Random RPG Questions

Sometimes you have little to say, but lots to think about...

Crazy action or realism? I can't seem to make up my mind.

Playing with rookies: Can you teach a new dog old tricks?


Why do Time Travel RPGs have to be so complicated?

Is there any particular reason why Sword & Sorcery is so boring to my group (me included)?

If you play a jackass, how does the rest of the group know you're not one yourself?

Someone in my group tried playing with another gang. 9 hours straight. 11 players at the table. My own games have 5 players tops and last about 3-4 hours. Which game is the aberration?

And finally: Why aren't I posting about Doctor Who instead?

Comments

cardboardjudas said…
In order...

-Crazy action, realism (and rules imo) make for boring gaming (most of the time)

-Probably not, just like that player who insists on power-gaming/being a badguy/rules lawyering can't be changed. Only the best players modify themselves to characters/situations, so just hope your rookie is one of them.

-Although i have time travel in my rpg, it's not a time travel rpg so i don't know.

- probably becuase you either started in a fantasy campaign or played in one for too long, and probably both. Out of the three people in my campaigns initial group one was pretty insistent on a fantasy campaign while me and my buddy were not, so we started a fantasy campaign and slowly shifted it into an other-wordly steam-fantasy campaign. But yeah screw (most) sword and sorcery rpgs. lol

- They don't.

- In my weekly game 7 was a big enough mess to restrict it to a gm and at most 5 players. And with the exception of once a year we game only for 3-4 hours. I'd say the large group is a abberation but this is just a guess
Garnet said…
Siskoid, you darling fellow. Just discovered your blog; keep it up.
Maxo said…
For what it's worth:

* Enough realism to keep things from being ridiculous, but not so much things get ridiculous. For example, I was in a game based on pirates, which was fun until you were on a ship, and God help you if you were in a firefight with another ship. Suddenly the game would stop for everyone but the two captains (a player and the GM) as they began to assess speed, turn rates, ammunition use, damage (to both the ship and crew memebers), boarding success ... ugh. It took forever, and put almost everyone out of the game. A good GM will know when to ignore realism for the sake of game play.

* I agree with cardboardjudas, and would just add that it depends on the personality of the player. Some people are open to learning different aspects of different characters and settings, and some insist on bringing their own quirks into every damn game. Laying out some gaming etiquette from the beginning is helpful.

* I've never played one, but ... yikes!

* It's good to mix it up (I've been trying to get a Cthulhu game together forever). I think some people get comfortable with what they know about a certain system or setting and won't deviate, but there's only so much you can do with dwarves after awhile, y'know? One guy I know mixes in bits and pieces from other systems to make it more interesting.

* Contributing to the snack pile helps :)

* My first major gaming experience was just like that. But after talking to other gamers and playing with different people, I don't think that's the norm. We only played every other week, but still!

Sorry for the wall of text!
Anonymous said…
YOU GUYS HAVE SNACKS???? Hey, they have snacks at their gaming sessions. Why don't WE have snacks at our gaming sessions? Can we have snacks at the next gaming session?
Siskoid said…
Maxo: Hey, they're not rhetoricals. They were put there to be answered. So thanks for the "wall of text". :)

Fred: So tap water isn't enough for you?

Actually, sometimes people bring snacks. Bass in particular, and he's getting back in the RPG groove as of this week. We've had snacks on occasion, just not the times you've been there.

Maybe it's you. Maybe it's all about Question 5.