out.
  • Some more variety in your pacing would make your game more interesting.
  • Pacing? You have pacing?

11. Creating Characters

  • I prefer to create my characters one-on-one with the GM, even if it takes a few weeks to actually start playing. The mystery about the other characters off-sets the delay.
  • I prefer to create my characters a group so that we can balance our party.
  • I like to create characters with the whole group, but I don’t want to know much about the other PCs until play starts.

12. Background Information Sheets

[I always create a short background information sheet--one to two pages--that tells players how their character fits into the game world].

  • I loved the background sheets you created for our characters. It makes me feel like I have a real place in the game world.
  • I didn’t care one way or the other about the background sheets you created.
  • I hated the background sheets. You mean I have to learn this stuff about my character before I can actually play?

13. Character Advancement Knowledge

  • I don’t like any ambiguity about my character. I want to know how much experience I have at all times.
  • I don’t mind not knowing how much experience I’ve gained, number-wise, but I want to be told when my abilities or powers increase.
  • I like not knowing exactly where I stand, experience-wise. I enjoy finding out about ability and power increases through game play.

14. Adult Content in Games

  • I would feel comfortable role-playing “adult scenes” (sex, etc.) with this group.
  • I would feel okay about role-playing adult content with the GM (i.e., with an NPC) or with the player involved, but I want to do it in a one-on-one situation.
  • I don’t think sexual and other such situations should be role-played at all. Just acknowledge that it happened and move on.
  • I don’t think the game should contain any adult content at all.
  • Is hitting things adult content?
  • What a question! I’m not sure how I feel about it; I think we should discuss it as a group.

15. Power Balance.

Your game gives too much advantage to:

  • magic
  • combat skills
  • psionics
  • class abilities
  • other [please specify]:

16. Power Restrictions.

Your game puts too many restrictions on:

  • magic
  • combat skills
  • psionics
  • class abilities
  • other [please specify]:

17. Event Balance.

Your game could use more/less [please circle your choice]:

  • magical events
  • combats
  • power contests
  • NPC enounters
  • non-combat skill challenges
  • other [please specify]:

18. Player Input

  • You don’t let the players have enough input in how the game runs. After all, it’s our game too.
  • You let one/more of the players bully you too much. You need to be stronger about making executive decisions.
  • You expect too much input from the players. We don’t want to have to make every decision–that’s why we have a GM.
  • The amount of input we have is just about right.

19. Mid-Campaign Rule Changes.

I would rather you:

  • Discussed the situation with the group so that we can have a say in how things are going to work from now on.
  • Do whatever you want. It’s your game.
  • There should never be any mid-campaign rule changes. You should always play by the rules you set up in the beginning, even if they don’t seem to be working.
  • I don’t mind some mid-campaign rule changes, but if they’re going to affect my character, I’d like a chance to change my character so that my character idea stays consistent with the new rules.
  • Make all the changes you  want as long as it doesn’t hinder my ability to hit things.

20. Rule Questions.

On the occasions when you can’t remember a particular rule, I would rather you:

  • Look up the answer, no matter how long it takes.
  • Only look up the answer if you feel you absolutely have to.
  • Never look up anything during play. I’d prefer you make a decision, any decision, as long as you don’t slow down play.

21. Bad Rulings.

When you realize you’ve made a “bad call” in a previous session, I’d prefer you to:

  • Discuss it with the group before you begin the next session and come to a group consensus about how to run similar situations in the future.
  • Tell the group you made a ruling you’re unhappy with and explain how you’d handle it differently in the future, but not allow any changes to the events of that previous session.
  • Tell the group you made a ruling you’re unhappy with and allow the party a “do over” with your new ruling.
  • Don’t tell anyone and just run it differently next time. Every situation is different, after all.

22. Adherence to Printed Rules

  • GMs should always go exactly by the rule book at all times.
  • Each GM creates an individual version of the game universe. The books are really only background and guide-lines.
  • Make what ever rules you want, as long as it doesn’t harm my ability to hit things.

23. Adherence to Source Material,

If your game is based on pre-existing source material (such as Dr. Who, Serenity, Amber, etc.):

  • I don’t like it when you deviate from from the published background material. You should follow pre-existing material exactly.
  • I like it if you’re not tied down to published material. It makes your game more interesting because I don’t know what’s going to happen.
  • I don’t mind some deviation from pre-existing source material, if there’s an in-game reason for it that we, as players, could potentially find out.
  • I don’t care about pre-existing source material. I just want to hit things.

24. Internal Consistency

  • Your game is internally inconsistent. Please keep better notes so aspects of the game world don’t suddenly change on us without warning.
  • Your game is very consistent. New information builds logically on old information we already know.
  • I don’t care about consistency. I just want to hit things.

25. In-Game Time. Time in our game is:

  • Consistent. It makes sense, even if the GM plays with it some; there’s always an in-game reason for any inconsistencies.
  • Inconsistent. In one session, it takes us two weeks to get from our fortress to the capital, in another it takes us two days. What gives?

26. GM-Player Direction

  • We could use more direction in your game. We spend too much time stumbling around blindly.
  • You’re directing us too much. We want off the train tracks.
  • You give us the right amount of direction. We can choose our own path through the game world, but if we get lost, you always give us in-game assisstence.
  • I’m not sure what you’re doing, but it works for me.

27. Types of Adventures.

I’d like your game to have more or less [please indicate which] of the following:

  • Dungeon adventures
  • Wilderness adventure
  • City adventures
  • Combat scenes
  • Role-playing scenes
  • I like the mix you currently have

28. Intra-Party Conflict

  • I think they’re way too much intra-party conflict in your game. PCs should always work together and should know each others’ strengths and and weaknesses. Otherwise, how can we plan anything?
  • I like it when PCs are at cross-purposes to one another, but not to the point of harming another party member or making it impossible for the party to accomplish things together.
  • I love intra-party conflict. Bring it on! That’s what makes the game fun for me.

29. Session Rating.

In general, your game sessions are:

  • fantastic
  • pretty good
  • fun
  • better than being hung up by my toes for four hours
  • a few more like least ones and I’ll stay home an wash my hair
  • awful; I didn’t get to hit things once!

30. The Best Part

The best part of your game is:

  • the incredible detail of your game universe.
  • the fascinating NPCs.
  • the intrigue and politics.
  • seeing my characters advance.
  • the inventiveness you encourage in your players.
  • the fact the PCs can have major and permanent effects on the game world.
  • the interaction you encourage between the players
  • other [Please specify]:
  • There’s nothing enjoyable about your game.

31. Please add any information you think I should know.

Related articles by Zemanta
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Popularity: unranked [?]

→ 5 Comments

Posted in Musings

Tagged , , ,