Ever had an RPG bring a tear to your player's eyes (or your own)?

[Nebulous]

That set the player weeping and she had to go to the bathroom to compose herself

this thread has got me thinking. I used to game with two women (and played with them recently after a long hiatus) and if anyone had a sliver of a chance of crying in a game, it would be them. So, how many MEN have you actually known to cry in a game? I bet gender makes a big difference.

(FYI she did cry when having a fight with her husband; another story)

 

[Kanegrundar]

I've been playing D&D for 25 years. If our game stayed simply hack and slash, an endless dungeon runs, gathering treasure for some sort of relatively meaningless set of numbers that compromises a datasheet, and it had none of the emotional complexity and intellectual stimulation that compromises the game I play, I would have left the hobby a long, long time ago. D&D as written, and as I played it as a kid, is boring to me as an adult. I can get the "tactical" thrill out of an CRPG, with alot less hassle.

I'm looking for something more in-depth then that. I'm looking to get into the head of a character and to see how he interacts with the world. The same thing I get out of a great book.

Just FYI, our games haven't been simple "kill, loot, level, repeat" games for a long time. We have thrilling plotlines, intrigue, drama, and roleplaying. It's just that none of us get that attached. PC's and NPC's die all the time. It's part of the game. :shrug: Some people just don't get attached to the game.

 

[Kanegrundar]

I suspect most people would think it's silly. But, it's simply an issue of what you want out of a role-playing game.

Most of the friends I have at work that do play would hate the kind of game I run. They get together for 3-4 hours once every two weeks, they have no time for character development, comples plots, and all the RP. They want to kill stuff, have some excitement, and get some cool treasure. (Our group calls it the "roll initiative" style of gameplay, more combat than anything else.) It's awesome, if that's what you're looking for.

For me, if you want that I can just play a CRPG or Warhammer if I just want that end of things. Anyway, I suspect the stuff I look for in an RPG is pretty rare and since it's not what most people look for out of their hobbies, it will just sound goofy and silly.

You can have a campaign full of complex plots, character interaction, drama out the wazoo without a tear being shed. I suspect there have a been a few tears shed at the various gaming tables of "hack n' slash" games throughout the years as well. It's not an instance where no tears = hack n slash.

 

[Arravis]

I used to game with two women (and played with them recently after a long hiatus) and if anyone had a sliver of a chance of crying in a game, it would be them. So, how many MEN have you actually known to cry in a game? I bet gender makes a big difference.

Hate to break it to you, of the four women that have been in my games long term, only two have cried (mind you, that the two that hadn't are relatively new players, one has only been with the group for 1.5 years and the other 6 months). Those that do, and do most often, tend to be the guys . Mind you, a tear being shed in my campaign is still rare, it doesn't happen every other game or anything like that. A few times a year is more like it.

 

[ThirdWizard]

I've never seen anyone I've gamed with cry, much less about anything in game, and I've been to one's wedding and was there when his wife had to have a c-section 3 months before the baby was supposed to be born. We're a bottled up group of guys.

 

[Arravis]

It's just that none of us get that attached. PC's and NPC's die all the time. It's part of the game. :shrug: Some people just don't get attached to the game.

That's the difference, we're looking for extremely thought out characters with a deep emotional life. We're looking to get attached to them. Otherwise, for us at least, it would all be rather hallow and meaningless. No matter how intriguing the plot, how complex, if it doesn't have an emotional impact it looses alot in my opinion. Difference between Commando and Saving Private Ryan. Commando and their ilk bore me (well, except for their unintended comedy value).

Again, depends what you're looking for.

 

[Arravis]

To be fair, a better comparison would The Thin Red Line or The Deer Hunter vs Master and Commander or the Guns of Navarrone. Both are good, but are extremely different in approach and goals.

My apologies for coming across snobbish on that, it's just not the kind of game I enjoy.

 

[Nebulous]

That's the difference, we're looking for extremely thought out characters with a deep emotional life. We're looking to get attached to them. Otherwise, for us at least, it would all be rather hallow and meaningless. No matter how intriguing the plot, how complex, if it doesn't have an emotional impact it looses alot in my opinion. Difference between Commando and Saving Private Ryan. Commando and their ilk bore me (well, except for their unintended comedy value).

Again, depends what you're looking for.

Well, i'd welcome a chance to play with a DM good enough to evoke that kind of emotional response. I've never experienced it, so i can't say if i'd enjoy it or not. As a DM myself, crafting that kind of immersion would be hard to do, i think. Very challenging to say the least.

 

[Arravis]

Very challenging to say the least.

It is extremely hard and it takes a long time to get to it. I don't think it's possible in a short campaign. The NPCs and PCs need a long time to develop properly. Honestly though, none of it would be possible if the players weren't willing to take that dive. If they aren't willing to immerse themselves in their character, to understand them and try to tap into the feelings they would have... it wouldn't work. In the end, it's about them connecting to each other and the world around them. I try to set up all the things just right so it's possible, but it will never happen if the players aren't willing or ready.

Though, to be honest... getting those kind of responses are easier than doing horror in my opinion. I DM a Call of Cthulhu game once every few years, and getting actual dread and fear out of my players is the toughest thing I've had to do. I have to bring out all the stops... just the right music, turning off the lights (handing them flashlights if their characters had flashlights), getting a blood-red light for the DM's area, having props for everything. The best night of CoC I ran involved an actual thunderstorm outside and one of the players actually pulling the trigger of a prop gun (empty, doesn't shoot jack), at a visitor they had come unexpectedly through the door. I was told half the group couldn't sleep that night . Anyway, for me, getting fear is alot tougher. It's too easy to feel safe and secure knowing it's all just talking and rolling dice in the end.

 

[Nebulous]

Though, to be honest... getting those kind of responses are easier than doing horror in my opinion. I DM a Call of Cthulhu game once every few years, and getting actual dread and fear out of my players is the toughest thing I've had to do. I have to bring out all the stops... just the right music, turning off the lights (handing them flashlights if their characters had flashlights), getting a blood-red light for the DM's area, having props for everything. The best night of CoC I ran involved an actual thunderstorm outside and one of the players actually pulling the trigger of a prop gun (empty, doesn't shoot jack), at a visitor they had come unexpectedly through the door. I was told half the group couldn't sleep that night . Anyway, for me, getting fear is alot tougher. It's too easy to feel safe and secure knowing it's all just talking and rolling dice in the end.

Hah! i'm running Masks of Nyarlathotep Friday night. I have oodles of sound effects and whatnot, but even then i don't expect it to be "scary." You're right, scary is hard to pull off. Now, the scariest Cthulhu adventure i ever did was years back, a home brew in a haunted asylum. I used pictures as props from a real abandoned asylum, and pictures from horror films, and all the right music. At night. That came off creepy as all hell and it worked, but it's hard to do.