When I sat down to DM my first game, it was a 5 person game. The players started off in transport to a major city all riding for days in the same covered carriage.
When the time came for each character to describe themselves, (As they had been traveling in the same transport for days.) each of the 5 players described themselves as such, and almost without deviation from the following list:
My character is dressed all in black.
My character keeps to himself.
My character is a human/elf.
My character refuses to talk to the other characters.
My response: Well, that's a great start. Perfect for party cohesion.
Later on in the game one of the NPCs got killed and the wizard of the group spent the entirety of combat (4-6 rounds) trying to pry the wand from the NPC's cold dead hand. (Broke a window, grabbed the dead hand and pulled it through the window while sitting in the safety of the carriage.) Overall it was a funny image.
Anyone else care to share stories like this?
Goth kids drain all the fun out of everything.
If all participants are of legal age and inclination, a drinking game would go a long way to straighten this mess up.
That, or assigning mocking names: MiB 1, MiB 2, Sir Morr of Onn, Dame Easy On Theighs, etc.
Or sicc a pack of goblins wearing colored hats on 'em, catch is: the hats are cursed hats of disguise. The color (which should be neon bright - pink, bright green, a pastel blue, a particularly nice light purple. And of course yellow) changes between the hats to match the "modus operandi" of the character. Yellow for fighter, pink for paladin, purple for arcane, green for the elf, blue for whomever's left.
When they get low in hp, a booming voice overhead declares (for example) "green elf is about to die" or "pink cavalier needs food badly". They can't get rid of the hats until you're bored with the shtick. Call on players by their hat/class (or race) combination throughout the game. In e-mails, same thing. If you keep an internet campaign journal, use it there too. In short, they're Gauntlet characters - treat them as such.
Alertantively, pranksterish fey can simply *pouf* their headgear accordingly. ^__^
Egad...what a complete lack of imagination on their part. I've largely broken my players from being the "mysterious hooded stranger" bit. Nothing draws attention like trying to look and act differently than say, everyone else in the tavern. One character would draw a lot of glances and a few whispers, but 5 of them would probably make the patrons VERY uneasy. This could attract some unwanted attention from the local church/temple, the magistrate of the town, the city watch, or even another group of black robed misanthropes who don't like the idea someone is wearing "their colors" and muscling in on their turf.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Egad...what a complete lack of imagination on their part. I've largely broken my players from being the "mysterious hooded stranger" bit. Nothing draws attention like trying to look and act differently than say, everyone else in the tavern. One character would draw a lot of glances and a few whispers, but 5 of them would probably make the patrons VERY uneasy. This could attract some unwanted attention from the local church/temple, the magistrate of the town, the city watch, or even another group of black robed misanthropes who don't like the idea someone is wearing "their colors" and muscling in on their turf.
Ha, I like it.
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I once cured my players of their roleplaying doldrums by swapping in an acting workshop instead of our regular play sessions. We did lots of improv swapped members of the group around, and really worked the creative parts of our minds.
When it was time to pick up the dice again, the fun we had from it carried over.
dot