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    Responsibility for fun: DMs and/or/vs. Players

    No, I don't think it's fair. I think it should be an almost equal responsibility. I think it's like a party or any other social occasion -- the host has responsibilities, but they can't carry it alone. Robin Laws' advice doesn't do it for me. I'd much rather get a dialog started between...
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    They are approaching the adventure and plot so sloooooowly

    Well to be fair, he didn't say anything that hadn't already been said in the thread. On the other hand... he didn't say anything that hadn't already been said in the thread.
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    DM overruling a Player's play of his character

    I know that's a popular opinion around here, but man, it drives me nuts! Metagaming is something that munchkins do. That doesn't mean that all metagaming is by munchkins. There's a lot of things that munchkins do, but they're only bad because the munchkin's using them as a tool to disrupt the...
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    They are approaching the adventure and plot so sloooooowly

    Sometimes it's fun to mix things up. I like the idea of running short mini-campaigns, three to five sessions. People can keep their characters from arc to arc. You can have all the big travel happen between arcs. It's fun. You're not cursed; long-term campaigns are hard to finish unless you've...
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    How do *you* do wilderness travel?

    Last session we covered a day or two of overland travel in a half hour. That included two minor encounters and one major one. Afterwards, I apologized for taking so long. But our setting's based on the Amber novels, so travel is supposed to be easy. :) I handwave travel in every game I run. I...
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    DM overruling a Player's play of his character

    I wouldn't have any problem at all with the player behavior you described. I don't even think it's metagaming, just gaming. They're too tough to yell, but when the chips come down and they're alone, they yell? That's an interesting character portrayal. Heck, I don't even dictate behavior when...
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    Another "Have You Ever Had This Player?" Discussion

    Dude, all you had to say in the first place was "She's dating the DM." That explains everything. Well, get used to it. Sorry about your game.
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    "Tactics in Action"--maybe I'm just getting too old, but this sounded boring as hell.

    Yeah, that sounds pretty boring to me. A lot of people would be really satisfied by correctly guessing the right buffs to walk all over an opponent, though. Although if that part is the real challenge, why play out the fight?
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    Elfs

    The name issue is intentional. I've never read or played Elfs, but I have Sorcerer and Trollbabe (by the same author). In general, Ron knows his stuff and if he says the rules support a given style of play, they will. :)
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    Another "Have You Ever Had This Player?" Discussion

    Bored and acting out. So, which player in the group is she making eyes towards? Even money that has something to do with it.
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    Infrequent Players

    How about they're NPCs most of the time, but the player helps create them? We end up doing that a lot. I'll throw out a few possibilities, and the player and I will come up with something that fits that they'll enjoy playing.
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    Iron Heroes useable in regular D&D?

    I'll take a shot at it, although this is just my opinion. 1- I'm hard-pressed to think of a PrC that I'd want to take over another IH class level. Seriously. I could see doing it for the specific specialties offered in the PrC, or for flavor. I imagine they wouldn't get used all that often in...
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    Do you reequire your players to think?

    I still don't know what to vote, but that's okay. I actively avoid having anybody, including me, do math during the session more complicated than "This number is higher than this number." We use an extremely light system. Mostly this is due to the players; some of them are relatively...
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    Do you reequire your players to think?

    Dude, your poll is about thinking, the first post is about doing paperwork. Which one am I supposed to vote on? :) Seriously though, your player was telling you, "I don't enjoy bookkeeping." You can make people do things they don't enjoy in a game, if it's needed, but I'd think hard about...
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    Found the fun in gaming again

    I've been there. I know exactly what you mean.
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    Round-Robin DMing

    Heck, when our group ran adventures on Neverwinter Nights, we'd have 3 or more GMs at the same time. We round-robined who was the plot GM sometimes, and sometimes we sat in as a player. Sometimes it was different areas of the world, sometimes the same area. It's fine as long as your...
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    ability roll cheating

    So many people cheat or have cheated on stat rolls, I feel like it's an official rules variant sometimes. It sounds like a fairly casual game, and the players are having fun, so no biggie. Heck, he probably did it as a friendly joke, since there's no way anybody would believe they were honest...
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    How long do your gaming sessions last?

    Wow. 3 to 3 1/2 hours, on a weeknight, including pizza. Probably 2 1/2 hours of actual gaming. We play every week or two. This makes me glad I play rules-light -- we have 5 minute combats, and get a ton done in a single session. I think I'd get pretty impatient if we had to squeeze hour-long...
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    How do YOU deal with passive players?

    I try to make sure during character creation (and after) that the player clearly knows they're empowered, and give them some suggestions of things they could do. Not in-character hints, or plot hooks, but "Hey, here are some things you could try, if you'd like," to the guy at the table.
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    They are approaching the adventure and plot so sloooooowly

    I don't think anybody's saying you're a bad DM. I was wondering why have so much overland travel, when you're really jazzed to get to something and had to wait two and a half months for it. You answered -- you really like the feel of lengthy overland exploration and travel. Makes sense to me...
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