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First this message is not meant to include PFS issues as I run home based games and have not experience with PFS but understand everything for them has to be explicitly spelled out in the rules.
Step 1) Play with people who are your friends and agree that you are all there to have fun.
Step 2) Have everyone discuss what thier idea of fun is.
Step 3) If your idea differs too strongly from someone else's, decide if you or they can compromise. If not...go back to step 1.
Step 4) If you are the GM point out rule 0 to all players, agree to discuss disagreements but remind them that in the interest of supporting step 1 you will apply rule 0 as needed.
Step 5) If players cannot/will not accept that either offer to let them GM or find new players.
And boom nearly all the issues on here are fixed.
I don't mean for this post to come off sounding like a jerk, but it just boggles the mind that so many people talk about how this player or that player is doing something to break the game due to a loop hole in the rules.
If my players come to me with cheese like that I just say no. If they don't like that answer, I discuss why with them...but in the end as long as I am doing all the work of GMing...I make the final call.
I have yet to have a player leave the group or end a friendship over this.
Thoughts?
Who knew problems tilted on planks of wood could be solved so easily?
Couldn't agree with the OP more.
Well done, sir.
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Use common sense and don't ridiculously nit pick.
Also:
- Remember that 95% of the player base probably don't even know the boards exist, so 95% of the problems are 5% of the player base.
That 95% probably has its proportional share of problems, but seeking the sympathy of internet strangers ain't one of them.
It's only fun if I make the DM cry.
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I want to be funny, but its too early in the morning, so I'll opt for obvious: we're all people. People have been moody, irritable and selfish since the dawn of time. While the OP's words are valid they will not "solve" anything.
You'll establish your utopian game, play a couple sessions, and then the same issues will bubble back up again. Maybe Bob's girlfriend is pregnant; maybe Glenda's hours got cut back. Whatever; someone at the table will be cranky, or weird, or need something else out of it than you can give.
When I hit the table as GM I get there knowing that I want to run a good game for fun people. I also know that I'm a grown man with abandonment issues, a shaky job, a father with challenged kids, and all the other stresses of daily life.
Do these issues sneak into the game? Of course they do. Do other people's? Absolutely.
So essentially you have to realize that every person at your table is dealing w/their own sh...tuff when they arrive at the game. Yeah, you can talk it out, and that'll fix it...for that night.
There's no easy fix. People are complicated animals. My advice? Bring food and beer (or soda for younger gamers). Seriously I'm not being funny. If you want things to be fun and chill at your next game try bringing a pizza. I remember there was a buddy of mine that was an a-hole all week at school and was feuding with another friend; I basically spent a weekend w/them both at my house gaming and eating. Sure we probably courted Type II diabetes but at least the 2 of them were laughing and having fun for the time they hung out.
So to recap: people = crazy; placate with food.
Nice sentiments Mark. I'm seeing a lot of gaming as therapy at the moment on the boards. Why not?
Real life is full of real stresses.
If we can not only reduce them but solve a few at the same time as enjoying ourselves then we are actively generating a "people's cure" for many of life's ills.
Gaming will save the world.
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I post a LOT of advice on various gaming-table issues here on the Paizo forums.
Without a doubt, the number one culprit is a lack of communication between players (GM included).
I like my list better. It's your list minus numbers 4 and 5 and I've never had a player leave a campaign or refuse to join in 30 years.
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I run my game using a very similar philosophy as the OP...
...but Evil Lincoln is 110% correct. Communication is one of the most important aspect of running a successful game.
Before we even started playing, we all sat down and talked about my role as the GM, their roll as players, the type of game we all would enjoy, what to do if the GM or players begin to feel unhappy about how the game is run, etc, etc, etc.
When everyone is on the same page, it is so much easier to work problems. Once you become disconnected, it can be a challenge to bring things back together again.
...but like Uncle Ben says, "With great power comes great responsibility". If you choose to hold all the power as GM, you should periodically do a self-evaluation to make sure you are keeping yourself in balance.
RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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If you choose to hold all the power as GM, you should periodically do a self-evaluation to make sure you are keeping yourself in balance.
Reliance on self-evaluation is how a person in power gets into trouble. Anyone in a position of power who is honestly interested in being responsible needs to open themselves up to evaluation from others, and take that evaluation seriously.
If you choose to hold all the power as GM, you should periodically do a self-evaluation to make sure you are keeping yourself in balance.Reliance on self-evaluation is how a person in power gets into trouble. Anyone in a position of power who is honestly interested in being responsible needs to open themselves up to evaluation from others, and take that evaluation seriously.
Two sides of the same coin, I'd say.
If there is a common personality feature among bad GMs, though, it's usually that they think they're great GMs.
After we wasted an entire night arguing over what happens when a monster gets a 1 while trying to confirm a crit(no, they cannot drop their weapon!) I abandoned the fumble rules. Now that guy plays only online RPGs, where he has no access to the rules. Rule 1 is fun, what isn't fun is done.
If anyone at the table hates Kender, no Kender. If anyone has a shrine to their ancestors at home, then not all undead are evil. If there are cat lovers at the table, not all animals are near mindless.
After we wasted an entire night arguing over what happens when a monster gets a 1 while trying to confirm a crit(no, they cannot drop their weapon!) I abandoned the fumble rules. Now that guy plays only online RPGs, where he has no access to the rules. Rule 1 is fun, what isn't fun is done.
There are no fumble rules in Pathfinder.
PUT THESE SUNGLASSES ON!
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Actually 95% of the problems on the boards can be solved by first using the same definitions on terms since most arguments here are between people coming from very similar viewpoints but who use a term very differently. And secondly by simply talking to each other rather than strangers on a message board.