I'd like to conclude my thoughts by saying that "players who come for that game and that's it" should really be the default assumption for RPGs. "That kind of player" is seen rather negatively around here because the very nature of this forum means that around here, we're all interested in the Game (with a capital "G") outside the game.
But the amount of dedication that a person puts into its hobby isn't always directly related to its appreciation of the said hobby. You don't have to see Gary Gygax in your cereal bowl at breakfast to love D&D. I know I do - as most of us who are lurking on this forum - but it shouldn't be a pre-requisite to play a RPG, nor to be considered a good player.
Many of us around here are ready to go the extra mile and do regular updates, game prep and continuous character research outside game time (as a player I mean). That's all fine but we need to understand that we are doing just that: going the extra mile.
Web sites and electronic billboards are convenient tools that make "going the extra mile" easier, but its still not right, IMO, to impose that on every player. Some of us are so much into the game that we see that as being normal and natural. We even go as far as considering it required. But at this point, we are imposing our own ideology on others and it starts to degenerate in lack of respect for the other.
Respect of the other on the other hand should NEVER be compromised. That should stay way above many other thing in the list of pre-requisites to play RPGs. Lack of respect is at the heart of all of these "horror stories", even when unintentional.
That is why I find the negligence of the OP's players to clean after their mess a thousands times more disturbing than the lack of motivation of a player to sign-up to an internet server...
That being said, it can come to a point where blatant lack of motivation and involvement becomes disrespectful of other players. In this case, the issue should be addressed and resolve as such, not as "become a better player or else you're out!".
That is why I never encourage ultimatums, in-game "fixings" or punishments (including lack of rewards) or similar veiled threats because they are usually just as disrespectful - if not worst - than the original offense. Fighting jerkiness with jerkiness is not only immature, its nonconstructive and rarely successful.
Now I don't want to sound harsh to the OP or to others that have contributed to this tread - it has remained civil and largely free of "jerkiness" - this post was not aimed at anybody in particular. It is simply my conclusion on the many, many treads of "problematic players" found on this section of the forum.
'findel
[edit] carried over from last post of page 2
Alot of good stuff
+1
Cheers
Mark
For what it is worth, and I suspect very little, I despise signing up for websites. Especially for a website with so little purpose as Phazzle has described his/hers.
The reason is, over the past two to three decades I have signed up for dozens, if not hundreds, of different websites because this group or that group of friends use it and/or think it is fun/cool/whatever. And invariably, these sites die, or that group of friends and I grow apart.
And here I have these numerous breadcrumbs spread throughout the internet... And that goes against my basic philosophy of "leave no trace of your passing." I clean up after myself, particularly outdoors, in the real world... And I would like to be able to do so in cyberspace. And then, if that wasn't enough, there is the security paranoid side of me that hates signing up for websites as well...
In the end, if it came down to an ultimatum of signing up for a website, or not playing in the game - I would quit the game in a heart beat. And here is the kicker. I am the most tech savvy of my group. I have set up a MapTool server for my group, and am constantly working on coding as much rules as possible into MapTool.
So, I am 100% behind the player that doesn't choose to use the website.
And with my opinion out of the way, here is a little technical tidbit that others might find useful in situations similar to this:
How to use email to send SMS to people. After you set up your contacts, you can easily email a short text to every one of your players.
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Reading between the lines, I think this is really more about the failure to clean up after himself issue. The fact that he doesn't go to the website just gives the OP an excuse to "punish" his character, when what should happen is the OP should talk to him about the fact that he isn't cleaning up after himself.
Regarding loot: Why the hell is the OP "assigning" loot? You throw the loot out there, and the players divide it up. If they're smart, they'll give the items to the characters that can use them best. Hell, they'll do that even if they're greedy but smart, as it makes the party more effective, leading to more treasure. If they're stupid, sucks for them.
Regarding XP: OP, do your website thing, then just give him a call and tell him how much XP he has. You're b$@@$ing that he won't spend 5 minutes to go to the website, but you seem unwilling to spend 5 minutes to call him. Same difference.
Cleaning up: Ask him to clean up after himself. If he continually fails to do so, ask him to leave the group. But don't pretend it's over the website thing, just be honest.
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Just FYI you're wrong about what POP3 is. It's not a free email account such as yahoo, gmail and hotmail. It's the protocol which powers those accounts and many others, essentially the application that makes the email do its thing and retrieve messages.Fair enough, I redid my google search and see where I made the mistake. I did a quick glance at results. I see what you are saying, but the point of my argument stands. All you need is an email address to sign into the website. Any email will do. Thanks for correcting me.
Well, there is always this: why would the OP suggest a disposable e-mail to save his players the hassle of spam rather than use a site or method that doesn't generate spam? And, how, exactly, is this easier than just getting the e-mail addresses of the players and sending an e-mail that takes as little (if not less) time as posting to a web site?
Seriously, I don't know if I'd bother signing up for something the person who wants me to sign up for doesn't trust to not spam my inbox.
At the end of the game session you could get a pocket calculator out, divide the xp total between the number of characters then tell the players how much xp they get. In our games we find this method really easy and quick. We don't even use a calculator sometimes.
And, how, exactly, is this easier than just getting the e-mail addresses of the players and sending an e-mail that takes as little (if not less) time as posting to a web site?
Truthfully, it's really not. The only difference is that the OP and "most" of his group have already adopted this method. So it's just the one player. Now, can the OP modify his plans for the website or make an exception to policy with this one player? Sure he can. If I were in his position I might, depending on the player's attitude and reasons. But I would not put up with someone just ignoring me and the rest of the group. I also would not put up with someone who wouldn't pitch in with group things, like cleaning up or putting up his share of money for pizza and soda... stuff like that. It doesn't matter how good a player you are, if you don't participate with the group you don't belong. I would put up with a bad player who is trying to participate a whole lot longer than I would a good player who is disrespectful.
Blaghelflauf!!!!
Ok, first of all. I did talk to the player last night and he just told me that he forgot. He came by my place after work, we rolled a fatty and got him signed up. Kudos to everyone who suggested this course of action.
Second, people are really misinterpreting my motive behind using the site in the first place. At the end of each session I am too tired to sit there for half an hour and write up all of the players' XP and the players need to go home to their wives and sweethearts. So in the past we had been distributing XP before the following session which leads to players delaying the game by leveling their characters. We only play twice a week so our time is valuable when we finally get to the game table. That is not to say that we do not have a nice 15 minute jam session before the game but if I have 4 people leveling their characters while I am arranging my minis, laying out my npcs, going over room descriptions, etc. then additional questions like "Hey, do you mind if I take this feat," or "Is X a class skill for me," would not be helpful. So a website where they can check their xp after the session is beneficial to me since I dont need to send 4 texts and beneficial to them since they can get their XP the day after the game and show up to the session prepared. Everybody wins.
Third, I do not assign magic items through the site. I hand treasure out during the session like any other normal DM. The site does two things in this regard. 1) I know exactly what gear a player has without having to eyeball f*&$ their sheet every session and can budget my awards so that the players are not receiving too little loot or too much loot. 2) There is an excellent little feature that allows me as the DM to view the value of unappraised items while the player cannot. THis is a GREAT feature since I do not have to track this information using notebook paper.
Furthermore, Now that the player has signed up and they are ALL on board they never have to update anything on the site again! Ever! It is a tool that I use to organize my campaign and disseminate information to them. They can check it once every two weeks to get their XP and make sure that I have not accidentally f+@!ed them out of a magic item and show up to the session prepared.
Finally, some players really like the site. They like the content that I put out on the background of the campaign. One player likes to write little journal entries and another player scoured the internet until he found the perfect character portrait.
Though it turned out to be a non-issue, I am glad that I brought this up since it has led to an interesting discussion about player responsibility. All I have to say in that regard is that I would not want a player at my table who did not want to take the time to know his character and sign up for a website. I am glad that this player did not choose to place himself in that camp.
Blaghelflauf!!!!
Ok, first of all. I did talk to the player last night and he just told me that he forgot. He came by my place after work, we rolled a fatty and got him signed up. Kudos to everyone who suggested this course of action.
I'm glad you could solve this without any unnecessary drama.
Good work and have fun.
We only play twice a week so our time is valuable when we finally get to the game table.
Ah, to be young again. I'm currently in 2 groups, each of which only plays once a month. Any more than that would feel like it was taking up too much of my valuable free time. :-)
We only play twice a week so our time is valuable when we finally get to the game table.Ah, to be young again. I'm currently in 2 groups, each of which only plays once a month. Any more than that would feel like it was taking up too much of my valuable free time. :-)
I did a double-take when I saw the whole 2x a week thing. I just don't have the time or resources for that, not anymore. Current group plays twice a month, and that's all time (meaning wife and kids) will allow.
Edit: I meant to write "once every two weeks," lol! Yes, we are old farts. If I played twice a week I would have to quit my job and break up with my girlfriend.