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<blockquote data-quote="boxstop7" data-source="post: 1620057" data-attributes="member: 8804">Just a quick reply, as I'm off to work...The player and I have discussed his bushido at length.&nbsp; Recall the &quot;Klingon&quot; comment he made; this is what he envisioned for his character, and he is not playing it.&nbsp; That's the issue.&nbsp; We've established that his character is not necessarily a leader in the group, but will follow the orders of someone who has proven him/herself as wiser and more worthy of leadership.&nbsp; We've worked extensively on the character background (which is still flimsy IMO, but I'm willing to be flexible here as he is relatively new).&nbsp; He's on loan from his Lord to search for an item that would be particularly beneficial to his Lord.&nbsp; He said last night that he likes the Samurai class, but doesn't like the bushido.&nbsp; He's basically playing his character as he, the player, would react to things.&nbsp; This is very, very common for new players, and I understand that.&nbsp; I don't know a single person who didn't fall into this pattern when they first started D&amp;D, myself included.&nbsp; He said some things last night.&nbsp; &quot;The whole 'fear no death' thing is a problem.&nbsp; I don't like the idea of a character sticking around just for honor.&quot;&nbsp; and &quot;I love the abilities but not the code.&nbsp; Though I tend to agree with the code in principle, it's the tactics I have a problem with.&quot;&nbsp; I take that last statement to be pure powergame; i.e., I want all the perks but I don't want to give anything up for them.&nbsp; So I told him that, if that's the case, maybe a Samurai isn't the right class for him b/c I'm not in the habit of giving things away for free.&nbsp; I like balance in my games, and right now I see his character is weaker compared to the others.&nbsp; The reasons for this may be many.&nbsp; But the situation exists, and I'm trying to correct it.He's also an extensive CRPG gamer (I love the kid to death, but think stereotypical 'geek' for these purposes), and has asked me repeatedly why I don't play games like Morrowind and Everqeust.&nbsp; I simply don't; they bore me.&nbsp; I'd much rather sit around a table with friends and play the character.&nbsp; I like the social and acting aspects of D&amp;D.&nbsp; I like creating characters with nuances and, yes, weaknesses.&nbsp; But that's just me.&nbsp; He doesn't like that at all, b/c (warning: blanket statement) CRPGs do little but teach powergaming.&nbsp; He's so used to being god-like in computer games that I suspect it's a struggle and a bore for him to play a &quot;human&quot; character.&nbsp; He's certainly not a &quot;stupid player&quot;, and he is a good friend of mine; I've known the kid since we were about 7 years old.&nbsp; And I have already accepted and stated that much of this problem is my fault to begin with.&nbsp; All the other players wanted to play higher levels, and they all have more experience with D&amp;D than this guy.&nbsp; Rather than start everyone at low levels, I decided to compromise and start at low-mid levels.&nbsp; We've been going through practice sessions before we start the campaign for the express purpose of helping&nbsp; the less experienced people learn the game of D&amp;D.&nbsp; I'm less interested in a discussion of what should have been done, and more interested in what can now be done.&nbsp; I don't mean to sound like I'm griping, as some good disussion has been generated and that's exactly what I'm looking for.&nbsp; But I'm looking ahead to the future instead of dwelling on what I could have done differently.&nbsp; Keep 'em coming...I really appreciate it...Thanks,- Jason</blockquote>

[QUOTE="boxstop7, post: 1620057, member: 8804"] Just a quick reply, as I'm off to work... The player and I have discussed his bushido at length. Recall the "Klingon" comment he made; this is what he envisioned for his character, and he is [B]not[/B] playing it. That's the issue. We've established that his character is not necessarily a leader in the group, but will follow the orders of someone who has proven him/herself as wiser and more worthy of leadership. We've worked extensively on the character background (which is still flimsy IMO, but I'm willing to be flexible here as he is relatively new). He's on loan from his Lord to search for an item that would be particularly beneficial to his Lord. He said last night that he likes the Samurai class, but doesn't like the bushido. He's basically playing his character as he, the player, would react to things. This is very, very common for new players, and I understand that. I don't know a single person who didn't fall into this pattern when they first started D&D, myself included. He said some things last night. "The whole 'fear no death' thing is a problem. I don't like the idea of a character sticking around just for honor." and "I love the abilities but not the code. Though I tend to agree with the code in principle, it's the tactics I have a problem with." I take that last statement to be pure powergame; i.e., I want all the perks but I don't want to give anything up for them. So I told him that, if that's the case, maybe a Samurai isn't the right class for him b/c I'm not in the habit of giving things away for free. I like balance in my games, and right now I see his character is weaker compared to the others. The reasons for this may be many. But the situation exists, and I'm trying to correct it. He's also an extensive CRPG gamer (I love the kid to death, but think stereotypical 'geek' for these purposes), and has asked me repeatedly why I don't play games like Morrowind and Everqeust. I simply don't; they bore me. I'd much rather sit around a table with friends and play the character. I like the social and acting aspects of D&D. I like creating characters with nuances and, yes, weaknesses. But that's just me. He doesn't like that at all, b/c (warning: blanket statement) CRPGs do little but teach powergaming. He's so used to being god-like in computer games that I suspect it's a struggle and a bore for him to play a "human" character. He's certainly not a "stupid player", and he is a good friend of mine; I've known the kid since we were about 7 years old. And I have already accepted and stated that much of this problem is my fault to begin with. All the other players wanted to play higher levels, and they all have more experience with D&D than this guy. Rather than start everyone at low levels, I decided to compromise and start at low-mid levels. We've been going through practice sessions before we start the campaign for the express purpose of helping the less experienced people learn the game of D&D. I'm less interested in a discussion of what [I]should[/I] have been done, and more interested in what [I]can now[/I] be done. I don't mean to sound like I'm griping, as some good disussion has been generated and that's exactly what I'm looking for. But I'm looking ahead to the future instead of dwelling on what I could have done differently. Keep 'em coming...I really appreciate it... Thanks, - Jason [/QUOTE]

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