In my experience with playing pathfinder, the hardest thing to do is get a group of three or more people in a room together at the same time to play the game. By the time I have people who are willing to play, I'm more or less happy. The crappy thing is that most of the people who play with me have a VERY weak grasp on the rules. I've come across a few distinct player archetypes.
1- The real RPG player
This is the most valuable player you can find. He reads the rule books, he knows what his character can do, he role plays well and he's a boost to the game in every way.
2- The perpetually illiterate player
He might be a cool guy, he might even love the game. But at the end of the day he just won't read the rule book. Sadly people like this make up the majority of my group. They come for the hang out AND for the game, but they either get stuck asking for clarification or pulling out the rule book every turn or they just roll a d20 and standard attack the whole game through.
3- The groupie
The groupie knows nothing about D&D. While the illiterate player might have SOME sense of what's going on, this guy is just there. He tries to play, he learns how to attack in the crudest sense, but he's constantly texting, getting up from the table and ruining everyone's attempt to immerse themselves in things.
4- The smoke break king
This guy ALWAYS needs to smoke, be it cigarettes, weed, whatever. Sometimes battles aren't even over before this guy decides he needs another. If it's tobacco you know you're game is going to be interrupted all night. If it's weed you know he's going to be out of his mind and ruining the game for everyone else.
Does anyone else have problems with the people in their group? Recognize any of the same archetypes?
Does anyone else have problems with the people in their group? Recognize any of the same archetypes?
I recognize the archetypes, fortunately we've had some 'natural selection' over the years and those remaining don't exhibit any of those tendencies to the point they break the game.
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I have had 1, 2, and 4. 3 gets kicked out quickly.
Smokers learn to wait when they lose actions due to smoking. Combat takes long enough without you taking a smoke break just before it is your action. All my smokers were tobacco though. We played at my house and you could just go home if you want to smoke weed.
I have the most trouble with a variety of number 2. A kind of player that not only doesn't know the rules but refuses to learn them and expects others to know for them. Because for some reason, knowing how the numbers come together detracts from their immersive roleplaying experience. They're just jerks of another kind.
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2's easy enough to deal with. Just ask them what they want to do, have the rules person translate it into gamese and go.
1 really should be split. There are role players, roll players, and people who can do both.
I have a 1 a 2 three 3's and a 4 xD we never get anywhere.
My current (regular) group consists of three players.
- I have one type 1: Strategy enthusiast and more than ready to play multiple characters. The downside? Wacky, erratic schedules.
- I have variant of type 2: he knows what his character can do and has no problems building the character, but is absolutely horrified of his character dying in combat. This means that unless he can find a catwalk, parapet, or some manner of high ground and a form of ranged attack, he hides, steals unguarded loot, or worse. The upside is that I don't run hack-n-slash campaigns. Maybe with the gunslinger class he'll be more useful...
- The last player began as a type 3 and graduated to a type 1: The only way this player remains interested is by playing hermaphroditic sexual predators or something equally novel. Doesn't try to optimize or powergame, she simply wants to play some kind of freak/mutant/lunatic each time. A horror campaign will usually encourage her to pick a human, but otherwise weird with a capital W is the norm.
New players occasionally show up, but leave usually because of schedule problems, in-character conversations getting to weird for their ultra-normal tastes, or player three's antics prove too much. Despite this, the group's chemistry is fantastic and they work together very well. Player 2 wants to try GMing, but the rest of us have our concerns...
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Heya Deathmetal4tw.
I used to struggle with 2,3,4 a lot. It sucked but in the end I had to stop gaming with my best friends because they just didn't have my level of commitment. I mean sure we still do one shots of Cthulhu around Halloween but a steady campaign or game night....just not going to happen.
The last few years have been terrific and they can be for you too. I recommend you give your players a long hard evaluation and determine if they want the same game you do. If they don't there are ways of finding the right players; The variety 1 players.
Step one, go to meetups. Talk to gamers get to know your community. Its nice sometimes just to compare war stories and talk about the hobby in general.
Step two, run some one shots. You never know how things are going to go so why start with a long term commitment out of the gun? Give em a trial run and see what its like.
Step three, Join pathfinder society. Even if you don't particularly like organized play its a fantastic place to meet gamers. Each session you get to meet new people and see them in action. Best part of it is there is no commitment so if something comes up you can ditch no problem. Also if you play with some noobtard its only a few hours and then you know you have dodged another headache.
There you have it my secrets to gaming success in three easy steps. Screen, screen, and screen.
We've thankfully never had to deal with 3 or 4, and only once had a 2. He was fired from the group.
We're all kinda happy about that.
I must be blessed.
Here are my primary current players.
1) Sister. 39. Been playing with me since 1983. LOVES to role-play. We started out playing 1st ed. AD&D. She generally plays divine casters, but has played about everything else too. She knows the rules, not all the up to date errata, but more than enough to be a huge help at the table. (Non-smoker)
2) Sister. 33. Been playing since 1991. Plays fighters, monks, psionicists and rogues mainly. Not big on casters. She is familiar enough with the rules to not have to ask questions often. (Non-smoker)
3) Mother. 57. Been playing since 1985. ALWAYS plays an Arcane spellcaster. Not really familiar with the rules and often blasts PCs with her AoEs. She is pretty good at knowing what her character can do and asks questions only if she has forgotten something. (Non-smoker)
4) Son. 20. Been playing since 2004. Likes melee Martial classes, especially fighters and paladins. Is VERY familiar with rules as he loves to play almost as much as I do. Will probably take a turn at DMing so I can FINALLY play a game as a player. (Which I haven't done in a tabletop RPG since 1989!!! Always the DM) (Non-smoker, see a pattern here?)
5) Sister's Boyfriend. 40. Been playing since we introduced him to the game in Feb. of this year. Currently playing a Rogue. (His first character) He dived in head first and loves it so far. (This party has gone from level 1 to 6 so far) Naturally he isn't too well-read on the rules but he has made a huge effort to catch up and listens and remembers well. (Non-smoker, in fact of all 6 of us, only he and I occasionally will share a 6-pack while gaming over 5-6 hours)
In the past I've had another sister, 2 ex-wives, a slew of sisters ex-boyfriends and about 3 dozen friends play. Very few fell in 3 and NONE fell in 4. (We don't tend to attract smokers or druggies) Both my exes were solid 2s, although my first ex REALLY liked playing. (She just wasn't a reader)
Having had such a good player base to pick from is probably why I haven't slowed down RPGing in 28+ years.
Another archetype.
5). The drinker. Might or might not know the rules, but his role playing becomes more and more outrageous as the evening goes on until, about 1/2 hour before the end of the game, he just sits there and stares into space, rolling dice only when prompted.
Last group I played with had a 1 and several 2's. Had a 3 once, but that person was just temporary and didn't last all that long.
Most of our 2's would just take a cursory glance at what a class could do, and filled in the rules themselves as the game went on. Instead of keeping that book on hand and drawing from the rules, they'd just go with whatever loose interpretation they came up with and DM was none the wiser. We had guys at early levels with Fiendish vermin mounts, self-healing, immune to most types of damage, divine spellcasters never praying for spells(sometimes prepared, sometimes, spontaneous, whatever), adding spells on the fly, the works. I would read through the book and find none of these class "features", but the DM wasn't bothered by it and just let it slide. It was a GD mess.
Another archetype.
5). The drinker. Might or might not know the rules, but his role playing becomes more and more outrageous as the evening goes on until, about 1/2 hour before the end of the game, he just sits there and stares into space, rolling dice only when prompted.
I had a player like this before. One night, he spilled all his beer on every character sheets on the table because he was too drunk. Good time...
I play with adults. We all have real lives (wives, kids, jobs, rent/mortgages) and we play for fun and enjoyment. I'd hate to classify any of them, that just seems rude.
I play with adults. We all have real lives (wives, kids, jobs, rent/mortgages) and we play for fun and enjoyment. I'd hate to classify any of them, that just seems rude.
Meh, I wouldn't look at it so harshly. We all play a similar game, and a lot of players have similar traits. Doesn't make them any less of individuals, just sharing some stuff our gaming groups have in common.