BlueBlackRed
Explorer
Alwaysironregime said:
Gut-feelings and new players
- Thread starter BlueBlackRed
- Start date
Ycore Rixle
First Post
I agree with most and say go with your gut. If it's telling you the new guy doesn't fit, he probably doesn't fit. Thomas Sowell said something like, "I've never regretted ending a relationship too early, but there are many that I regret not ending early enough."
Well, people move, and there are always conventions where folks game with a mix of strangers and friends. But more important than that, your comment reminded me of those great old Michael Jordan Nike subway ads that talked about his love for the game. I'm not a Michael fan, but it seems to me that he'd play basketball with Martians if he had to. (Actually, didn't he kind of do that in Space Jam?
)
Halivar said:
Well, people move, and there are always conventions where folks game with a mix of strangers and friends. But more important than that, your comment reminded me of those great old Michael Jordan Nike subway ads that talked about his love for the game. I'm not a Michael fan, but it seems to me that he'd play basketball with Martians if he had to. (Actually, didn't he kind of do that in Space Jam?
)
WayneLigon
Adventurer
BlueBlackRed said:
Sometimes it has been, but not often.
Recently, I've been playing in open gaming at the FLGS with total strangers. Most of them are likely to remain that. So far 'the gut' has warned me about one guy, who was.. just off. He was nice enough in a way but about the third session, I realize I've been hearing 'Danger, Will Robinson, Danger' in the back of my mind. The next week he wasn't there; he'd been perma-banned from the store for his general disruptive attitude, starting a fight with another patron, and for attacking a guy at work with a knife when said guy asked him to cover $.25 for the snack machine. (Two other regular patrons work at this same place).
I've been burned only once or twice when my intuition failed me. Though there's nothing really intuitive about it; most marginal personality types are like arrow poison frogs: they display loud and clear signals that say 'don't touch!'.
SorvahrSpahr
First Post
I totally agree. We should give the benefict of the doubt to new players. but it's always better to "test" the newcomer before letting him in the campaign.
Our current ninja is a great exemple. She played a cleric (she cast a light while we were fighting an undead...), a fighter (not bad, but she has really poor luck with the dice, and I'm starting to think that she doesn't pick feats) a barbarian half-orc (the best character yet, although not brilliant) and the ninja .... oh my god the ninja...she wanted to read the library's registry book in order to see if the guy the party was chasing had been there. So she waits for the coast to be clear, uses ghost step, and picks up the book, sits in a corner near the employe's room, and starts reading. Obviously panic arrived when the registry lady saw the book floating a few centrimetres above ground...
We have explained to her how to pick skills, feats, how to roll for hp, how to grapple, everything. We're not an experient party. We have few years of practice, and no-one taught us how to play, we had a few hints from our dm former DM and that was all. But she still makes the same mistakes.
She calculated the ki power like this (1/2 chara lvl + wisdom check). She used to get her hp by hd+b.a.b. Our dm almost went crazy with her
Our current ninja is a great exemple. She played a cleric (she cast a light while we were fighting an undead...), a fighter (not bad, but she has really poor luck with the dice, and I'm starting to think that she doesn't pick feats) a barbarian half-orc (the best character yet, although not brilliant) and the ninja .... oh my god the ninja...she wanted to read the library's registry book in order to see if the guy the party was chasing had been there. So she waits for the coast to be clear, uses ghost step, and picks up the book, sits in a corner near the employe's room, and starts reading. Obviously panic arrived when the registry lady saw the book floating a few centrimetres above ground...
We have explained to her how to pick skills, feats, how to roll for hp, how to grapple, everything. We're not an experient party. We have few years of practice, and no-one taught us how to play, we had a few hints from our dm former DM and that was all. But she still makes the same mistakes.
She calculated the ki power like this (1/2 chara lvl + wisdom check). She used to get her hp by hd+b.a.b. Our dm almost went crazy with her
Darthjaye
First Post
This is actually interesting to read. Although the comment about why you would want to game with people who aren't your friends concerns me. Yes, it's hard to find people who are competent gamers and most importantly, not immature or imbeciles who don't understand how to have fun. I guess this harkens back to the old perception of gamers being socially stunted when it comes to strangers. Part of my current group started way back when and a lot of our D&D work was done orginally out of a local library where we met with fairly new gamers and people who weren't our friends constantly. Oddly enough a game that requires lot's of social interaction causes us to shun it with others were not familiar with....go figure.
That all being said, I am about to embark upon being the "new" guy that will have to go through the gauntlet of acceptance from some new group (to me that is) when I move in September to Las Vegas. I'm eagerly looking forward to meeting some new group or groups and seeing what personalities I will encounter, while at the same time I'm hesitant to lose the two groups I'm currently gaming with. One is my oldest and closest group while the other is one member of the other said group (and my oldest friend) and some very cool guys I've come to like as well who are fun to hang with. I'm gonna miss both groups, but we all move on. Let's hope my transition is one of ease and acceptance by whomever I end up gaming with.
That all being said, I am about to embark upon being the "new" guy that will have to go through the gauntlet of acceptance from some new group (to me that is) when I move in September to Las Vegas. I'm eagerly looking forward to meeting some new group or groups and seeing what personalities I will encounter, while at the same time I'm hesitant to lose the two groups I'm currently gaming with. One is my oldest and closest group while the other is one member of the other said group (and my oldest friend) and some very cool guys I've come to like as well who are fun to hang with. I'm gonna miss both groups, but we all move on. Let's hope my transition is one of ease and acceptance by whomever I end up gaming with.
EyeontheMountain
First Post
SorvahrSpahr said:
Isn't that how you play? Add the highest number you can find on the character sheet to any d20 roll?
If it isn't I've been hoarding those gold for nothing
Arrgh! Mark!
First Post
I did have that once. My digestive tract was warning me. I assumed it was too many chips.
In my first campaign GMing I had three tried and true players, all friends. Through the various sessions I'm being told of this mysterious guy named Scott. He is according to the two players who know him a complete freak.
But he's into D+D. They play games with him occasionally. One of them does.
Feeling left out, I induced them to actually invite him along to my game. I should have taken that look of caution between them and the subsequent (and frequent) warnings to heart.
Well, anyway, he gets invited along. Initial insults aside from my two players (I really didn't expect that from them.) I let him create a character and start playing.
Evil drow fighter/rogue. Righto, says I. After he attacks the party - about ten minutes into the game mind you - and they wall of ice him in a room to discuss the situation. He cracks a and storms out. Comes back ten minutes later, apologises and wants to make a new character. Who then tries to assassinate the sorcerer who wall-of-ice'd his old one. The actual plot of the game was suddenly lost in a rather heated in-character mission to slaughter the new PC.
Anyway, assuming that he isn't here to ruin my game I take him aside and explain things, such as the point of role-playing and what not. I soothe the rather heated discussion and keep letting him play.
But it gets worse. The more he tried to munchkin his characters up by breaking the rules the more he got upset when he didn't get the character. (Me: Create a first level character. Sc: Here's my 27 intelligence wizard. Me: wh!?) He never roleplayed and while he never attacked the party again he'd often just wander off by himself. Well, I stopped inviting him to games but he somehow always knew when they were on. When he was there (It was an hour-and a half trip for him to get to the game place) I couldn't send him home, being weak willed. It resolved itself when one of the old crew started GMing and he left for another city.
The sad thing was he kept on unburdening his problems on me. I couldn't even stand the rancid milk breath on him and it was all I could do not to be harsh.
It was more sad than anything. But I just couldn't stop him arriving at the game and when he was there I couldn't send him home basically.
In my first campaign GMing I had three tried and true players, all friends. Through the various sessions I'm being told of this mysterious guy named Scott. He is according to the two players who know him a complete freak.
But he's into D+D. They play games with him occasionally. One of them does.
Feeling left out, I induced them to actually invite him along to my game. I should have taken that look of caution between them and the subsequent (and frequent) warnings to heart.
Well, anyway, he gets invited along. Initial insults aside from my two players (I really didn't expect that from them.) I let him create a character and start playing.
Evil drow fighter/rogue. Righto, says I. After he attacks the party - about ten minutes into the game mind you - and they wall of ice him in a room to discuss the situation. He cracks a
and storms out. Comes back ten minutes later, apologises and wants to make a new character. Who then tries to assassinate the sorcerer who wall-of-ice'd his old one. The actual plot of the game was suddenly lost in a rather heated in-character mission to slaughter the new PC. Anyway, assuming that he isn't here to ruin my game I take him aside and explain things, such as the point of role-playing and what not. I soothe the rather heated discussion and keep letting him play.
But it gets worse. The more he tried to munchkin his characters up by breaking the rules the more he got upset when he didn't get the character. (Me: Create a first level character. Sc: Here's my 27 intelligence wizard. Me: wh!?) He never roleplayed and while he never attacked the party again he'd often just wander off by himself. Well, I stopped inviting him to games but he somehow always knew when they were on. When he was there (It was an hour-and a half trip for him to get to the game place) I couldn't send him home, being weak willed. It resolved itself when one of the old crew started GMing and he left for another city.
The sad thing was he kept on unburdening his problems on me. I couldn't even stand the rancid milk breath on him and it was all I could do not to be harsh.
It was more sad than anything. But I just couldn't stop him arriving at the game and when he was there I couldn't send him home basically.
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pogre
Legend
I consider myself pretty tolerant, but I do not hesitate if my gut tells me someone is going to interfere with our fun. I'm always polite, but firm.
Many times folks who get kicked out of my group are because my older gaming friends cannot take them anymore and turn to me. I don't mind being the hatchet guy, it's part of the DM description for my campaigns
Many times folks who get kicked out of my group are because my older gaming friends cannot take them anymore and turn to me. I don't mind being the hatchet guy, it's part of the DM description for my campaigns
Teflon Billy
Explorer
pogre said:I consider myself pretty tolerant, but I do not hesitate if my gut tells me someone is going to interfere with our fun. I'm always polite, but firm.
Many times folks who get kicked out of my group are because my older gaming friends cannot take them anymore and turn to me. I don't mind being the hatchet guy, it's part of the DM description for my campaigns
Ditto all that. Right down to being the Hatchetman.
caudor
Adventurer
I mostly play with my friends and family...which works out well for me. We have a great time.
Back in 2004, I tried out a local RPGA group. It was an established group of players that all seemed to know each other well. Although things went OK, I felt a definate vibe like...'your an outsider'; so much so, that I started to feel uncomfortable. I was friendly, waited for my turn, and followed the queues provided by the DM. So, I don't know--perhaps their gut instinct was alarmed over me, or the group simply didn't want any new players at the time.
Anyway, after trying that, I'd be nervous about playing with a group of strangers again.
Back in 2004, I tried out a local RPGA group. It was an established group of players that all seemed to know each other well. Although things went OK, I felt a definate vibe like...'your an outsider'; so much so, that I started to feel uncomfortable. I was friendly, waited for my turn, and followed the queues provided by the DM. So, I don't know--perhaps their gut instinct was alarmed over me, or the group simply didn't want any new players at the time.
Anyway, after trying that, I'd be nervous about playing with a group of strangers again.
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