What Silence said...
What are the traits of an ideal role-player?
In a nutshell, here's what I need to see to enjoy gaming with anyone:
- First and foremost, the ideal RPG player wants everyone to have fun - not just themselves. They don't need the spotlight 100% of the time, and they don't always have to be "winning" to enjoy the game.
- Secondly, they are honest about what they want out of the game. If they want a particular style of game, you'll know it in no uncertain terms, by maybe the second or third session - sooner if you were friends before sitting down at the gaming table. No surprises like learning 10 sessions in some player really hates cinematic action.
- Lastly, they don't cheat. Dice rolled are dice rolled, and reported as such accurately. Nothing on the character sheet ever gets fudged, or altered on the sly. No out-of-character lies about anything relevant to the game. In short, don't do anything you don't want to be accused of to your face in front of the group, 'cause I will.
But if you don't have those three traits, I'll gladly kick you out of my game.
LARPing was a little different, in that it was an "open" game. Anyone could join, and the only person I ever kicked out was due to his Sexually Harassing other players. We charged a dollar a session dues, and that $80-150 bucks a month (put in to props, location fees, and rulebooks) was enough for me to put up with just about anyone.
10 comments:
Ahhh, but you didn't answer the question.
These are guidelines for an acceptable role-player. Perhaps your recent travails have you jaded enough that acceptable is enough (so to speak). ...But I was much more interested in hearing what an ideal role-player is like. Something that people should aspire to. What are the traits of the best?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but hadn't you already answered that?
sits with this comment window open for nearly an hour, searching a blog in another tab
I was going to put a really self-serving link to a post on your blog where you sang my praises, but I can't seem to find it now.
Perhaps I'm just delusional.
It is precisely because I sing your praises that I wanted to hear your answer to the question! As an ideal GM, I'd like to know what a player can best hope to bring to the table... beyond "don't cheat, don't hold back, and make your expectations clear." ...Which I think I do already. ; )
You clearly qualified for points # 1 and 3 the first time I ever gamed with you.
It took you a while to get to point # 2 with me, but I think that's just 'cause we're both introverts.
As to ideals, I'll have to think on that one.
Anyhow, thanks for calling me your ideal. However, I've always thought I worked too hard for your tastes - as I've seen it, that's the biggest difference in our gaming philosophies. Correct me if I'm wrong.
Let me revise that.
When I said it took you a while to get to point #2, I did not mean to imply you were dishonest.
I meant that several sessions went by before I got a feel for what you were looking for in a game. You were very quiet, and thanks to Joe (not the LARP Joe, I'm talking about Anne's husband), I'd gotten in the habit of not forcing people to open up about the game.
...I knew what you meant about #2. Now I feel compelled to explain, however. :) There were two reasons for it.
First, some of it was John's fault. : ) He was reluctant (at best) to invite me to the game, and took my presence there very seriously. Consequently, I took my being there very seriously. That made me more reserved than usual.
Second, and this may come as a bit of a disappointing revelation, so I apologize in advance... I was a little weirded out by that group's gaming style.
I remember coming home from the first game and talking to my wife about it. I believe my comment was something along the lines of "it came across as more of an improv acting troupe than a role-playing game." I had never before experienced a group of people so completely in-character, such that they spoke to one another in-character while other players were interacting with the GM. ...For one example. The whole game was way more dramatic than I was used to. In my experience, there was a crystal-clear division between player and character.
To be perfectly honest, this made me quite uncomfortable. ...Of course, the game going on was so incredibly cool (and the system was really cool, too) that I was willing to adapt, albeit minimally: I believe I chose a fairly quiet, introspective character so that I could spend more time sitting and watching the cool storyline than interacting in a way that I wasn't yet comfortable with. This was entirely subconscious, mind you, so I am only admitting this with the benefit of hindsight.
(I could write a very (very) long essay about all the things I learned from that game (let alone the next three). I made a lot of glaring mistakes... but that's part of the learning process, neh?)
As to the question of whether your over-preparation detracts from your ideal-GM award... that wouldn't be on my list of "ideal GM traits", though it is something that made me wince now and then. (And while I'm being honest, I'll also say I was remarkably uncomfortable during the hands-on-the-face Freeman-and-Llewella scene, but that's because I'm a complete nit when it comes to personal contact. Ask anyone.)
In ideal GM:
1) Genuinely tries to involve all players to the level at which they are comfortable, and
2) Gives each player a compelling personal story.
3) Thinks quickly.
4) Has a thorough understanding of the setting.
5) Has the ability to diffuse tense situations.
6) Is an excellent role-player, in the sense that his NPCs are memorable.
7) Adapts to the inevitable course deviations of ubiquitously chaotic players.
8) Is on-time and available for the gaming session for the vast majority of meetings.
9) Understands the System being used at least as well as the most knowledgeable player.
10) Has enough leadership skills to keep the game focused.
11) Has verisimilitude! :)
I think you've got all of those qualities (perhaps 10 is your weak point). I think you only had the chance to play a one-shot with me as the GM, which isn't really enough to weigh someone (I think), but my worst qualities are 3, 4, 5, 8, 10, 11, and often 9 (though I try to avoid it). :)
...Well, this became more than a simple reply in comments, didn't it? Sorry.
Cool response. If you feel inclined to write that very long essay, I'll read it.
I'd also be curious to hear more about why John took your presence so seriously.
Sorry I weirded you out with Llewella's touchiness. I totally missed that. Or rather, I misinterpreted your reaction as roleplaying.
I remember being impressed at how well you, normally a fairly reserved actor, stepped up to the challenge of portraying your character's emotions in that scene. You nailed the conflicted "I love you (and please don't figure out I'm plotting your demise) too mom" that is so pivotal to the Amber experience.
Reserved wasn't the right term. When you're playing someone who has to do something extreme, you're generally spot-on and quite entertaining. Ruby and Aaron were both riotous, in their own ways.
It's that I'd rarely seen the more subtle complex richness you managed in that scene. If I'd challenged you more, would that have helped or hindered?
Llewella: wow, you misinterpreted completely. ;) I was trying very hard to stay in-character, but kept laughing nervously and looking anxiously to the side for some kind of reprise from the other players. None came. ;) Freeman would quite definitely NOT have laughed at all.
Challenged: not sure what you mean.
John: [shrug] I think that's just part of John's nature. He takes most things very seriously. He wasn't running the game, so he knew he had no right to pull me into it, so perhaps he was just proceeding cautiously. He also--whether you were aware of it or not--thought the world of your ability to run a game, so perhaps it was just something he was treating as, for lack of a better word, sacred. :)
Hmmmn. I'm not sure John knows this blog is here. Perhaps I'll tap him on the shoulder and let him know.
re: Llewella: Maybe I'm thinking of a different scene. I remember one time you getting very quiet and measuring your words out by the syllable. Doesn't sound like what you're talking about at all.
re: John: Yes, please tell him this is here, and say 'Hi' to him for me. I keep forgetting you guys are still in contact.
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