Take, take, and take and never DM. What do players bring to a gaming group?

[Kae'Yoss]

It may also be said that is why so many PLAYERS have switched to online gaming too.

It's all because of online balls.

 

[Raven Crowking]

Nowadays they just assume that people treat each other with respect, and if not, it's not the game's place to correct their manners.

As an official Old Duffer (40 this August), I find that they were more likely to be naturally considerate then than now. OTOH, I make my expectations clear to my players upfront, so I don't have the sort of problems that caused Emirikol to start this thread.

If I did have a player who was causing me personal, out-of-game, problems, that interfered with either the game or my enjoyment of the same, I'd have no hesitation whatsoever. That player would be free to seek another game.

RC

 

[Emirikol]

It's all because of online balls.

Balls..most people seek the "afterballs." That's where the real action is....hmmm,not to make this a psychological thread, but "balls" are a lot like "proms", neither of which gamers are famous for

jh

 

[Kae'Yoss]

Balls..most people seek the "afterballs." That's where the real action is....hmmm,not to make this a psychological thread, but "balls" are a lot like "proms", neither of which gamers are famous for

Not dogs as in proms. More like... let's use another word:

online courage.

 

[Zustiur]

Let's see - in my group it feels like this:
The players don't own any books or miniatures
The players don't put any effort towards keeping a journal (or indeed keeping any information on what happened during the game)
The players don't bring food or other goodies
I always have to host
Certain players provide the bare minimum of character background (ie none)
The players rarely provide input in terms of what type of game/adventure they like.

The above includes some exaduration, but it should give a fair idea of why I hit 'DM burn out' I didn't even mention anything about turning up on time.

My group hasn't gamed for over a year. The reasons can be summed up as follows:
No one can commit to a regular game time due to work conflicts (like being in another country for x weeks)
No one has any game material other than myself.
No one wants to actually DM. Me included.
I haven't played DnD as a player since 2nd ed. And that's not due to a passion for DMing.

I've been thinking about this exact issue lately, because two of my players seem to be itching for a game. The more I reflect on it, the more I realize that only 1 of my players is causing any real problem. So, when I eventually get past my burn out, I will try to run a game without him, and see how that goes. Problem is that leaves me with only 3 players. And I feel 4 is the minimum for a good game.

Zustiur.

 

[DragonLancer]

There have been times when I've felt that DMing is a thankless task, but then it just takes one of my players to say thanks for the game at the end of the night and its a real boost.

All I would like of players is:

1. They buy a rulebook/PHB for the game (of my five players, only one hasn't).
2. They actually read the world/setting documents. This is a bit of a sore point for me where players are concerned, whether its a published setting or a homebrew.
3. Say thanks after the game and help clean up before they go.

 

[S'mon]

Players can bring fun, drama, snacks, minis, a place to play the game - all kinds of things. While a player's contribution to the game per se is less than the GM's, it can (and ought) to be positive!

 

[Emirikol]

Let's see - in my group it feels like this:
Zustiur.

That's how I get too if I don't keep up on the maintenance of player behavior. Players slip and get sloppy even if they start out good.

Women across america play a dice game called Bunco. It's a simple game, but the game has a lot of social rules (women, you know), but the women don't bitch about the social rules. Why is it that if you try that with RPG gaming, you're facing a brick wall (ever follow a "Table Rules" post on this forum before and see how you get treated by the people on this forum if you discuss them?)

I still think it comes down to incentives, disincentives that are based on table rules. You go over table rules the first session and for first timers. Make sure it's designed to be from what the GROUP wants, not what YOU want. Players can't argue with 6 other people but they sure can argue with you as a DM:
0. Be mature.

1. Our group considers start time to be very important because we all have limited gaming time. Players who are on-time will get significantly more experience.

2. We will game if we have at least 3 players and the DM will modify difficulty and plot accordingly. No single player will ever hold up playing the game.

3. Let us know if you don't plan to make it to the game. If you skip, the group will replace you. We keep a roster of 6 players. We keep a perpetual advertisement GAMERS WANTED up at Enworld, WotC and local game/comic/book stores to keep our roster full.

4. Everybody in the group has something that they're in charge of to help out the DM and your fellow players. Things like, tracking treasure, posting the top 5 things that happened in the last game, coming up with an NPC's relevant to each PC's background, knowing particular rules (grapple, etc.), and knowing about particular regions of the world, etc.


You're probably not surpised, but when you note stuff like this you always get a couple of uptights who indicate "oh, I don't think I could ever play with your group..see, I like to treat my DM like a cheap whore and like to show up late (or never) and certainly wouldn't want to have to be 'required' to do anything to be part of a group." Leave those people in the dust. Gaming time is too precious to piss around with uptight idiots. Make your GROUP rules and keep the people who can abide. The rules above are simple enough that if someone can't do "that" they are probably an inconsiderate jerk anyways.

Just my experiences over the past 20+ years.

jh
34

 

[Endur]

What DO players who never DM bring to our gaming groups?

Humor, Enthusiasm, A sense of wonder, Companionship, a different point of view.

There are a lot of things that a player who isn't dming can bring to a gaming group.

 

[ThoughtBubble]

Wow... This thread is ah... Interesting. There have been way too many instances where I want to make armchair psychological observations about people that would ultimately only prove to be a soruce of further humor and discord. However, I would like people to consider why they feel the way they do about the issue.

For example, I dislike when players don't do much for a game having run several where players came in and treated the game like some sort of service. When the expectation is that I'm going to prep a game, organize the time, drag people away from what they're doing, make sure that food is provided for, push them into an adventure, and then tell them how well they're doing. From that, I've decided that I'm not a babysitter or disciplinarian. Anyone who wants to game with me needs to be ready for that. I'm a part of the group.

On the "Players who only take" angle, well, I'm dealing with a couple of them now. It's not that they need to DM. But again, they need to realize that I'm part of the group. It is as much (if not more, given the count of people) their job to entertain me as it is my job to entertain them. If I'm boring, the game sucks. If they're boing, the game sucks. I have some control over me. I have less over them. But the game isn't mine. The game isn't theirs. It's ours. Like a pot-luck, it's better if everyone brings some food. And the guy who brings a pack of hot-dogs can probably be doing better. Sure, I'm the one making the turkey, and buying the beer, and that's ok. But the guy who doesn't bring anything just loses points left and right. And if there's enough people just mooching, it's just not worth having a pot-luck anymore.

And as a personal issue, I can't stand when people don't take the activity seriously. If it's game time, then game. Don't watch TV, or play video games or draw or read. GAME.