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Our previous campaign ended and I announced that I was ready to run again (I took a break from GMing for about 6 months to recharge my batteries). Players were all very eager to play.
So I e-mail them all my player's guide which I wrote. They all receive it and, I assume, read through it.
The gist of the campaign is a western setting, feudal, and a mix of horror and mystery.
What I get as character concepts?
A japaneze ninja who is also a mime, a tiefling fighter (even though planetouched are persecuted in my world), a kobold sorcerer and a goblin gunslinger.
Because people couldn't tell me "We don't like your campaign, run something wacky instead"
Welp, that's another 6 month break for me I guess. Burned me out in a matter of days.
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Our previous campaign ended and I announced that I was ready to run again (I took a break from GMing for about 6 months to recharge my batteries). Players were all very eager to play.
So I e-mail them all my player's guide which I wrote. They all receive it and, I assume, read through it.
The gist of the campaign is a western setting, feudal, and a mix of horror and mystery.
What I get as character concepts?
A japaneze ninja who is also a mime, a tiefling fighter (even though planetouched are persecuted in my world), a kobold sorcerer and a goblin gunslinger.
Because people couldn't tell me "We don't like your campaign, run something wacky instead"
Welp, that's another 6 month break for me I guess. Burned me out in a matter of days.
Maybe they wanted to play something "wacky" in your campaign world?
Maybe each of them individually thought that s/he is the only one who would like to play something different and thought the majority wants to play in that setting so no one of them objected?
Maybe your guide failed to emphasize the defining points of your setting?
If you did not actually spoke with them as a group this was their first occasion to present they wishes? Presenting the character concepts is often the first moment when the group can actually compare their expectations and wants from the campaign.
Yeah, I've run into that a few times in the past couple of years. I run Kingmaker, and give them a character background questionaire designed to help connect them to the story and to some of the major NPCs and plotlines I'm planning (particularly to the building strife in Brevoy). One of my players created a character from Vudra, with no connections to anyone in the area, and then proceded to sulk and act out when none of the major stories centered on her character. Eventually that character died in a way that she couldn't be brought back, so the player created a new character - and even though we had talked by that point about why her prior character wasn't working for her, she created another not-connected-to-anything character concept.
Sometimes players don't think about how their choices interact with the story or the world - they're too focused on whatever cool build they've come up with, or they're too excited about some set of character-creation options they've never had the chance to play before.
For my upcoming campaign, I'm providing about a dozen bullet-points with restrictions on character creation, just to keep people "in the ballpark" for the campaign. They include race and alignment restrictions, among other things. Some of them are possibly too restrictive - but I'd rather have someone come to me and ask for an exception, and make their case (so we can work together on how to make it work), than risk having to deal with a disruptive character concept I didn't anticipate. Or a player that gets frustrated because their "cool idea" carries too much negative baggage (similar to your "persecuted planetouched") they weren't anticipating.
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Maybe they wanted to play something "wacky" in your campaign world?Maybe each of them individually thought that s/he is the only one who would like to play something different and thought the majority wants to play in that setting so no one of them objected?
Maybe your guide failed to emphasize the defining points of your setting?
If you did not actually spoke with them as a group this was their first occasion to present they wishes? Presenting the character concepts is often the first moment when the group can actually compare their expectations and wants from the campaign.
There is nothing wacky about a horror/mystery campaign. It was well emphasized in the guide, along with what kind of characters the campaign required.
If they didn't want to play a serious game, they could have told me so beforehand.Also I told them at the end of the previous campaign what will I be running. And the guide is pretty comprehensive.
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I get that their concepts are a bit out there, but so is a western, feudal, horror, mystery. Is it clear that they were trying to be wacky or did they honestly want to play those characters? The Ninja mime combo sounds like Kabuki Theatre.
You say your guide was comprehensive, were you comprehensive in what was allowed to be played? I am not attacking you, I am just suggesting that communication goes both ways and the only thing you can truly change is your end of it.
I agree it is frustrating as a GM when you put together something and your players seem to be disrespectful, yet unwilling to run a game themselves. One thing I have been really enjoying because of that is the PbP community. That way you can weed through those you think are just there for a laugh or not really into your setting. Perhaps give that a try if you have not already.
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Yes, I was very comprehensive, with a list of classes that were unavailable, as well as suggestions to refluffing the "eastern" classes that were available.
I asked them if they really wanted to play. Waiting for the response.
EDIT: also my dislike for anything eastern, and even more my outright hatred for wacky/pun/comedy characters is well known.
That stuff only works in movies and novels.
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Yes, I was very comprehensive, with a list of classes that were unavailable, as well as suggestions to refluffing the "eastern" classes that were available.
I asked them if they really wanted to play. Waiting for the response.
Well hopefully it is all a misunderstanding, it sounds like you put some work into this. Perhaps you can take what they have given you and readjust them to something that is appropriate for your setting.
For example the Tiefling you mentioned would not work due to the high level of persecution in your world towards that race. Perhaps allow that character, but he has to disguise himself and hide his lineage. That could make for some good role play potential.
Hama, did your players actually, y'know read your player's guide?
I'm only asking because none of my players actually read the players guide for my campaign prior to the character creation session.
And that's why I usually have a "Session Zero" set aside for character creation and backstory development.
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This is why I ALWAYS have a character generation session. The setting document is accessible, but I mention verbally to them the most important elements of the game. Most of my games also generally have a pretty strict theme (my first campaign was all-dwarf, and they all had to come from the same city), so I can be sure to mention when ideas simply wouldnt work. I also insist on players giving the PCs a reason to be together before the game starts.
But, as pachristian said, it really doesn't work if the players are trying to assert their control of your game. Which is a good reason to just stop.
Yes a character gen / group building session would have solved SO much here. Let them bounce ideas between you and each other and even link their backgrounds together. In the end you (hopefully) get a balanced team of heroes who know each other and have a common background and history in the campaign setting.
Yes a character gen / group building session would have solved SO much here. Let them bounce ideas between you and each other and even link their backgrounds together. In the end you (hopefully) get a balanced team of heroes who know each other and have a common background and history in the campaign setting.
Actually a "character gen / group building session" can still resolve this impasse. You need to schedule it.
Nobody wants to play a western horror game. But instead of telling me that, they decided to behave like idiots. Well, good luck in finding a GM. I have better things to do than agonize over a bunch of ungrateful, immature people.
You are jumping to a conclusion or two here. This is why a "character generation" session is needed here.
If nothing else, it would put your players on the spot. They will be forced to speak honestly or comply with your guidelines.
Yay, 6 monts of not GMing coming up.
Don't panic yet.
Um they told me, just now that they don't want to play my game. I don't want to run anything else, so it's pretty much decided.
Okay then. Then why didn't the say that upfront?
The more I hear your many complaints about your group, Hama, the more I really think you ended up with a bunch of players who want a lot different things than you do from the game in pretty much every capacity.
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Well, we got into a big argument over the game.
It turns out that they are pretty much what I don't want in my players. They just want fights and loot. And they have been pretending to roleplay because they can't be bothered to GM.
I just packed up my stuff, told them that I don't want to play with them any more and left.
I guess my secondary group becomes my primary group now. We'll see how that turns out.
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There is nothing wacky about a horror/mystery campaign.
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Well, we got into a big argument over the game.
It turns out that they are pretty much what I don't want in my players. They just want fights and loot. And they have been pretending to roleplay because they can't be bothered to GM.
I just packed up my stuff, told them that I don't want to play with them any more and left.
You did the right thing.
Well, I'm sorry it turned out that way. Differences in expectations between members of the group can cause a lot of frustration for all concerned - I think you did the right thing by walking away.
Hopefully your other group will go better.
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Seriously?I'm sure.There is nothing wacky about a horror/mystery campaign.
No.
That would be the point.
If you think Scooby Doo is serious there's no hope for you.
Seriously?I'm sure.There is nothing wacky about a horror/mystery campaign.
No.
That would be the point.
If you think Scooby Doo is serious there's no hope for you.
You know as I DM almost 100% of the time, I both agree and disagree with Hama.
-I have had far, far too many players who are uterly into the kill monsters, buy sword, level up, kill monster style of play
-I would prefer to run mature, complex, dark gothic fantasy.
-BUT at the end of the day, I enjoy making my players happy. If the players are happy, I'm usually happy.
-On another note, how often do you get to play? Why not demand a rotation, where the players DM so that they can see how hard it is, and they will appreciate you more. If they refuse, yeah, get another group.
Well, we got into a big argument over the game.
It turns out that they are pretty much what I don't want in my players. They just want fights and loot. And they have been pretending to roleplay because they can't be bothered to GM.
I just packed up my stuff, told them that I don't want to play with them any more and left.
I guess my secondary group becomes my primary group now. We'll see how that turns out.
I'm going to echo the other responses that say you did the right thing here.
Some GM/player combinations just aren't worth saving. If you're not having fun, there's little point in continuing. If your players happen to be friends as well, there are plenty of other things you can do together and keep RPGs for playing with like-minded people.
So they were roleplaying being roleplayers? We need to go deeper.
If you think Scooby Doo is serious there's no hope for you.I'll grant you mystery, but Scooby Doo is no more horror than Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, the mummy, or dracula!
Wha?... Episodes of Scooby Doo usually had two, sometimes three, possible suspects. There's not a lot of mystery in that.
The real mystery is why didn't anybody in the group push Scrappy off a balcony for being an annoying, little cuss?
To Hama. I feel your pain. You have my condolences. I wish upon you to soon find a gaming group that meshes with your preferred play styles.
So they were roleplaying being roleplayers? We need to go deeper.
That's actually the game I'm playing in at the moment. World of Darkness game were we play as mortals who roleplay on Friday nights... I thought the GM was joking at first but it's been pretty fun for the first few sessions.
And yeah, definitely agree that Hama made the right call here. Sometimes you just need to accept that it's not going to work out and let it go.