The Gaming Ideal

[Mark]

Thank you to everyone for adding their input so far and those who will, as well. This is becoming a very interesting thread in regard to all of the information being shared through the questions and back and forth.

If you haven't yet done so, please drop in on the other two short surveys and add a little something to those, too!

Posted elsewhere by Mark

DMs should find the shared experiences being given as feedback in the following three threads helpful. I urge everyone to add their own to the threads by answering the informal polls and questions they contain...

Survey #1 - Everyone, Tell us about your games, please!

Survey #2 - The DM's Percentage

And the DMing thread is well worth bookmarking for hours and hours of insightful reading -

DMing Advice

 

[Maggan]

My answers

1.) 4 players and 1 DM is optimal for me.

2.) Once a week. But I would also like two evenings every week to peruse my gamin material, making preparations. Without being disturbed. So, play once per week, prepare twice a week.

3.) Session time should normally be 4 to 5 hours. Once every month I'd like to do a 12 hour stretch, to really crunch through some serious mayhem and intrigue.

4.) 70& crunch, 30% flavour. I can do my own flavour, and I've got about five d20 campaign settings I would like to run (Midnight, Scarred Lands, Swashbuckling Adventures, Ghostwalk, Nyambe), that's enough flavor for me. Interesting rules and the application of said rules (like the thread on monster tactics), that's my cup of tea... or cup of crunch, if you prefer it like that.

5.) Difficult. I'm waiting for Skulls&Bones, but I guess, if I can wish for anything... Planescape 3e, in a nice fat exclusive hardback. Would like it to cost around $30, but would pay around $50 or even some more for a really beautiful and solid book. As for other stuff... right here, right now, I would like a book on running dominions, being king and all that. Like the rules in D&D Companion Set, but expanded. Could be a softback, like one of thos Event Books from Malhavoc. Could drop $20 on that. But okay... my real wish:

Deconstructing D&D - the book that shows us all the thinking that went on behind the scenes, and which gives solid rules for building spells, classes, prestige classes, feats, skills, monsters, monster's tactics, treasure, the full monty! A fat hardback, I'd pay $50 for a book like that. A sort of Game Designer's Primer (everything I hoped a book titled the Ultimate Games Designer's Companion would have, but alas...).

If I was WotC I would never let a book like that hit the streets.

Cheers!

Maggan

 

[Seonaid]

1.) What is the best number of players at the table, whether as a DM or player yourself?
5 players, 1 DM.

2.) How often should you be able to game in an ideal world?
Twice a week, spaced evenly.

3.) How long should those sessions be?
6 hours each.

4.) The poll handled percentage of Crunch to Flavor, but what are some of the specifics behind your vote?
Erm . . . I think I answered the poll wrong. I put 60/40 because I've had bad experiences with games that were more RP than combat. But if you mean for books, I want probably 40/60. I like the WW style.

5.) If you could choose the single best next book to become available to you, what would it be, what form would it be in (hardback, softback, PDF), and how much would that book cost (please be reasonable)?
I'm not sure what this means, but I would like to say that I hate PDF's. As someone said previously, I don't like reading things on a screen and the cost of printing is prohibitive. I dislike printing anything, actually. My preferred format is hardback, but softback is generally acceptable as well. As for price, I'm loathe to pay more than $35 or so for a book no matter the size, but I don't have a steady income either.

The answers to questions 1 through 4 depend on the group, though. I've had groups where I couldn't handle more than once a week, where I wished there was more RP or combat, where I wished we could game longer/shorter, etc. The answers I gave were for the ideal group, except for the crunch/flavor one. In an *ideal* campaign, it would be more like 20/80.

 

[Agback]

G'day

IMHO

1) The best number for a role-playing game is GM + 3 character players or GM + 4 CPs. With only 1 or 2 CPs there is too little interaction between PCs and the GM never gets a moment to gather thoughts and get ahead. But as the number of players increases each CP gets a smaller and smaller share of the GM's attention. This makes the RP experience not intense enough, and players get distracted by other things (such as chat). That results in their becoming inattentive, which means that they miss things, so an increasing proportion of the GM's time is taken up by recapping and repeating things for players when their turn in the spotlight comes around. That makes the experience even less intense, and so it goes (to Hell in a handcart).

2) I would like to GM twice per week and play a character in someone else's game three times per week. (The West Wing is on Tuesday nights and Law & Order Wednesday nights).

(3) I find 5 to 6 hours about the right length for a gaming session. Back in the good old days a 5-6 hour session was enough for us to get through about as much material as a 100-minute action movie or mystery, and I'd like to get back to that sort of pace.

4) I like mechanics in mechanics rulebooks or rules sections, and background material in separate sourcebooks and background sections, not all muddled up. I like background material to be explicit and organised for study and reference, not for it to be presented as a mess of twee stories and in-world materials.

5) Softback, A$40 (probably about US$25). A sourcebook on the world described in Herodotus' Histories would be nice, or a setting with robust social and political institutions that can stand up to intrigue and swashbuckling.

Regards,


Agback

 

[Sam]

1.) What is the best number of players at the table, whether as a DM or player yourself?
I like 4-5 players at a table when I'm playing and DMing. Since not everyone shows up at every session, my current campaign has 6 regular players,

2.) How often should you be able to game in an ideal world?
I run my campaign once/week, and that's about right. More often would be too much to prepare for. I wouldn't mind playing once in a while, though it's difficult with work & family to coordinate. Oh, I also run a once/month CoCd20 game.

3.) How long should those sessions be?
I like them about 5 hours or so. That way you get about 3 1/2 - 4 hours of actual game time in.

4.) The poll handled percentage of Crunch to Flavor, but what are some of the specifics behind your vote?
When I answered the poll I thought we were talking about purchased products and I chose 70% crunch/30% flavor. If we are talking about time at the gaming table, that might go a bit closer to 50/50.

5.) If you could choose the single best next book to become available to you, what would it be, what form would it be in (hardback, softback, PDF), and how much would that book cost (please be reasonable)?
Oooh. Uhhhmmm. I don't know. I'd really like to see some more 3e/3.5 Greyhawk material. I like the instant gratification of PDFs and the portability, though I prefer having a physical book. I also prefer hardback over softback.

 

[MavrickWeirdo]

1.) What is the best number of players at the table, whether as a DM or player yourself?

I would say 5 players (odd numbers are more dynamic) 1 DM

2.) How often should you be able to game in an ideal world?

Every 2 weeks

3.) How long should those sessions be?

5 hours

4.) The poll handled percentage of Crunch to Flavor, but what are some of the specifics behind your vote?

I want more story than numbers, but I want the structure to stay consistant.

5.) If you could choose the single best next book to become available to you, what would it be, what form would it be in (hardback, softback, PDF), and how much would that book cost (please be reasonable)?

Trade Paper, black & white is fine. 15% illus, 15% graphs/indexes, 70% print. $15 to $25

 

[Gnarlo]

In the past couple of days I've asked some questions about the past and current situation for your games. Now I would like to take the time to listen to your goals and desires. The following questions should help any publisher who reads the responses direct some of their production closer toward "The Gaming Ideal"

1.) What is the best number of players at the table, whether as a DM or player yourself?

2.) How often should you be able to game in an ideal world?

3.) How long should those sessions be?

4.) The poll handled percentage of Crunch to Flavor, but what are some of the specifics behind your vote?

5.) If you could choose the single best next book to become available to you, what would it be, what form would it be in (hardback, softback, PDF), and how much would that book cost (please be reasonable)?

Thanks very much for your time and indulgence...

1) 5 to 6 players; allows for a bit of flexibility in party makeup, no one feels they "have" to take one of the core four

2) Ideal world? That would've been my college years, Friday afternoon to late Sunday night Realistically? At least one day a week.

3) See #2 In the adult world, 4 to 6 hours.

4) I like a nice even split between the two, with a slight edge to fluff and background.

5) I'd like a book like the Magical Medieval Society one that went into converting D&D into more grim and gritty; covering how to set up a more realistic economy, low magic, more realistic ecologies, etc. Kinda like a D&D Harn. Make it hardback and around $30-35.

 

[Dalmuti]

1) Best # Players in the Group: 1 DM, 2 to 4 players.
2) How often to would you game in an ideal world: Once a week, twice on special occasions.
3) How long would you game in the ideal world: 4 to 6 hours (of real game time, not including crap talking, character advancement, etc.
4) Flavor Versus Crunchy: I like flavor as long as it is done well. I don't like first person flavor text. You know where it is written as if somebody in the setting is writing it. It is fun to read the first time through, but trying to get information out of it the second time round, or during play kinda sucks. The crunchy stuff just needs to be things that enhance the text, nothing big. Rules/items/spells/etc for Rules/item/spells/etc-sake is just annoying.
5) Perfect book would be anything. WotC has gotten in the habit lately of fattening up the books with rather useless crunch stuff. Sword & Sorcery has a good mix. In general the soft covers that are 100 to 160 pages are pretty good, but some produces can make it work with more (Forgotten Realms setting), and some with less (When the Sky Falls).

 

[greymist]

1.) What is the best number of players at the table, whether as a DM or player yourself?

4 players

2.) How often should you be able to game in an ideal world?

I would love to play every two weeks.

3.) How long should those sessions be?

If I could play every two weeks the sessions would be 6 to 8 hours long.

4.) The poll handled percentage of Crunch to Flavor, but what are some of the specifics behind your vote?)

I am tired of new prestige classes, and new feats. I would like to see some in-depth settings that can be dropped into any campaign.

5.) If you could choose the single best next book to become available to you, what would it be, what form would it be in (hardback, softback, PDF), and how much would that book cost (please be reasonable)?

I would love to see a book of short generic adventures, a few towns or cities, and some NPC as well. with lots of maps. As far as format goes, I would love to see a hardback, with a GOOD binding, that includes a CD with a hyperlinked PDF version, to allow for printing of the maps, charts, and tables. I would pay C$50 - C$60 which is about US$35 to US$40.

 

[Jeff Wilder]

1.) What is the best number of players at the table, whether as a DM or player yourself?

I prefer five (four, plus the DM).

2.) How often should you be able to game in an ideal world?

Twice a week.

3.) How long should those sessions be?

Around six hours.

4.) The poll handled percentage of Crunch to Flavor, but what are some of the specifics behind your vote?

There are enough rules. The supplements I enjoy the most are those with vivid and consistents backgrounds. Stuff like the Scarred Lands sourcebooks. I like to see rules that enhance the background, not rules simply for the sake of rules.

5.) If you could choose the single best next book to become available to you, what would it be, what form would it be in (hardback, softback, PDF), and how much would that book cost (please be reasonable)?

I'd like to see something similar to Green Ronin's Book of the Righteous, but for D20 arcanists. Something going seriously into depth about how and why magic works, the way BotR went into depth on religion.