Being non-judgmental about play styles

[OnlineDM]

I put up a blog post on this yesterday and then realized that if I'm really looking for input, I should probably ask EN World.

The full post has more (and feel free to comment over there if you like), but in a nutshell I find myself being judgmental toward power gamers, and I don't like that tendency in myself. I'd like to be more accepting of people who play games differently than I do, and I'm not sure how to do that.

Do any of you have similar issues? Do you have any advice for dealing with them? Do you just avoid gaming with people who have play styles that you don't enjoy? Or is there a way to learn to embrace those players and have fun at the same table?

 

[Crothian]

It really depedns on the type of game I'm running or playing in. As a player I'm, a lot more accepoting about how other people play. But as a DM I'm there are some player styles I don't want at my table. I've been doing this for a long time and I know the type of game I'm going to run and I can usually tell what player and their styles are going to have fun with it and who's going to cause problems.

 

[the Jester]

I have strong playstyle preferences and dm to make myself happy. Obviously I want my players to be happy too, but I have a large pool of players and would-be players to draw on, so I've never had to worry too much about modifying my style to suit others.

Then again, my playstyle seems to draw players that appreciate it to me, and I make sure I bluntly state how I run things to new players before they get in to my game.

That said, my playstyle preferences are pretty much all on the dming end. I'm okay with people building pcs however they want (with the exceptions of options I ban or limit, like some races). I'm okay with the party driving the campaign in one direction or another that they prefer, or to more politics, or to more exploration, or more dungeoneering, etc.

 

[Jimlock]

The full post has more (and feel free to comment over there if you like), but in a nutshell I find myself being judgmental toward power gamers, and I don't like that tendency in myself. I'd like to be more accepting of people who play games differently than I do, and I'm not sure how to do that.?

Accept your nature!

No biggie.

If it comforts you, just think that you are not alone in this one.

 

[Ravilah]

I wouldn't say I was judgmental, but I certainly do have little patience for certain types of players, specifically, ones that refuse to ever put themselves at risk and spend half the session making plans to ensure that they won't lose a hit point. Arg!

Yet somehow I always end up with players like that at my table.

So I've started being honest with my players up front. I establish some ground rules for my game, and if the players don't think they'll have fun with those rules, they don't have to play. I don't allow evil PCs, I don't allow players to stop and strategize in the middle of battles, and my world works under the motto "High risk equals high reward." I warn my players that Karma is strongly at work.

But other than that, I don't care if the PCs are treasure seekers, crusaders, or ne'er-do-wells.

I do want to ask everyone this, though. Since the GM puts in the most work (by far), is it really out of line for him/her to say "my way or the highway"? Assuming, of course, that if the GM enforces limitations, he/she better make it up to the players by running particularly excellent games.

 

[amerigoV]

The full post has more (and feel free to comment over there if you like), but in a nutshell I find myself being judgmental toward power gamers, and I don't like that tendency in myself. I'd like to be more accepting of people who play games differently than I do, and I'm not sure how to do that.

You must accept who you are. I, for example, enjoy kicking Roleplayers around, especially when they start talking about their feelings.

 

[fba827]

I definately have likes and dislikes for playstyles of people at the game table with me.

If I'm a player along side of the one of the styles that I dislike, I am a little more forgiving as long as it isn't derailing the game from what I find fun on my own turns.

As a DM I'm a little less tolerant when I have a playstyle that i am biased against at the able. Part of this is because I don't (tend to be) a heavy handed DM (niether socially nor in-game) therefore it is difficult for me to reign in a player who might be disrupting things for another player or for me. So in a way, it's because of a personal weakness that i am less tolerant because i know i am not fully capable of always dealing with the result.

 

[the Jester]

I do want to ask everyone this, though. Since the GM puts in the most work (by far), is it really out of line for him/her to say "my way or the highway"? Assuming, of course, that if the GM enforces limitations, he/she better make it up to the players by running particularly excellent games.

Not at all; in fact, absolutely not.

However, the dm must bear in mind that he has no game without players.

For many, this leads to compromises in the name of a good group. For a lucky few, this leads to groups composed of highly compatible players and dms. For some, it leads to no game, as no players are willing to join the dm's table.

 

[Starfox]

Robin Law wrote an excellent guide to different playstyles; a very good read. I have a questionnaire based on that in my sig, but do try to get hold of the original article.

Basically, it gives tips to understanding and satisfying different kinds of players in your game.

 

[pawsplay]

On the one hand, you are within your rights to judge power games. On the other hand, there are really good reasons why most people suggest you not do so. We can learn a lot from people that don't share our preferences. The gripping hand is, your view of power games has probably been influenced by the power gamers you know personally, who may or may not be representative.