GMs - Do you get bored when you're a player?


log in or register to remove this ad

billd91

Not your screen monkey (he/him) 🇺🇦🇵🇸🏳️‍⚧️
However, in many games, those play options don't come up. Recently, I created a character that could teleport around the battlefield as a very mobile fighter - it was written into his backstory in a unique way and was trying out a new class from a splat book.
As it turned out, I'm the frontline tank. I can't move. I have to stand there in heavy armor. Because of the way I built my character (which wasn't my intent), I am a worse fighter and worse at doing what I created my character to do.
So, none of the other players brought a tank-capable character… and you didn’t know this going in? Did you talk about what characters you were creating with each other?
It's not just this game. Other games with other GMs I've had... 1) A medic in a system where you can't heal. 2) A magic user focused on identifying magic items and creatures, when the GM decides to tell us everything without rolling. 3) A wealthy celebrity in Call of Cthulhu where our group has all the money we need due to a benefactor.
It seems that in every game I've played in recent memory, I'd be better suited just being a generic warrior-type.
… are you not coordinating your character generation with the GMs? Because in each one of those cases, the DM should have been able to help direct your build into something more useful.
 

DrunkonDuty

he/him
I try to be a fan of the other players. Sometimes this can be hard if other players are being boring. By which I mean taking forever to make even basic decisions. Or asking the GM how one of their (the PC's) powers work. But this would bore me as a GM too...
 


Umbran

Mod Squad
Staff member
Supporter
Yeah, but it's not as nice as the guy who has occult knowledge and able to figure out stuff. Or the mechanic who can fix stuff and break into buildings, or the private eye who can fight and sneak around. My guy - I just sort of do nothing.

So, this conversation should have happened:

You: "So, in this game, I was thinking of running the moneybags of the party. Would that work?"
GM: "Well, I expect the party to end up with financial support coming from another source, so maybe that's not so great...."
You: "Okay, then I'll think of something else."

I don't know why this exchange didn't take place, but it should have.
 

billd91

Not your screen monkey (he/him) 🇺🇦🇵🇸🏳️‍⚧️
Yeah, but it's not as nice as the guy who has occult knowledge and able to figure out stuff. Or the mechanic who can fix stuff and break into buildings, or the private eye who can fight and sneak around. My guy - I just sort of do nothing.
You should be able to use your Credit Rating for things other than just being the moneybags. It’s also your ticket to high society. If you want to flex your social standing and privilege, Credit Rating is the stat for you.
Of course, being rich and doing nothing is pretty much in character so there is that…
 

TheSword

Legend
As someone accustomed to being a "Forever GM," I find myself growing bored when I'm a player. Having one character with one action with potentially minimal impact in a combat, waiting until my turn comes around again, possibly fighting a creature immune or highly resistant to my attacks - it's just not as exciting as controlling a squad of bad guys, shaping the story and world, controlling the pace of the game, etc.
Does anybody else feel the same way? Any tips about transitioning from being a GM to a "good player?"
Interestingly WFRP4e has some nifty mechanics to avoid player boredom in combat.

  • The opposed combat rolls mean you can be involved even when it isn’t your turn. If you get a crit on a defense roll you might even do damage on someone else’s turn.
  • The nature of Group Advantage means the whole team is building the pot, so what other players do could affect whether you have enough advantage to do what you want on your go.
  • Outnumbering is a massive advantage so where you are standing, who you are engaged with, and how the combat moves around you matters.
  • If stuck you can assay the battlefield and take a test to build group advantage so you’re still contributing.
  • The game is genuinely more interesting and dynamic to watch - lucky or unlucky rolls could see an enemy taken down or send your friends arm spinning off at the shoulder. Rather than just deal xdx+x damage.
I think these work really well to keep combat engaging.
 

Retreater

Legend
There is nothing the character can do in this system except heal in downtime? The adventure needs nothing from a medic whatsoever? No knowledge/skill checks? Outside of being a medic this character has no aspirations or abilities?
No. Well, at least nothing that anyone else in the party could do better. Sneaking, persuasion, opening locks, fighting - my character had no niche that someone else in the party couldn't do better. There was no mystery as far as "let's figure out what killed these guys - Doc, do you have any ideas?"
Sure, I could roleplay him - but I could also roleplay a competent character who had a role to play in the adventure and the system.

A celebrity would know people I assume. They would also make a really good distraction, if folks needed one. Open doors by their fame, not their mechanical skill. I think characters need to think outside the box for opportunity sake. What did you have in mind when you made a wealthy celebrity PC?
That would be the idea. Unfortunately, we're in Call of Cthulhu and traveling in developing nations in the 1930s who haven't seen movies, don't recognize my famous actor, don't understand my language (so my persuasion is worthless).
Basically, I wanted to be able to bribe and charm my way through the adventure - while investigating the seedy underbelly of classic Hollywood. (Which we left after a few sessions of play.)

Both of these examples were basically the result of random character creation, just sort of sticking me with someone who can't handle the adventure. The Numenera wizard was the fault of the GM changing the feel of the game from the core expectation. The Pathfinder 2E thaumaturge forced to be a fighter is the problem of no session 0 or party planning.
 


Retreater

Legend
So, none of the other players brought a tank-capable character… and you didn’t know this going in? Did you talk about what characters you were creating with each other?
The guy playing the tank basically checked out and didn't fulfill what he needed to do in the game. Wouldn't move into position, wouldn't take reactions to help when allies got attacked. He basically zoned out during the sessions. Eventually, he dropped the game - it was obvious he was distracted and not enjoying it.
So my character was basically filling in for him most of the time he was there and now 100% of the time now that he's gone.
So, this conversation should have happened:

You: "So, in this game, I was thinking of running the moneybags of the party. Would that work?"
GM: "Well, I expect the party to end up with financial support coming from another source, so maybe that's not so great...."
You: "Okay, then I'll think of something else."

I don't know why this exchange didn't take place, but it should have.
Yeah, we all made our characters in front of the GM, and I told him my concept. I don't know if he thought it wouldn't be relevant - or maybe that my character would be able to contribute in other ways.
 

Remove ads

Top