One of my GM's said in the begining that he takes bribe...i do understand what that mean but i'm not sure I agree with that...
I used it once, i had a deck of many tings, lost 10 000xp...and others bad things (I SWEAR I'LL NEVER TAKE CARD AGAIN! WE SHOULD BURN THAT DECK! WE ALMOST DESTROYED AN ENTIRE TOWN OMFG....enyway...)
So i gave him a McCain chocolat cake and i retrieve my XP'S....
On the spot that sounded good, i was chill with that...but somone else diD it too, in order to have an adamantium armor for almost half of the price and i felt injustice....then I tought: Maybe that's what happen when u do it...when i did it, they all felt the same?
So i'm asking: Would you do it? Or as a GM, do you allow bribes? What do you think about it?
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I think that's some of the crappiest GMing I've ever seen. That's the definition of unfair and arbitrary, two of the worst things a GM can be.
I wouldn't bribe a GM, and I don't take bribes as a GM.
As a joke for something minor its okay, but for something with actual gameplay differences? No, absolutely not. It should not be allowed.
well, i understand that its not so fair but we have real fun with him and that dont happen too often...
Also, i dont think i will do it again enyway...dont feel right (damn loyal good, as my boyfriend says...)
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I'm more in the camp of taunting GM's. I would bring there favorite cake and just eat the whole thing myself while they watched in envy.
I generally consider it a play style thing. Some games are more serious than others, some more beer and pretzels. Bring good beer and pretzels for the GM with the latter game, and I don't see a problem with bribery.
I'm more in the camp of taunting GM's. I would bring there favorite cake and just eat the whole thing myself while they watched in envy.
You dare taunt he who controls where falling rocks land?
Anyways, I'd say its very situational. Back when I was in highschool I played with a group who met across the street from a grocery store, much bribery was had and they'd sell eachother cake for twice the price of what they bought it(who spends 5 dollars on a slice of cake!?). They were all however middle/high school age. No one suddenly got amazing perks for giving the GM a slice of chocolate cake, but they have gotten a free reroll.
I would say bribery as a joking around thing is much different than bribing the DM to throw around free things or reduce prices.
Also, my bribery of choice is cheesecake with strawberries on the side.
I'm more in the camp of taunting GM's. I would bring there favorite cake and just eat the whole thing myself while they watched in envy.You dare taunt he who controls where falling rocks land?
Ah, if rocks fall I will have more time to savor each delicious bite. However if I am distracted, it might be too hard to focus on eating and then there will be cake remaining at the end.
I don't want to give the GM's girlfriend the idea that bribing the GM is OK: she's got more options in that department than I do.
I was once in a game where the GM's girlfriend was allowed to GMPC and given infinite rerolls based on that premise. No thrill of the game at all.
Rule zero at my table includes some one brings Ginger Ale to appease the great god of TPK. Thats about as close as I get to a bribe.
It's all just a game, and there's a certain hilarity to "The gods are inexplicably pleased today! Mmmm, chocolate!" However, I'm generally against anything that blurs the division between the in-game world and this rather lackluster one that we're forced to make do with between games. Besides, I don't want to give the GM's girlfriend the idea that bribing the GM is OK: she's got more options in that department than I do.
oh well...i wont say anything about a girl who just started to play and her GM boyfriend who gets...no...i wont...
just kidding
The "bribes" I accept are more just courtesies which I then reward with minor boons. For instance, if it's one of my player's turn to bring dinner to the game (we rotate who brings the entree every week) and that player happens to bring a buffalo chicken (my favorite thing!) dish of some sort, I'll grant them one free reroll at some point that evening.
Offering to refill my drink if they notice my glass is nearly empty of juice generally results in a +1 to their next d20 roll. My player's, conversely, nervously grant me a 'reroll 1 damage die' boon if I pay them a similar kindess/courtesy.
Silly little stuff like that is, in my view, both appropriate and fun.
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Well, you can sort of do that in my game. In so much as if you write a background, create a character portrait, write a character journal entry for a session, or other things that I want my players to do you are rewarded in a destiny point (house ruled version of hero points). And I have been known to offer similar benefits when someone ammuses me in game through something funny or awesome that their characters do.
Another gm in my group that has his own campaign world gives out 'makeup xp' for missed sessions if you create npcs, organizations and other campaign elements to add to his developing world.
That kind of bribery I am fine with. And I am also ok with offering minor benefits for helping out with snacks, helping clean up (i usually host the game at my place) and such. But again nothing worldshacking like undoing the mess of a deck of many things. I wouldnt be happy if my gm did something like that.
In Amber, you just make sure something awful keeps happening to them until they either resume their duties or buy them off with XP. +20 points of Bad Stuff is a fatally large amount of Bad Stuff!
As to bribing a GM, I'm with Kolokotroni. I'll award Hero Points to players who do something useful (and/or make me laugh so hard I lose my Diet Coke).
But flat-out bribing me? No way. Never. That, my friend, is the sign that you need to find yourself a new GM tout de suite!
Nope. Never would I bribe a GM, or solicit bribes as a GM.
I generally make an effort to extend common courtesy and a general level of appreciation to whoever provides something to the game (hosting, food etc.), and the GM for running the game, and make an effort myself to reciprocate/add something useful to the experience, but that's just decent manners.
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As a GM, both in Society play and a home game, I have two very separate opinions. In my home game, if you bring me a few "16 ounce insurance policies"; I promise I won't make the challenges any harder for you than anyone else.
In Society play, I'm just a story-teller. I have no favorites, and I do my best to treat all my players the same.
I understand that if I show favoritism or give special attention to one, or a few, players then the others may feel slighted. My responsibility is to tell a fun story and adjudicate the rules, both to the best of my ability.
CrazyGab,
It sounds like you used the possibility of bribery to get out of a bad situation, while someone else used it to get ahead. I'm sorry you feel you got the shorter end of that stick.
My suggestion is talk with your GM and discuss removing the option of bribery from the game. It's all about fun, not about who can spend the most money stroking his ego (or stomach).
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I have a running joke that I will gratefully accept bribes. My players all know me too well, and not one of them has ever tried to offer me one.
Nothing wrong with a DM being given some cigarettes or a pizza to make a game run smoother.
Or like "Oh s$*% I forgot my pen. First person who finds it gets 1k gold.
The players that offer me bribes are the first to lose their characters.
::evil GM grin::
I could see some bribes being important.
Jess really likes dwarves. Jeff bribes DM to run a dwarf campaign. Everyone is happy.
We always bribe the GM....
GM usually gets a cup from the FIRST pot of coffee.
Cookies usually get passed by the GM before they make it around the table to the rest of the people.
No tangible rewards but we keep bribing :)
I think that is just called 'being a good player' :)
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Ughbash: if you enjoy your games, and the GM keeps running it, that's probably what your bribes accomplish.
All joking aside, being the GM is usually a lot of work. A few perks such as always getting the toppings you like on the pizza is a small recompence for allowing these howling barbarians to kill all your beautiful monsters.
^_^
For a campaign that contains weird goofy stuff like the Deck of Many Things, I think a little good-natured bribery or other out-of-game weirdness would probably fit in just fine.
For a more serious campaign, I'd rather avoid it.
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As a GM I make it clear that I do accept bribes. Sure, I'll never do anything in exchange for it, but feel free to give me free stuff. lol.
I would NEVER give a bribe. If I give the bribe I will probably get something like " You have a -10 on your saving throw because of..." and make up whatever you think goes best in there.
If I were a GM I might give them a +1 on their next roll. If it was a serious game probably not.
Bribing GMs is right up there with bring dice to game night for me!...
Im kidding. If its rare or silly then I see no harm. If one person is getting serious favoritism based on gifts then it becomes an issue. But really its all about the circumstances. After all. Its a game meant to be played with friends. Friends bribe each other. "Dude... give me a ride to the gas station and I will buy you a soda."
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This is horrible, in my opinion.
I GM a lot and never have and never would expect bribes. I do not cater to "pay-to-win" environments and never would play in one myself.
One of my favorite things about Pathfinder is a cost thing. I want to be able to tell my players they need a core rulebook, a copy of anything else they want to pull sources from, a character sheet (or 50 cents to print on at the library down the street), a pencil, and some dice. Period.
Nobody should have to expense for a chocolate cake, 3 cookies, a bag of chips, a coffee (black - I take my coffee black), and that thing on the shelf I have been eyeing in order to stay on the curve with other players.
I believe that a GM should be as impartial as possible. The world he or she is portraying is a sterile environment compared to the real-world and allowing bribes is just another way to ruin the magic and make immersion even harder.
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For something that really matters -- nope.
For fun, to raise the level of high-fantasy swashbuckling suspension of disbelief, to get away with something that enhances everyones enjoyment -- chocolate-flavoured hero points seem fair.
In the specific case of the DoMT -- (i) IMO if you draw from it then you take the consequences, no takebacks, (ii) as a DM I'd never have it in one of my games, and (iii) as a player I'd never draw from one except in the direst of emergencies (e.g. next round the genocidal lich is going to achieve apotheosis) in which case I'd probably draw the full deck, hope, and start writing out a new character sheet.
If you want to include bribery in your games then I'd suggest it has some in-game explanation -- the intervention of a trickster god or devil to manipulate your fate, the consequences of which will be subject to the whim of the meddling demiurge.
I accepted bribes from one player... I tried to talk him out of it because it seemed a very silly thing to bribe me for. Basically I was running a short adventure in Rifts which I figured would last a few weeks at the most. He wanted to use a class I had banned because of regional differences... but he gave me a free book. So I relented but it still feels like I took advantage of him, even though he insisted.
I have never accepted bribes for long campaigns. I have tried to bribe a GM once with home made lasagna when he had my character imprisoned... but I was worried and I still don't know if it worked or the events that followed were what he had planned anyway.
I accept bribes for Hero Points but Hero Points have the rules and limitations from the book. Since they are there and have rules for them, there are a number of things I'll do as a GM for hero points, but I'll write them down when I use them so that its not completely arbitrary and its the only in-game favors I'll really give that matters.
I once gave a DM 1 dollar in quarters and he let me "roll" what I wanted on the percentile die to get the specific item I wanted. I had already rolled for what type and how powerful it was, and I was one die roll away from having the best christmas ever.
Then, one dollar later I was the proud owner of a lesser Quicken Rod. Out was a god move game and everyone was OP so it wasn't game breaking.
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As a GM I accept all kinds of bribes. Especially Pizza, coffee, or Sushi. They don't pay good returns though as the players don't really get much for them... When I do repay a bribe it is usually with something that benefits the Party.
For example, in exchange for some Pizza I let the Party Wizard craft the entire party Handy Haversacks. They all still paid the requisite amount of gold, and the Wizard still met the prerequisites, but I hand waved the amount of time required.
In the end it was his left over Pizza that I ate. So we all got what we wanted and no one was really out much of anything.
I disagree with all matters of gm bribery. Do nice things for your players and your gm, but don't line up in game rewards or retcon penalties for tasty treats and favors. It cheapens the hobby.
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I don't take bribes but I will reward players that regularly bring food, snacks, and drinks. Usually in the form of XP or treasure. I do this as an incentive. It can be expensive if one person does that all the time. So, when I reward that person other people see the benefit and they start bringing stuff in as well. But, when my players get wise to this and decide they want to try and game the system, I scale back the rewards. It all ends up balancing out.
I bribe my GM(he also plays in my every other week campaign) and fellow player to wake up on time for our weekly game session by providing food. I also bribed my friend into GMing by buying an adventure path for him to run.
But as to bribing a GM for an in game benefit? No, can't say that I have.
I used to have a standing offer to bribe any PFS GM out there for the player boon that allows you to have a legal goblin player, but Paizo kept deleting the posts.
But I'd still pay a hundred bucks...
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My players have joked about bribing me with chocolate, but that has never actually influenced the course of the game, save perhaps keeping me in a happier mood. :)
Outside of jokes though...
I would never accept bribes, never try to bribe, and never play with the kind of worthless scumbag who accepted them (or associate myself at all with that kind of jerk).
Certainly we all contribute food and beverages as we are able (or chip in cash for such) but the reward for that is we get to eat the food and beverages and enjoy a nice time with each other, which is a far better reward than any game mechanic.
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Bribing a GM sounds like a horrible idea.
Too much work. Blackmail is a little more effort upfront, but stays good for the entire campaign.
I would never accept bribes, never try to bribe, and never play with the kind of worthless scumbag who accepted them (or associate myself at all with that kind of jerk).
Eeep... now I feel ten times as guilty for accepting that one bribe. It didn't hurt the game any I assure you short term or not, but it still didn't feel right afterward.
PS: And I wouldn't accept bribes anymore.
As a GM, I openly accept bribes. In the form of books I don't yet have.
I reward said bribes with a positive mood, and more variety in the game~
I jokingly: "Accept bribes of Bombay Sapphire and Glenlivet 13+"
Though this has never come up, I highly doubt I'd offer more than a +5 on a single roll.
Then again... If you were to use a system like action points... To earn another... Heh.
I once "shelled out" 40 XP to a player to crack my crab legs and claws for me while we were gaming so I didn't have to do it. It was worth it. I didn't have to do it. He got enough XP to level. The game didn't grind to a halt while so I could eat. It was a win-win for everyone.
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I only give the benefits of slightly less nasty of a fight if i'm bribed because instead of the party being targeted at once i target the guy who bribed me so they're distracted by one dude and the rest can lay down damage. I accept things given to me for DMing but don't grant in game rewards.
As for giving bribes, I never have to. if an encounter is too hard for us to handle i use the run the !@## away manuever.
I understand Felicity Day and J-Lo have been known to be gamers. They could bribe me, I'm sure.
Other folks, not so much.