Fauchard1520
Adventurer
If you've ever DM'd for new players, you've probably run into some poor gaming etiquette. I'm talking about stealing from the party, murdering allied NPCs, and other general acts of murder-hoboism. The common wisdom is to impose logical consequences: the NPCs become hostile; bounty hunters come after you; you get geased and have to pay your debts to society via questing. These are all workable ideas, but I'm not sure they're always appropriate.
I think it's important to take a step back from knee-jerk need to “punish” player behavior. Especially when you’re dealing with new players, I think it’s better to encourage creativity than crack down on misconduct. When players are in the “testing boundaries” stage of their gamer development, a little restraint can go a long way. Imagine if, the first time you tried to rob a shop in an Elder Scrolls game, you had to retire your character rather than pay a fine. I doubt I’d have ever finished Oblivion.
When you encounter a new game, pushing the boundaries of what’s allowable is only natural. In video game terms you try to glitch the map, check for invisible walls on cliffs, and see if you can actually harm the NPCs. The same impulse applies to the tabletop. But whether you’re in the digital realm or the analog, the novelty wears off. You eventually settle down to play. So if you’re running for such a player, I say to give ’em time to get it out of their system. We’ve all been there, and it can even be fun if you let it.
(Comic for illustrative purposes.)
I think it's important to take a step back from knee-jerk need to “punish” player behavior. Especially when you’re dealing with new players, I think it’s better to encourage creativity than crack down on misconduct. When players are in the “testing boundaries” stage of their gamer development, a little restraint can go a long way. Imagine if, the first time you tried to rob a shop in an Elder Scrolls game, you had to retire your character rather than pay a fine. I doubt I’d have ever finished Oblivion.
When you encounter a new game, pushing the boundaries of what’s allowable is only natural. In video game terms you try to glitch the map, check for invisible walls on cliffs, and see if you can actually harm the NPCs. The same impulse applies to the tabletop. But whether you’re in the digital realm or the analog, the novelty wears off. You eventually settle down to play. So if you’re running for such a player, I say to give ’em time to get it out of their system. We’ve all been there, and it can even be fun if you let it.
(Comic for illustrative purposes.)