HELP MY PLAyERs are put of control

[LoneRanger]

I need serious help.My players are way out of the line .Lately they have been making too many jokes, making fun of everything they encounter and whats worse totally disregarding their characaters.

PLEase I need Advice.... Im still holding on ...



Eye-catching typo edited by Piratecat

 

[Tom Cashel]

Totally strange when "encounter" is misspelled.
Really kind of weird.
Oh where are our blessed apples?
Left out in the barrel?
Let's get a gold one before it's too late, eh?

Anyway, enough with the metaphysics--I know exactly how you feel man. I've been trying to put my players off control for weeks now, but the screws are on there way too tight.

 

[Piratecat]

Are they still having fun but get easily distracted? Or are they no longer enjoying themselves?

 

[Darkness]

What was their response when you told them that this is a problem?

 

[Piratecat]

Someone just emailed me asking for this, and it might be appropriate here, too. You might want to do a quick survey to find out what they like and dislike about the campaign. Here's one I did recently; you'll want to pare it down to fit your own game.

Note that you might want to add a question about how to minimize table talk and distractions; these may come from external sources, bad habits, or dissatisfaction with the game. Gotta find out which!

-------------------

It's time (way overdue, actually) for our annual 21 question "are you having fun" survey. As always, I do this to fine-tune the game to your preferences.This is your chance to tell me what you like, hate, and want to see. You can comment on magic levels, experience point gain, challenge levels, and the like. In particular, while I always like to hear about good stuff, this is the place to tell me if you want more or less attention paid to your character (such as sub-plots.) I'm asking specific questions because I want honest answers, so please be honest. I'm not worried that the game is horrible or broken; on the contrary, I'm having great fun. I just want to jigger and fine tune things.

You can email it back to me personally, or print it out and drop it back at the house during our game on Wednesday. If you'd rather make it anonymous, err, go register a Hotmail account or something and send it from there.

Whoo hoo! Ready? Let's go!


1. On a scale of 1-10 (10 being best), how much fun are you having in general? ___

2. When you just thought "the game is fun except for 'this'", what was the "this" that sprung to mind?

3. Using a total of ten points, please give me your ideal proportion of role-playing vs. combat vs. puzzle/problem solving. (For example, I'd say that in general I try to make the campaign role playing 5, combat 3, puzzle/problem solving 2.)

__ role playing
__ combat
__ puzzle solving


4. Is the general pace of each session too fast, about right, or too slow? If too slow, what do you suggest I do to pick up the pace without pushing or railroading?

5. Are you getting bored with the plot arc? If so, what in particular is getting tedious?

6. Are you getting enough role-playing encounters? More specifically, are you getting the kind of role-playing encounters you prefer? (I refer to personalities of NPCs, roles of NPCs, etc.) Outside of wearing silly little outfits - well, sillier - what can I do to improve role-playing encounters?

7. Should I award XP more often? Is your rate of level gain (roughly every 10-12 sessions) about right?

8. Do you want more handouts and the like? More maps?

9. Are you getting enough attention paid to your character plot-wise? It would be great if you could suggest some additional plot hooks for your PC.

10. Are you getting enough attention paid to YOU when we game? It's a relatively big group, and I try to spread my attention equally. If I'm not doing so, please make sure you tell me.

11. Is the general pace of combat too slow? If so, what can I do to speed it up?

12. Is the variety of combat encounters okay? What kind of beasties would you like to run in to?

13. Is the danger level of combat encounters okay? Would you like to see more hard, moderate or easy combats?

14. What do you like the least about the campaign? What one thing would you change if you could? What one thing can I change to make myself a better DM?

15. What do you like the most about the campaign?

16. Do you feel your character is on an equitable power level with the rest of the party? Do you feel effective? If not, what in particular needs beefing up?

17. Is there anything you want to change about your character, either personality-wise or role-in-the-group-wise?

18. What do you think about the magic item level for both you and the group as a whole - too low, about right, or too many? Any particular magic items/effects you're drooling to get?

19. Do you like logic puzzles, such as riddles and sneaky traps? How about prophecies that you have to figure out? How about figuring out what your enemies are up to? What other "puzzle/problem" things would you like to see in the game?

20. Do we play often enough? About right? Too often?

21. What question should I have asked that I didn't?

Thanks for taking the time to answer this! Some answers are better than no answers, and I appreciate any feedback you can give me.

 

[Pbartender]

One thing our gaming group has helpful...

Have everyone get together an hour or half an hour early. Spend that extra time chatting, joking, updating characters, coparing stats, reminiscing about past adventures, etc... Get it all out of your systems right away. Once the game begins, the game begins. "Cut the chatter, Red 2!"

By the way, that's a great survey, PC. I'm might yoink it for my game.

 

[Ashrum the Black]

Another thing is the group may just need a break. Summer is finally here and they may just need to burn off some of the pent up energy. You might want to suggest instead of gaming this Friday night we all go out as a group and catch a movie, go to the beach, do the bar thing. What ever it is you folks do when you're not gaming. I've done it from time to time myself and it does seem to do wonders for helping bleed off the excess energy.


On a side not Pirate Cat, I am so taking and using that survey. Thanks!

 

[diaglo]

Or are they no longer enjoying themselves?

i gotta ask the same question.

i know when i'm not having fun in game, anymore. i start making my own fun. this may include picking the campaign apart.

for some reason when the DMs don't catch a clue, take a hint, see the problem, ....

they go along blissfully wondering why the group is doing strange stuff.

 

[Dirt]

Looks familiar!

I have a campaign evaluation as well. I definitely recommend using them every so often, to insure that you are on track. I have had some GREAT responses from these, that have helped provide direction on how I could improve the gaming experience for the players.

Here is mine (my only suggestion is that you may want to change the point scale...at least one player always has a problem with that):


FATHEAD'S CAMPAIGN EVALUATION

What this is about:

I have always considered role-playing to be analogous to a reading a good book - the main difference being that YOU have control over the main character of the novel. As with a good book, you want the characters and the story to be engaging. When I create the adventures, I try to abide by several rules for constructing compelling stories that will provide a good interactive and dynamic experience. So, the purpose of this evaluation is to get ideas on what elements in the game you have enjoyed (so that those role-playing experiences can be repeated), what elements you have disliked (so that I can avoid those), and what improvements could be made to increase your involvement and enjoyment of the game.

I take time in constructing what I consider to be an engaging adventure. All I ask in this evaluation is that you give the same consideration and effort in your answers.

On a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being too little, 3 being just right, and 5 being too much), rate the following and provide a brief explanation of what you like or dislike about the campaign (and descriptions of what you’d like to see would be helpful):

1. The amount of verbal descriptions of places, monsters, etc.



2. The amount of combat



3. Thinking, problem solving



4. Number of role playing opportunities



5. Number of life and death situations



6. Use of miniatures



7. Mood, setting



8. Treasure and magic items




QUESTIONS (Please answer these as fully as possible and include examples of likes and dislikes):

1. Do you feel that you are adventuring in a living and dynamic world?



2. Do you feel challenged as an advanced player or do you feel that things are too easy?



3. Do you feel that one character is favored too much?



4. What player do you think plays the best as far as role-playing and overall playing?



5. Which aspect of game play do you enjoy the most?



6. Do you feel that I use any game rules that are useless, not needed, or should not be played with?



7. Am I too lenient in dealing with character screwups?



8. Do I cause the game to move too slowly?



9. Do you feel that your character has the opportunity to be played to his fullest potential?

 

[LoneRanger]

Thanksfor the support

I woul just like to say thanks to everyone who responded. The tips and ideas sound very interesting and I am going to use them very soon in the upcoming sessions .