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<blockquote data-quote="The Monster" data-source="post: 5682575" data-attributes="member: 69516"><p>Not a bad idea - the icons are nicely done. Some label besides 'merit badges' would be better, since they reperesent no inherent, earned, or demonstrated merit of any kind, but labels of preference and habit. </p><p> </p><p>Here's what I clicked on:</p><p><em>Tactics are an important part of my games.</em> (Almost as a rule.) </p><p><em>My games will tell an interesting story.</em> (If it's not an interesting story - at least to me - it's almost certainly not worth taking the time.)</p><p><em>My games are safe and you don't need to worry about content or character death.</em> (These might be better to separate; for example, I'm willing to have characters die (although it rarely happens and is not a goal), but steer away from offensive content.)</p><p><em>I will mirror back player ideas that I think are interesting in game.</em> </p><p><em>The GM is in charge in my games and rule zero is in effect.</em> </p><p><em>Characters in my game are destined for greatness, not random death.</em> </p><p> </p><p>There were several others that I do sometimes, or even often, but wouldn't strictly adopt as a label: </p><p><em>My games use a pre-made map and pre-scripted content.</em> (As already asked, is this intended to label railroad GMs? Because I pretty much always have some map and plot prepared, but how the players act is up to them.) </p><p><em>My games rely on improvisation rather than pre-scripted content.</em> (Like I said, I always have some idea of where things are going, so this doesn't strictly apply.) </p><p><em>I roll dice in the open and don't fudge results.</em> (Often, but again, I can't say nearly always.) </p><p><em>My game focuses on espionage and politics.</em> (I almost clicked this one. It's hard to imagine me running a regular campaign that doesn't have espionage and politics heavily involved, but as the focus of the game? Only sometimes. And one-shots I run are frequently investigation- and combat-focused.) </p><p><em>My games focus on interesting characters and drama.</em> (Like the politics one: hard to imagine running a campaign without this element, but as a focus of the game? Only sometimes.) </p><p> </p><p>Not saying this isn't a bad start, but the list needs refining: separate out some things that are lumped together, clarify some things, remove some duplication/overlap. Maybe replace 'focus' with 'feature' or something - maybe it's just me, but when I see 'focus' it implies a prominence which tends to exclude anything that's not a focus (having too many foci is just a recipe for confusion). And then there are the ones which look opposed, but I can see claiming both. <em>I play by the book and rule zero is not used to alter existing rules</em> and <em>I frequently tinker with the rules of the game</em> both apply to my GM style, because I play by the book, but tinker with lots of stuff on the margins of the system, such as (in 4e) diverse kinds of minions, or free adaptation of skill-challenge rules.</p><p> </p><p>Over-analyzing a whimiscal idea, I know, but that's what we do.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="The Monster, post: 5682575, member: 69516"] Not a bad idea - the icons are nicely done. Some label besides 'merit badges' would be better, since they reperesent no inherent, earned, or demonstrated merit of any kind, but labels of preference and habit. Here's what I clicked on: [I]Tactics are an important part of my games.[/I] (Almost as a rule.) [I]My games will tell an interesting story.[/I] (If it's not an interesting story - at least to me - it's almost certainly not worth taking the time.) [I]My games are safe and you don't need to worry about content or character death.[/I] (These might be better to separate; for example, I'm willing to have characters die (although it rarely happens and is not a goal), but steer away from offensive content.) [I]I will mirror back player ideas that I think are interesting in game.[/I] [I]The GM is in charge in my games and rule zero is in effect.[/I] [I]Characters in my game are destined for greatness, not random death.[/I] There were several others that I do sometimes, or even often, but wouldn't strictly adopt as a label: [I]My games use a pre-made map and pre-scripted content.[/I] (As already asked, is this intended to label railroad GMs? Because I pretty much always have some map and plot prepared, but how the players act is up to them.) [I]My games rely on improvisation rather than pre-scripted content.[/I] (Like I said, I always have some idea of where things are going, so this doesn't strictly apply.) [I]I roll dice in the open and don't fudge results.[/I] (Often, but again, I can't say nearly always.) [I]My game focuses on espionage and politics.[/I] (I almost clicked this one. It's hard to imagine me running a regular campaign that doesn't have espionage and politics heavily involved, but as the focus of the game? Only sometimes. And one-shots I run are frequently investigation- and combat-focused.) [I]My games focus on interesting characters and drama.[/I] (Like the politics one: hard to imagine running a campaign without this element, but as a focus of the game? Only sometimes.) Not saying this isn't a bad start, but the list needs refining: separate out some things that are lumped together, clarify some things, remove some duplication/overlap. Maybe replace 'focus' with 'feature' or something - maybe it's just me, but when I see 'focus' it implies a prominence which tends to exclude anything that's not a focus (having too many foci is just a recipe for confusion). And then there are the ones which look opposed, but I can see claiming both. [I]I play by the book and rule zero is not used to alter existing rules[/I] and [I]I frequently tinker with the rules of the game[/I] both apply to my GM style, because I play by the book, but tinker with lots of stuff on the margins of the system, such as (in 4e) diverse kinds of minions, or free adaptation of skill-challenge rules. Over-analyzing a whimiscal idea, I know, but that's what we do. [/QUOTE]
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