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Quitting a group & starting anew..ground rules?
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<blockquote data-quote="GQuail" data-source="post: 2741347" data-attributes="member: 30709"><p>I think asking for basic contact information is a wise move: I often send my group quick text messages or emails if I need to check or change the game time, and it's never a bad thing to have.</p><p></p><p>But if I was doing a questionnaire like this (and following your post, I was thinking a bit about this last night) I would steer clear of all these "Not a test, but they totally are" questiosn about how people game: like your rules, they seem too confrontational.</p><p></p><p>I <em>would</em> ask questions about their gaming history and general likes: what is your favourite RPG, and why? What games have you played/ran? If given total freedom, what kind of character would you like to create, and why? Do you have any other major non-gaming hobbies? </p><p></p><p>If I was going to ask any questions like yours about how they'd behave at sessions, I'd phrase them carefully. Perhaps like this:</p><p></p><p><em><strong>Our game sessions start at 1800/1830. How often do you think you would be able to make this time?</strong></em></p><p><em>(1) I can see not problems making this time every session.</em></p><p><em>(2) I may have the occasional clashing schedule, but I can make it most weeks.</em></p><p><em>(3) I can't commit 100% to this time regularly.</em></p><p></p><p><em><strong>Please list below reasons why you might see yourself missing a session, e.g. job schedules, family commitments, transport issues, etc, </strong></em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>Sure, it's still got the "trick question" feel to it: who would join a game flat-out knowing they can't make the sessions? Perhaps. I guess I'm anticipating reasonably sensible answers, like, "I work across town and as long as I finish on time, I can make it, but if I get stuck locking up I may need an extra hour", or "I need to get an awkward train to get to the place you play so I either arrive 25 minutes early or 15 minutes late". I wouldn't structure it around the "Can I bring drugs?" people, rather hoping the fact there is any writing at all might put them off. ;-)</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>Apart from that, I'd also probably ask about their transport, because although my current group has 3 players with cars it's rare more than one of them brings it to a session because parking around me isn't spectacular. One player walks and one players lives with me (in the same bed, no less. Oo-er ;-) ) but this leaves 5 players who potentially might all be using public transport, which of course means I have to stop in time for them to make their way home. </em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>I might include some of our house rules, like "We take a break at 9pm so everyone can sort out food then, with convenient take-out joints just outside": but that's different from saying "I hate it when people go to get food mid-way through my game, the scum." :-> I might mention things about their chances of survival if it's drastically different from the norm: like "we're playing a grittier D&D, don't expect to be as hard as usual" or "we're playing a Cthulhu campaign, you may survive at least 3 session!" ;-) </em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>However, I think some of the previous posters are right in saying that a physical meeting is probably a good idea. Less practical for you if you constantly take new people on, but I'd consider rounding up some of my other players and then going with the potential newbie on some kind of general issue "hang-out" event, be it a pub visit, a meal, a trip to the cinema or whatever. Bringing along extra people might be a little intimidating for the other guy, but can help you get an idea for if this guy can deal with your group: someone can be perfectly pleasant individually, but just chafe horribly with your group. Plus, if you find it awkward being around someone while they eat, or find them too loud while you try to concentrate on the film, do you really want to play an RPG with them, especially in your own home?</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>Once again, I've rambled. Sorry. :></em></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="GQuail, post: 2741347, member: 30709"] I think asking for basic contact information is a wise move: I often send my group quick text messages or emails if I need to check or change the game time, and it's never a bad thing to have. But if I was doing a questionnaire like this (and following your post, I was thinking a bit about this last night) I would steer clear of all these "Not a test, but they totally are" questiosn about how people game: like your rules, they seem too confrontational. I [I]would[/I] ask questions about their gaming history and general likes: what is your favourite RPG, and why? What games have you played/ran? If given total freedom, what kind of character would you like to create, and why? Do you have any other major non-gaming hobbies? If I was going to ask any questions like yours about how they'd behave at sessions, I'd phrase them carefully. Perhaps like this: [I][b]Our game sessions start at 1800/1830. How often do you think you would be able to make this time?[/b] (1) I can see not problems making this time every session. (2) I may have the occasional clashing schedule, but I can make it most weeks. (3) I can't commit 100% to this time regularly.[/I] [I][b]Please list below reasons why you might see yourself missing a session, e.g. job schedules, family commitments, transport issues, etc, [/b] Sure, it's still got the "trick question" feel to it: who would join a game flat-out knowing they can't make the sessions? Perhaps. I guess I'm anticipating reasonably sensible answers, like, "I work across town and as long as I finish on time, I can make it, but if I get stuck locking up I may need an extra hour", or "I need to get an awkward train to get to the place you play so I either arrive 25 minutes early or 15 minutes late". I wouldn't structure it around the "Can I bring drugs?" people, rather hoping the fact there is any writing at all might put them off. ;-) Apart from that, I'd also probably ask about their transport, because although my current group has 3 players with cars it's rare more than one of them brings it to a session because parking around me isn't spectacular. One player walks and one players lives with me (in the same bed, no less. Oo-er ;-) ) but this leaves 5 players who potentially might all be using public transport, which of course means I have to stop in time for them to make their way home. I might include some of our house rules, like "We take a break at 9pm so everyone can sort out food then, with convenient take-out joints just outside": but that's different from saying "I hate it when people go to get food mid-way through my game, the scum." :-> I might mention things about their chances of survival if it's drastically different from the norm: like "we're playing a grittier D&D, don't expect to be as hard as usual" or "we're playing a Cthulhu campaign, you may survive at least 3 session!" ;-) However, I think some of the previous posters are right in saying that a physical meeting is probably a good idea. Less practical for you if you constantly take new people on, but I'd consider rounding up some of my other players and then going with the potential newbie on some kind of general issue "hang-out" event, be it a pub visit, a meal, a trip to the cinema or whatever. Bringing along extra people might be a little intimidating for the other guy, but can help you get an idea for if this guy can deal with your group: someone can be perfectly pleasant individually, but just chafe horribly with your group. Plus, if you find it awkward being around someone while they eat, or find them too loud while you try to concentrate on the film, do you really want to play an RPG with them, especially in your own home? Once again, I've rambled. Sorry. :>[/I] [/QUOTE]
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