Luke Spencer |
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As a GM, I always discuss the themes of the campaign and warn the players what kind of characters really won't work with the setting from the very beginning, way before I point them to the Player's Guide. I've only ever considered them useful for helping the players work out which mechanical options are useful, which is a non-issue for Starfinder at the moment since there's only the CRB. I like to make sure my players know what kind of game I'm gonna be running personally rather than trust something written by someone else who may interpret things differently.
Mark Carlson 255 |
I like them from the standpoint that some GM's do not do what ENHenry and Luke Spence do, they simply ask player to create PC's and jump in to the adventure.
The main reason I have heard from them as to why they do not tell players what they are running is that in the past their players have frequently bought the adventure and read about what they were going to experience/play.
In the past I have encountered this one time and I gave the person a choice, if you buy and read the adventure I am running you have to sit out if I think or catch you doing so then I will ask you to leave the game.
I also try and remember to announce this house rule to new players as well as ask them to avoid talking or reading about the adventure with others that have played in it or ran it.
I have also had players come to me and say "I was talking with X and they blurted out that they had played in AP Z or Module Z or Adventure Z and before I could ask them to stop they blurted out about room AA or encounter AA. To which I generally say "Thanks for telling me please do not play any different than you would if you were just experiencing the room/encounter for the first time. I really appreciate your forth coming and truthfulness."
I have also had player come and tell me after an encounter/room that someone told them about it and they did not realize it at the time that they were talking about something in the adventure I was running and that they were sorry. To which again I thank them for their honesty and we generally have a discussion on what makes the RP experience fun for us and the group.
I do hope others post their players guides to help GM's and players focus or pair down their choices when creating their PC's. ie IMHO there are very few things more frustrating than having a PC that does not really contribute to the party.
MDC