If you need a replacement PC just look for closets. There are survivors hiding in those that look conveniently like the guy you just lost.
Anyways, how much railroading that is depends on the game. One that's a sandbox and you suddenly have a crashed ship might be a bit off, but one where your promised an adventure like that might be a good hook.
lol
we had Female Gnomish Sorcerers in closets, lined up for good old Aaron, he couldn't go 10 minutes without dying at least thrice due to his own recklessness.
@MrSin: Keep in mind, some folks are around merely to provide the definitive examples of the concept of irony. :D
Actually, now that I think about it, I didn't initially think the "railroading" post was a joke. I thought it was a sincere post with the player as the bad guy. I only realized my error when I saw the helpful title at the top, as if to say, "Hey, are you on the wrong side? Let me spell it out for you!"
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Demanding that players save at least 12 hours to play on game day.Not asking. The dm expected every Sunday to be free for the game. As well apprently work and being sick with a gastro are not valid reasons to miss a game twice in a row. Happened to me and I was kicked out. Not in person over the phone.
Demanding that players save at least 12 hours to play on game day.Not asking. The dm expected every Sunday to be free for the game. As well apprently work and being sick with a gastro are not valid reasons to miss a game twice in a row. Happened to me and I was kicked out. Not in person over the phone.
I once had a GM that said we'd have four hour sessions. Four was actually twelve, and I got that "Its not really okay but I'm tell you its okay" face every time I said I had to leave, even though I'd already tried to stay as long as I could. The fact he'd lied to me about the times was probably a good warning I should leave, it was all downhill and false promises out of him and I found out he was telling other people I was the bad guy for leaving. Nerve of some people.
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Ah. GM must have changed it slightly. I remember our Sorcerer got a Nat 20 and passed the save, so flailed around for a minute before the ship crashed and he was the only one not sickened in the fight afterwards (3 and a half hour fight with crabs...GMs first game running, and all of our first game playing. Yeah...).
I don't remember ever HAVING to search for survivors, there were just bonuses for getting them out alive and keeping them happy.
As an aside, we need to find a way to get that RoTRL game going again with another group. I'd be willing to run if it were more scheduled chat than PBP.
Yeah, that could be fun.
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I once had a GM that said we'd have four hour sessions. Four was actually twelve, and I got that "Its not really okay but I'm tell you its okay" face every time I said I had to leave, even though I'd already tried to stay as long as I could. The fact he'd lied to me about the times was probably a good warning I should leave, it was all downhill and false promises out of him and I found out he was telling other people I was the bad guy for leaving. Nerve of some people.
Sounds like the DM I had posted about it. Apparently me leaving early because I had to take the subway home before the line closed was also a factor for him booting him out. Some DMs realyl should not be running games imo. They can be the pest DMs yet zero social skills in dealing with non-gaming topics
Up to forcing a player to leave, after a single session of play, by escalating the threats to raping and killing her PC (through email exchanges with the whole group in copy).Jesus Christ. You did call out said player on his b~@@+#~$, right?
I really don't get players who think such behaviour to another player is in any shape or form acceptable. Do those people suffer from Aspergers, or what is their problem. No amount of "I'm just playing my character" can justify stuff like this. >.<
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Abysmal social skills is not just an autistic trait, you know.
Abysmal social skills is not just an autistic trait, you know.
There are just some people that either don't get it or don't care. Most of them are just normal people on either side of the screen and in other facets of life.
And just like life, you have to sometimes step away from something you might otherwise enjoy to avoid strangling someone for their lack of social graces. It isn't the best solution, but I imagine the RPGs in prison are worse than the ones with jerks in stores. :)
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Signs you are a bad GM: Your players stop showing up.Pretty hard to beat this one. If anything screams your a bad DM it this imo.
I agree, though people should remember that this is not proof that if your players still show up, you are a Good GM.
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I think while I am an opinionated person and I rarely agree with a DM 100% of the time, there have only been three I would say were actually bad GMs to where I didn't want to play with them.
1) The straight up killer GM. Had an actual adversarial relationship with the players. He maxed out encounters, rerolled stats for monsters so they'd be higher, and misinterpreted spell descriptions to further hurt the players, all while saying the fights were fair because before he tweaked them they were within the CR of the party. When he was a player he was also a power gamer who would whine when he didn't get his way.
2) The obnoxious guy who would get off topic and lecture us about his views about politics, sports, whatever since we were a captive audience. He also fought with his wife at the table, made our characters act like stereotypes "Your cleric is healing the peasants"and showed blatant favoritism towards his friends and family members that played over the people he brought through online postings.
3) The DM who just didn't know what he was doing. He was a very nice guy and the whole group was nice. He just didn't have a clear idea of how to set up an adventure and let the players have victories as part of his larger story. I think he was trying too hard to be original.
...
Hey, I know those guys!
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With respect poor social skills and acting poorly in public is not something that a person has to do. It's something a person wants to do. Sure we have a freedom of speech. It's still not okay to approach a person in a gaming store or anywhere else and engage in edition warring. Or making fun of their rpgs. At the end of the day the person may mean well but he still is being a dick imo. Too often people give excuses for people bad behavior making it like humans are animals that can't control themselves. Or use one of the most annoying expressions in existence "well what are you going to do can't be helped".
Well if your not going to say anything why would anyone with poor social skills improve or stop their bad behavior. I have had to verbally shutdown a few people who saw me reading 4E books and wanted to engage in edition warring. What bothers me is when they can't understand why your annoyed or angry. Hell even a person I know. I make it very clear that edition warring or making fun of a rpg espcially with fans of said rpg in the room will be told to move along. Life is too short to put up with such BS. It's understandable and somewhat more acceptable to the those between the ages of ten and sixteen. A grown person espcially in the thirty or forties is just sad imo.
Who are you responding to, Memorax?
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I agree, though people should remember that this is not proof that if your players still show up, you are a Good GM.Signs you are a bad GM: Your players stop showing up.Pretty hard to beat this one. If anything screams your a bad DM it this imo.
They could be people who can't find a better GM willing to run for them...
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Aren't there several "bad GM" threads from the past month or so? Or at least one big one?
Yeah, I'm curious as to why whenever there is a new topic of discussion, it has to explode into multiple threads at a time.
This forum is a mess.
Sign of a good GM:
A player offers to run a game, the GM says, "Sounds great!" the rest of the group groans a little.Sign of a bad GM:
A player offers to run a game, the rest of the group says, "Sounds great!", the GM groans a lot.
I think a little context needs to be put in here. I as a GM would have problems with someone else running my campaign because it would reveal lots of meta knowledge and especially in side quests throw out the treasure balance of the game.
I think a little context needs to be put in here. I as a GM would have problems with someone else running my campaign because it would reveal lots of meta knowledge and especially in side quests throw out the treasure balance of the game.Sign of a good GM:
A player offers to run a game, the GM says, "Sounds great!" the rest of the group groans a little.Sign of a bad GM:
A player offers to run a game, the rest of the group says, "Sounds great!", the GM groans a lot.
Okay, I should have been more clear. When I said "running a game", I wasn't speaking about a single session, but instead a campaign. I had in my mind the current campaign was coming to an end and the GM was asking what people wanted to do next and ...
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Aren't there several "bad GM" threads from the past month or so? Or at least one big one?Yeah, I'm curious as to why whenever there is a new topic of discussion, it has to explode into multiple threads at a time.
This forum is a mess.
The "stay on topic" police (Paizo's moderators) have been a little overzealous the last little while, so the messy forum is a logical result of that type of moderating.
I dunno, I think the mods are a lot more lax than most forums' would be. They generally put up with off-topic threads as long as things don't get hostile.
Mr. Zombie, The APWAG would like a word with you. :)I wish even more that groups of you who think say that, GMs who stand up to your non-nonsensically over optimized fun-vampire characters that ignore any remote sense of setting or game appropriateness, are bad. Harping on about how awful they are, and patting each other on the back, saying there there, you arn't the one who tried to do something out side the spirit of the game some one crafted for you, they totally should have let your dragon riding super soldier into their street level thieves guild game.
I think I know the reference, but cant remember what it stands for.
You know you're a bad GM when...
...You think Paladins using Stealth or laying traps/ambushes is an extension of the Code against lying, and causes an automatic fall.
...Or think that flanking is also against the Code (from the "fight with honor" thing), thus generating an automatic fall.
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Who are you responding to, Memorax?
It was somehwat of a general rant. Just tired of hearing how bad behavior is unavoidable. Or that wee just have to accept it.
...Or think that flanking is also against the Code (from the "fight with honor" thing), thus generating an automatic fall.
Glad i never came across this one. Or that the Paladin falls if he tries to sneak into a place. Or refuses to commit sucide by fighting against impossible odds. Dms that like to railroad are imo the worse. No matter what the party is going to go the right of the path.
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A good GM knows you don't have to recreate the wheel just because the players change course.
GM: Oh, you are leaving town? Okay. *takes sheet with stats for street thugs and changes title to highway men*
A good GM knows you don't have to recreate the wheel just because the players change course.
GM: Oh, you are leaving town? Okay. *takes sheet with stats for street thugs and changes title to highway men*
I keep a sheet with a bunch of generic enemies on it for just such occasions.
Have gotten a lot of mileage out of the Assassin/Rogue-ish template one, since it's basically "Ninja, with a few extra tricks pick some thematic ones". Takes about 30 seconds to adjust for anything from actual assassins (smokebombs and poison), ninjas (vanishing trick) and even evil magic jesters (Burning Hands at will).
I love Combat Manager because I can create a whole bunch of generic encounters and save them for future use whenever I feel like it and all I have to do is open the right encounter and get the combat stats I need, and reskin the creatures however I like.
If your GM says he/she is God, it's only a problem if they can't actually match up to those expectations. I mean... an actual divinity doing GMing? Hell yeah, sign me up.
Glad i never came across this one. Or that the Paladin falls if he tries to sneak into a place. Or refuses to commit sucide by fighting against impossible odds. Dms that like to railroad are imo the worse. No matter what the party is going to go the right of the path.
...Or think that flanking is also against the Code (from the "fight with honor" thing), thus generating an automatic fall.
The thing people forget about knightly codes is that they generally only applied when dealing with other knights or the nobility. There was nothing in the code of chivalry against running down peasant militia with your warhorse. And when you introduce fantasy elements, why in the world would you deal fairly with a demon, knowing that the creature won't do you the same in return?
Because reasons?
The flanking thing was a no-no for the paladin because it was an "unfair advantage" that doesn't fit in an honorable fight.
Fighting undead, mice, plants, evil outsiders (devils, demons and daemons)... all that must be conducted in a honorable way.
Now I wonder, how do you fight "honorably" against, say, a swarm?
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Now I wonder, how do you fight "honorably" against, say, a swarm?
You fall. The answer is always fall right?
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Because it isn't "Do unto others as they are doing unto you," no no it IS "Do unto others as you would like them to do unto you." Other people shouldn't influence your behavior, you should influence their behavior; even if they never reciprocate the effort.
Because it isn't "Do unto others as they are doing unto you," no no it IS "Do unto others as you would like them to do unto you." Other people shouldn't influence your behavior, you should influence their behavior; even if they never reciprocate the effort.
I also like "Do unto others before they get the chance to do it unto you" ;)
I just use my GOD-like powers of manipulation to the point where everyone who sits at my table thinks I'm a great DM.
Is that Skill Focus(Bluff) or Skill Focus(Diplomacy)? I roll sense motive against the DM!
A good GM knows you don't have to recreate the wheel just because the players change course.
GM: Oh, you are leaving town? Okay. *takes sheet with stats for street thugs and changes title to highway men*
I keep a sheet with a bunch of generic enemies on it for just such occasions.
Have gotten a lot of mileage out of the Assassin/Rogue-ish template one, since it's basically "Ninja, with a few extra tricks pick some thematic ones". Takes about 30 seconds to adjust for anything from actual assassins (smokebombs and poison), ninjas (vanishing trick) and even evil magic jesters (Burning Hands at will).
Hell, Paizo has entire books for just such occasions.
Because it isn't "Do unto others as they are doing unto you," no no it IS "Do unto others as you would like them to do unto you." Other people shouldn't influence your behavior, you should influence their behavior; even if they never reciprocate the effort.
Even if there is no chance you'll influence their behavior, like the demon example? See, that's where we fall into the "all paladins are Lawful Stupid" realm of gaming.
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A paladin walks into a bar.
He falls.
Because it isn't "Do unto others as they are doing unto you," no no it IS "Do unto others as you would like them to do unto you." Other people shouldn't influence your behavior, you should influence their behavior; even if they never reciprocate the effort.Even if there is no chance you'll influence their behavior, like the demon example? See, that's where we fall into the "all paladins are Lawful Stupid" realm of gaming.
In the paladin's eyes this isn't a fight the demon can win as long as he holds fast to his code. Even if the demon kills him he will have a place of Honor at his deity's side. However if he gives in to base urges and cheats to beat the demon then the demon wins because even if he kills the demon it will have glory to take bake to the abyss with it by making a paladin reject his own code.
Because it isn't "Do unto others as they are doing unto you," no no it IS "Do unto others as you would like them to do unto you." Other people shouldn't influence your behavior, you should influence their behavior; even if they never reciprocate the effort.
I don't see the ethic of reciprocity in the paladin code.
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Because it isn't "Do unto others as they are doing unto you," no no it IS "Do unto others as you would like them to do unto you." Other people shouldn't influence your behavior, you should influence their behavior; even if they never reciprocate the effort.I don't see the ethic of reciprocity in the paladin code.
Hmmm? I speak in a broader lawful sense. A code (any lawful code, not just the paladin's) shouldn't be broken or you have failed yourself. The big picture isn't the current fight it is who you are.
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signs of being a bad gm, from experiance;
1) "playing" over 2 hours to just decide where our characters would sit in a car
2) "playing" over 8 hours and getting 1 or 2 actions in a combat of 8 hours!
3) "playing" with 11 other people but only 1 gets to drive the story foward
4) being told to have a "more humane character" and after creating one, being told that "your character cares more about politics than helping people"