What are the no-goes for you?

[Piratecat]

My ire is reserved for people who ban a thing just because they don't like it, without any legitimate, believable explanation as to how banning the thing would lead to a better game.

Absolutely. I couldn't agree more. On a completely unrelated note, I won't play in a game where people discuss 5e.

 

[kitsune9]

So I was thinking, what things cause people not to play in some games?

My personals include:

Drinking alcoholic beverages or smoking at games.
Having romantic relationships between players/GMs
Playing longer than scheduled.

I'm sure there's others, but those are my three. Try not to make anything personal in your responses, there's no need to be derogatory.

Here's mine:

1. DM's who want to run "fast and loose" which usually translates, "I've never taken the time to read the rules, so I'm just going to wing it." Read the rules for the game you're going to run or break out a boardgame. While I won't rule lawyer a game, I want to be able to do some things that are normal for a game, like roll the appropriate dice for iniative, do the range of allowed actions, etc. For example, we had a DM at a con who did it "fast and loose" on D&D 3.0. So we all know that init is d20, put it order, and then standard action/move action. The DM wouldn't pay attention and would cut a player's action out as he switched gears. The same player would declare a normal action like retrieve an item from pack (move action), but the DM ruled he couldn't do it in while there was a combat going on, etc., etc.

2. DM's who make up adventures on the fly. Sure, there are DM's who claim that they are awesome story tellers, have created interwoven plots, and have made their players have their characters to feel rage, anger, a sense of justice, loss, etc. far better than any movie or book. That's great, but all the DM's I've played with would blow 2 hours to role play buying a suit of armor, encounters are random and don't make any sense, there's no sense of plot, and just wandering around lost. Write some notes, create a plot, pick encounters that make sense and get going.

3. Playing favorites. I had a DM who I regularly played RPGA classic campaigns with at a bookstore and everyone had to rate the other players. Two players were always rated the highest (given 5's) and everyone else was rated very low (given 1's and 2's). Consistently. I think only one session did I score a "3" average on one of my games out of that group.

 

[Bumbles]

Wanting to ban relationships is weird to me, as I've always gamed with couples and never had any problems.

Well, for me, it's not a matter of wanting to do it, but a matter of experience with them making it one of the things I feel necessary to change. Including one case where one person slept around with several persons involved in the group. Not good. (And no, I wasn't involved myself, I was just at the table and didn't want any part of it.)

I suppose I should have clarified that I would consider a marriage (or other such committed relationship)to be slightly different (though still a concern, as it can go poorly) than what I was talking about when I said "romantic relationships", but I didn't want to go into exhaustive detail and list all my reasons. Heck, I might even make an exception for a short-term deal to let somebody's partner try the game. But I wouldn't want it in a long term campaign.

I'll also pass on an ERPG session, though that may be a case of walking away for a break rather than leaving for good. Or it might be the prelude to the kind of thing I'd rather avoid.

 

[Mallus]

I don't have a list of categorical 'no-goes'. I won't game with jerks, but that goes without saying, except that I just said it, and, in fact, will ammend to it this:

My experience is that jerks come in all stripes, shapes and sizes. Some are bellicose drunks, others are teetotalers. Some are in volatile relationships, others are saccharine lovebirds overly-enamored of public displays of affection. Still others are the President-for-Life of the Lonelyhearts Club (tin-pot dictator uniform and all!). Some smoke. Some smoke pot. Some ingest ingestibles even more questionable, legality-wise. Some play OD&D. Others Vampire the Masquerade. Some even play My Life with Master games and Nicotine Girls!

In short, the only category that matters is 'jerk'. And you can find them in every other category. So there really isn't a shortcut available. You're stuck having to evaluate the person, not their kith, kin or kind.

 

[Obryn]

I pretty much want and expect everyone to be there both to have fun, and to help everyone else have fun.

If you're not there to have fun, or you're there to have fun at the expense of others' fun, you won't game with me for very long. If my game isn't enjoyable for the whole group (myself included), something has gone wrong and should be fixed ASAP.

-O

 

[wayne62682]

Honestly? DMs who willfully ignore the Rules As Written because they disagree with them, and bring up "Well, all of the rules are technically optional - it's all up to the DM" as a valid excuse for it. I don't mind house rules to fix things that are over/underpowered, but the rules aren't guidelines, they're RULES.

 

[Mallus]

... but the rules aren't guidelines, they're RULES.

Chess has rules. RPG's have guidelines, IMNSHO.

 

[Oryan77]

1. Wizard costumes. If you can't come to the game without your wizard hat, then don't come at all. I don't care if you can pull a rabbit out of the dang thing, I have a DMPC that I need to run and you're distracting me with your 4 ft long fake beard.

2. Rubbing your hairy beer belly in my face. We all have em, so I can sympathize. But geez, when I'm trying to move minis around the battlemat, please don't lift your shirt and rub your stomach next to my face while you're leaning near me to see where I'm moving the minis.

3. Nudists. I understand we were born that way, but you didn't learn to play that way. Shirts are required at my table. I don't care if you aren't wearing pants since we're sitting down and it isn't noticeable. But I'm the only one that can go completely nude. What do you think DM Screens are for?

4. Discussing politics at the table. Since I'm the DM, my opinion is the only one that matters. If you feel the need to tell me that women are equal to men & they deserve all the same rights, then you can stay home and make protesting banners. Everyone knows women are much more superior to men and deserve more rights than us. So I don't need to hear your idiotic viewpoints at my table. *looks over shoulder to see if wife is still watching me type*

 

[Dragonbait]

Evil campaigns - I've never seen one end well. More power to you if you enjoy playing in them and running them, but I'll sit them out.

No Role-Playing - Every group may have a different opinion on what makes good roleplaying, but I will not play in a group that refuses to roleplay.

The GM is the enemy (with provisos) - I've been in games where the GM is the enemy. It can be quite fun and often creates strong bonds between the players. Unfortuantely, I've been in games where the GM screws over the group and has no intention of giving the players a fighting chance. "You lose all equipment automatically. Even the stuff you had hidden in secret pockets. Oh, and you are stripped of all your spells and memorized spells. I win."

Backstabbing Players - Groups that are very tolerant of players who regularly try to screw over the rest of the group.

Anarchists - This one is new for me, unfortunately: Groups that tolerate or accept players who regularly try to thwart or ruin the adventure but trying to destroy all clues, kill all people the others want to question, and so on.

 

[The Ghost]

I won't game with jerks.

This.

I pretty much want and expect everyone to be there both to have fun, and to help everyone else have fun.

This.

If you're not there to have fun, or you're there to have fun at the expense of others' fun, you won't game with me for very long. If my game isn't enjoyable for the whole group (myself included), something has gone wrong and should be fixed ASAP.

And this.