... As in DM angst with his players.
You know, my avatar seems to be quite a fitting image for my mindset with my current group.
Lack of hair, due to my pulling it out.
Perpetual toothy sneer over all of the bickering and game stopping rules arguments/discussions/debates/nit-picks (pick one, I dare ya).
Feral look in the eye, daring the next person to try and restart a previous argument (from a half hour past) or commenting on a beastie that they currently are not fighting... "See, he forgot Spring Attack".
I gotta say though, the only thing that keeps my avatar from looking like an Intellect Devourer after its been in a microwave after 10 minutes, are the newer players in the group. Bless their souls.
OK.. that was my brief rambling rant... Thanks for reading.
(Goes looking for a heavy duty paper cutter for the next Bestiary to be plopped down on the table.)
... As in DM angst with his players.
You know, my avatar seems to be quite a fitting image for my mindset with my current group.
Lack of hair, due to my pulling it out.
Perpetual toothy sneer over all of the bickering and game stopping rules arguments/discussions/debates/nit-picks (pick one, I dare ya).
Feral look in the eye, daring the next person to try and restart a previous argument (from a half hour past) or commenting on a beastie that they currently are not fighting... "See, he forgot Spring Attack".I gotta say though, the only thing that keeps my avatar from looking like an Intellect Devourer after its been in a microwave after 10 minutes, are the newer players in the group. Bless their souls.
OK.. that was my brief rambling rant... Thanks for reading.
(Goes looking for a heavy duty paper cutter for the next Bestiary to be plopped down on the table.)
Yeah. I agree. I think. Maybe not.
.
..
...
....
......
Have you tried shaking your fist?
Can I carry a heavy blunt object in said fist?
Can I carry a heavy blunt object in said fist?
Why of course!
Tho, ideally, the shaking o' fist is performe with a heavy iron/lead/misc gauntlet..
You have my condolences.
Recently, as in three months ago, I was having some player issues. I tried many times to express my concerns. I wasn't worried about rules debates; I had those in hand. My worry was the players (half of them anyway) were absolutely disconnected from the world/setting. For example, I have a standing rule that PCs may not be evil. So, knowing this, one of the players wants to be a Cleric of Zon-Kuthon. Why? Free Spiked Chain proficiency! I explained, "ZK is *evil* his cult is evil, his priests are evil." Ok, so what domains does ZK get? This is on top of just absenteeism while at the table: Players that have no interest in the game outside the combat, dice rolling 'winning' aspect. (which as a side note would not be a *bad* thing if they had any kind of tactical brain, but as they did not, it was a bad thing to turn D&D into a wargame).
My solution was easy. A bit painful and awkward, at first, but easy. To the bad (subjective!) players: "Guys, you are clearly not having a good time. Your frustration with me as a GM is becoming problematic to the group; we are obviously not after the same type of game. I am letting you know that there is no need for you to come back. Thank you for your time."
As a DM you (we) are resposible for creating a fair, fun and interesting event-To do that sometimes we have to play Judge Dredd: I am the Law. Such simple things as, "Please keep your Bestiaries at home." to "This is an interesting discussion-we will resume it out of game." if they don't get the message, more drastic action is needed. "The Dire Rat hits for 25 hit points!" What? That's not in the bestiary!? "No, and neither is stopping the game every four minutes because you think you can do it better is not in the Core Rules."
And, you're right, Bless the Newbies! I love players that don't have bad habits trained over years of 'bad' gaming. The inverse of that of course is experienced players bring knowledge to the table. I think a mix of both is best, but given choice A) all Newbs, or B) all 'bad' experienced players, I will take (A) everytime.
I hope you get some resolution in your group!
Happy Gaming,
GNOME
My worry was the players (half of them anyway) were absolutely disconnected from the world/setting. For example, I have a standing rule that PCs may not be evil. So, knowing this, one of the players wants to be a Cleric of Zon-Kuthon. Why? Free Spiked Chain proficiency! I explained, "ZK is *evil* his cult is evil, his priests are evil." Ok, so what domains does ZK get?
O,o?
Umm... have you been at my table?
Because, yes, I do also have one such LN Kuthite (Wanted the spiked chain)... complete with the world disconnect.
Then, there is the metagaming...
lol The metagaming is not so bad: it's the "I only metagame!" that drives me nuts :D
GNOME
|
I share your pain/ I pre-hand out a set of rules for the game we are playing. I have gone with
- No books at the tables (character sheet and dice only).
- No computers/cellsphones/blackberrys/electric readers and so on...
- a start time (that we actual start at) got to the point first dice rolls were 1 1/2 hours after the original start time.
- Schedule break times.
- Metagaming monsters... I tell them that templates (from crystal keep and other sources) have been added to monsters to spice things up. They are all veteran players and know just about every monster and abilities.
- All rules are on the fly as I the DM know them. At the end of the encounter ar at offical break time we look into the situation and find the right answer or house rule one in.
I just tried this out running my current game and its working great so far. People seem more "connected" to the game when wifi computers, books and other electronic devices are not being used between their die rolls.
Can I carry a heavy blunt object in said fist?Why of course!
Tho, ideally, the shaking o' fist is performe with a heavy iron/lead/misc gauntlet..
You misspelled performed. I mention it because this made me read it as "perfume" at first, and this made me really doubt your motives here.