tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465863144787683153.post4177922225915397610..comments2024-03-27T19:02:58.368-04:00Comments on BARKING ALIEN: Gains and LossesAdam Dicksteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04840144928096089178noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465863144787683153.post-75152793820870160842014-07-28T10:09:20.803-04:002014-07-28T10:09:20.803-04:00I firmly agree with you Teresa.
I also know, as t...I firmly agree with you Teresa.<br /><br />I also know, as the GM, that I don't exactly set 'win' conditions for my campaigns. Each of the players and PCs has their own goal (or goals). If you achieve those goals without overwhelming losses, then sure, you could view it as winning.<br /><br />Perhaps that is how he is viewing the campaign, though I am not certain what his character's goals are exactly, beyond making a lot of money, which he is kind of failing to do.Adam Dicksteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04840144928096089178noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465863144787683153.post-81801049910705423722014-07-28T01:14:51.182-04:002014-07-28T01:14:51.182-04:00I think he is looking for a way to win. Being abse...I think he is looking for a way to win. Being absent from the main plot is a way to stay alive/win. Knowing your GM prizes story is a way to stay alive/win. I know it sounds to simple an answer. But I've had these type of players in my games. Teresahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01213481870704579199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465863144787683153.post-53412995423218980532014-07-25T14:53:39.777-04:002014-07-25T14:53:39.777-04:00You have a point there.
There are certainly time...You have a point there. <br /><br />There are certainly times where I feel like we'd all be having even more fun, this fellow included, if he were playing with a group with a similar mindset to his. Adam Dicksteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04840144928096089178noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465863144787683153.post-19625891982495862082014-07-25T11:28:40.511-04:002014-07-25T11:28:40.511-04:00From this and the last post, it sounds like the pl...From this and the last post, it sounds like the player's attitude outside the game is the real problem. If his character was a jerk and died, the player could make a new character who isn't a jerk. But if the point of your campaign isn't that you're all murder-hobos, if the player knows that, knows no one wants him to be one, and he still is, then the player himself is the jerk, and all his characters will be. When I'm in a game, if just one person is an unconcerned jerk, it really sours the whole experience, no matter what he brings. Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08744387076248475114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465863144787683153.post-76970660104774202272014-07-24T20:40:27.150-04:002014-07-24T20:40:27.150-04:00I wholeheartedly agree with you both.
Part of my ...I wholeheartedly agree with you both.<br /><br />Part of my point in the above was, you can do more to a character than kill them. Killing a character is mechanical, and any GM can slay a PC. It requires no talent or skill. Hurting them without killing them, and in a way that is spiritual, financial, or social, and not physical, all the while keeping it interesting and entertaining for the player (and the group), is where the GM's ability is truly test.Adam Dicksteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04840144928096089178noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465863144787683153.post-78614979073498066872014-07-24T20:26:23.954-04:002014-07-24T20:26:23.954-04:00Thanks Ivy! Great to see you when you come visit.
...Thanks Ivy! Great to see you when you come visit.<br /><br />Bloggerally speaking of course. ;)Adam Dicksteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04840144928096089178noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465863144787683153.post-18624743952742140152014-07-24T20:25:20.817-04:002014-07-24T20:25:20.817-04:00It is kind of amazing at that.
The player in ques...It is kind of amazing at that.<br /><br />The player in question, toxic though he may seem, has up to this point, been very entertaining. He is one of the few consistently action-oriented players, willing, directly or indirectly, to physically engage enemies, launch himself into zero-g, sneak through maintenance tunnels, and other cinematic action hero stuff.<br /><br />The problem now is that he is actually hindering the rest of the part, both figuratively and literally. His antics constantly threaten to throw everything from the safety of the PCs to the actual plot, out of whack. <br /><br />Again, initially I welcomed this, but as I was discussing with some of the other players, it no longer makes sense. There comes a time when a character who acts as his does no longer gets to be a member of the party. Why would the others PCs help, or even hang out with this guy? In real life, a person like this would be excused from the group.Adam Dicksteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04840144928096089178noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465863144787683153.post-43721428681260990992014-07-24T15:47:41.526-04:002014-07-24T15:47:41.526-04:00As the guy who typically does the bulk of the GMin...As the guy who typically does the bulk of the GMing for my friends, I live in fear of being that player whenever I get the chance to be a player. Monkapotomushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15863829877299943297noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465863144787683153.post-36000796608477171452014-07-24T13:26:39.770-04:002014-07-24T13:26:39.770-04:00I agree. But it's harder when you have a playe...I agree. But it's harder when you have a player like the one above, who doesn't see what he's doing as stupid or risky. It means that when something bad happens to the character, the player won't see their mistakes and try to fix them, they'll see everyone else being mean or unfair to them. Which is a real shame because if a character is played well, their death can mean something to everyone, and make the next character all the better for it. Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08744387076248475114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465863144787683153.post-43512329495777055232014-07-24T11:44:29.056-04:002014-07-24T11:44:29.056-04:00I also feel like I rarely have much to add. I did...I also feel like I rarely have much to add. I did see (somewhere in the blogosphere) that there is an inverse correlation between the amount of time it takes to make a character and its chances of dying in gameplay. If it took you over thirty minutes and an Excel spreadsheet to make your PC, then you're not going to like it when he dies from a goblin arrow to the throat.<br /><br />I have mixed feelings about PC mortality. I regularly play in a game system where the likelihood of you dying from a gunshot wound it high. What effect does it have on gameplay? Well, people are pretty damn slow about pulling a gun in a bar as a result. For me personally, I think that PC's should die from stupidity or intentional risk. If they do something painfully stupid, like jump off a cliff, then they are going to die. If they take a particular risk, usually with a commensurately high reward, then death might be on the table as well. I feel like there's something to being fair about that.WQRobbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17436898737750581192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465863144787683153.post-64633877445833762212014-07-24T11:21:55.871-04:002014-07-24T11:21:55.871-04:00It's funny what posts will get comments and wh...It's funny what posts will get comments and what ones, sometimes won't. Just<br />the nature of the beast, I say. Keep on blogging though. People are reading,<br />even if they don't always comment. <br /><br />Cheers and boogie boogie.The Happy Whiskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13438469476168485775noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465863144787683153.post-54941778496846938992014-07-24T10:04:52.371-04:002014-07-24T10:04:52.371-04:00I wouldn't worry on lack of comments, I love c...I wouldn't worry on lack of comments, I love campfire stories but something about that one seemed so personal, it would be like intruding. It's amazing your game hasn't fallen apart, going this long with a toxic player. It really shows how good a story you've got that it's lasted despite that.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08744387076248475114noreply@blogger.com