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Friday, December 31, 2010
Happy New Year!
Cheers!
Friday, December 10, 2010
Just a Quick Update
I have a lot of game-related things going which I plan to share very soon. I've had two freelance projects recently which, with any luck, I'll eventually be able to talk about. I also have another classic adventure that I've converted over to Pathfinder, complete with a new map. I'll be sharing that once I've actually run my group through it. I've also decided to share my database stuff; I'm just dragging my feet for a number of reasons I won't go into here. Finally, the crafting bug has hit me and I've been making lots of cool stuff for our games which I plan to photo and post. So, while things seem dead here, hold on to your hats because come the first of the year I should have a ton of things to share.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Ten-Hut!
One of the problems I hear about frequently, and still encounter even in my own games, are players who just can't seem to pay attention to the game. I think the primary problem is that we live in a fast-paced society. We expect fast food, fast service and fast cash. We also believe in the myth of multitasking. Yes, multitasking is a myth. What multitasking really is, is doing a bunch of things adequately to poorly all at the same time, rather than doing one thing well. Multitasking can also be dangerous (texting while driving, for example). It is also an anathema to roleplaying games. Avoid it.
While roleplaying games like Pathfinder have no doubt gotten faster (though still slower than classic roleplaying games), they'll never reach speeds equal to television or video games, nor should they. It isn't so much about speed as it is about pacing and good pacing is the key to running successful games. So, consider that your pacing might be too slow first and address any issues you know you already have with your GMing style as regards pacing. Once you've eliminated that as a possibly, the issue gets real hairy because it's all situational from here.
I've had to deal with a number of player attention span problems over the years. I've also had players that were habitually hours late. I've had players bring fast food and disrupt play while we wait for them to finish eating (I'm sorry, but I don't want to imagine your barbarian wolfing down a Big Mac, nor do I want special sauce on my vinyl mats). I'm also still having to deal with problems today, though the problems are much different now that I play with an older group. Unfortunately, most game books don't offer advice on what to do when your players can't pay attention, but then they shouldn't because this problem is, like I said, entirely situational. So, your only real recourse is to find out what works from other GMs, which I'll share some of today.
One of the things that frequently gets in the way, believe it or not, is mobile phones and, to a lesser extent portable music devices with headphones, which are essentially even more short attention span toys. They should be removed from the table and placed aside. Texting needs to be banned entirely; while phone calls can be of an emergency nature, texting usually just isn't. If you have players that pay more attention to these devices than the game, then they need to be given a warning. In other words, bitch freely and loudly that they are paying more attention to "monkey flea picking" than playing the game. You should also consider skipping them in the combat order and be sure to have critters attack them while they're not paying attention too. If they're not attentive than neither should be their characters.
Laptops are a similar distraction. I freely admit that we employ laptops during play, because we use HeroLab to run our games. However, I have had to bitch about Facebooking or surfing and such upon occasion and I've made house rules to cover these occurrences. Be sure that you, as GM, also don't fall victim to the distractions of the World Wide Woe (While I don't really recall becoming distracted in this way during actual game play, believe you me, my players remember it and so will yours). While I didn't have critters attack inattentive players, since bitching was enough, I would use such tactics in the future to get players to come back and play.
If this doesn't change the behavior, they should be invited to go to another room to enjoy that activity rather than playing any sort of game. In the olden days, folks sat in parlors and listened to music. That was the main activity. Today, we try to have multiple activities going on at once, but this is no good at the game table. The game needs to be the primary focus and the primary activity. Turn off nearby televisions or similar distractions. I find this problem occurs in younger players, my kids specifically. Fortunately, I have parental authority on my side, but you won't always have that, so you'll need to find a tactic that works.
Some groups also play with mood music which is fine as long as other players have no trouble focusing. Our group doesn't use mood music because two sound sources is distracting to at least one player and, frankly, me as well (which is a change from when I was younger). We've even tried lowering the music to "polite office" level, but music is recorded or plays at different levels and invariably Enya will play right after Black Sabbath unless you're more selective. So avoid allowing mood music to be the focus at any rate.
I also don't want to harp on age difference, but be aware that folks of the same age group are generally going to be more cooperative, unless you have youngsters who are remarkably mature for their age, which I happily have in my group. If you find yourself in a younger crowd as a player and you don't mesh with them, then you may need to find another group too. I've experienced this on two occasions myself, although there were other issues as well (group one relied entirely on random encounters and random dungeons and group two was just plain clueless).
If you play in a group where distractions are going on, ally yourself with GM when he bitches and moans about it. Be sure you're also paying the best attention you can and take advantage of brain dead players who've missed their turn. Hell, steal their stuff if you can. I hate to say it but players who don't pay attention to the game at hand deserve to have their stuff stolen while critters are whopping on them. The same thing is going to happen to them in a video game isn't it? Again, if they really care about the game, these occurrences should modify their behavior. If they don't seem to care then they need to find another activity and should be invited to do so by both players and GM.
I should mention that I have a player that just cannot sit still. By that, I mean he must get up and walk around. He cannot sit in a chair for very long. It appears to be a form of hyperactivity or internal nervousness and it's something I do tolerate, however, if he's not at least listening to what's going on when his turn comes up, I skip him. This is one of my children too. I mention this case because you can make allowances for personal quirks and still run a successful game. Just keep it in mind as you plan.
I want to mention one more form of distraction: the rules. Yes, many players have forgotten that the rules can be a distraction in and of themselves. Your job as GM will sometimes be to make a decision, rather than stopping the game to look things up. The price of tea in China isn't important when the ancient dragon you spent two weeks stating is making his grand, fiery appearance. The rules are guidelines. Repeat that. They are guidelines that help us do what we did when we were children: make believe. The rules help us pretend and should not become a distraction.
A few of my pet peeves in this area is taking a huge amount of session time shopping for the best price on ale, haggling over magic items (or whether there's a dude in town selling those assembly line +5 vorpal blades). This stuff just isn't the stuff of fantasy to me. Want a vorpal blade? Then go defeat the god living on Death Mountain and take his. The point is don't get bogged down in the rules or details that detract from the game.
I welcome a certain level of rules lawyering, because it helps us play better in the future. Just know the difference between an intelligent exchange that helps everyone learn the rules better and bickering about a +1 modifier from three rounds ago. Another pet peeve of mine is having players who want to backtrack several rounds to change what happened. My answer to this? Just say no. Missing modifiers and other details as well as telling players no to backtracking will help them remember those details the next time. Again, it modifies the distracting behavior.
So, remember that the key is pacing. Fix any issues you may have, as a GM, then attack issues with players who just can't pay attention. Finally, if you have players who just won't cooperate, don't appear to be interested in the game, or don't even appear to be having a good time (the goal of any roleplaying game) then they really need to find something else to do, because they're harming play for everyone else. It's impolite and unfair. Don't be afraid to politely suggest another activity because ultimately the game should be the focus and not other things.
While roleplaying games like Pathfinder have no doubt gotten faster (though still slower than classic roleplaying games), they'll never reach speeds equal to television or video games, nor should they. It isn't so much about speed as it is about pacing and good pacing is the key to running successful games. So, consider that your pacing might be too slow first and address any issues you know you already have with your GMing style as regards pacing. Once you've eliminated that as a possibly, the issue gets real hairy because it's all situational from here.
I've had to deal with a number of player attention span problems over the years. I've also had players that were habitually hours late. I've had players bring fast food and disrupt play while we wait for them to finish eating (I'm sorry, but I don't want to imagine your barbarian wolfing down a Big Mac, nor do I want special sauce on my vinyl mats). I'm also still having to deal with problems today, though the problems are much different now that I play with an older group. Unfortunately, most game books don't offer advice on what to do when your players can't pay attention, but then they shouldn't because this problem is, like I said, entirely situational. So, your only real recourse is to find out what works from other GMs, which I'll share some of today.
One of the things that frequently gets in the way, believe it or not, is mobile phones and, to a lesser extent portable music devices with headphones, which are essentially even more short attention span toys. They should be removed from the table and placed aside. Texting needs to be banned entirely; while phone calls can be of an emergency nature, texting usually just isn't. If you have players that pay more attention to these devices than the game, then they need to be given a warning. In other words, bitch freely and loudly that they are paying more attention to "monkey flea picking" than playing the game. You should also consider skipping them in the combat order and be sure to have critters attack them while they're not paying attention too. If they're not attentive than neither should be their characters.
Laptops are a similar distraction. I freely admit that we employ laptops during play, because we use HeroLab to run our games. However, I have had to bitch about Facebooking or surfing and such upon occasion and I've made house rules to cover these occurrences. Be sure that you, as GM, also don't fall victim to the distractions of the World Wide Woe (While I don't really recall becoming distracted in this way during actual game play, believe you me, my players remember it and so will yours). While I didn't have critters attack inattentive players, since bitching was enough, I would use such tactics in the future to get players to come back and play.
If this doesn't change the behavior, they should be invited to go to another room to enjoy that activity rather than playing any sort of game. In the olden days, folks sat in parlors and listened to music. That was the main activity. Today, we try to have multiple activities going on at once, but this is no good at the game table. The game needs to be the primary focus and the primary activity. Turn off nearby televisions or similar distractions. I find this problem occurs in younger players, my kids specifically. Fortunately, I have parental authority on my side, but you won't always have that, so you'll need to find a tactic that works.
Some groups also play with mood music which is fine as long as other players have no trouble focusing. Our group doesn't use mood music because two sound sources is distracting to at least one player and, frankly, me as well (which is a change from when I was younger). We've even tried lowering the music to "polite office" level, but music is recorded or plays at different levels and invariably Enya will play right after Black Sabbath unless you're more selective. So avoid allowing mood music to be the focus at any rate.
I also don't want to harp on age difference, but be aware that folks of the same age group are generally going to be more cooperative, unless you have youngsters who are remarkably mature for their age, which I happily have in my group. If you find yourself in a younger crowd as a player and you don't mesh with them, then you may need to find another group too. I've experienced this on two occasions myself, although there were other issues as well (group one relied entirely on random encounters and random dungeons and group two was just plain clueless).
If you play in a group where distractions are going on, ally yourself with GM when he bitches and moans about it. Be sure you're also paying the best attention you can and take advantage of brain dead players who've missed their turn. Hell, steal their stuff if you can. I hate to say it but players who don't pay attention to the game at hand deserve to have their stuff stolen while critters are whopping on them. The same thing is going to happen to them in a video game isn't it? Again, if they really care about the game, these occurrences should modify their behavior. If they don't seem to care then they need to find another activity and should be invited to do so by both players and GM.
I should mention that I have a player that just cannot sit still. By that, I mean he must get up and walk around. He cannot sit in a chair for very long. It appears to be a form of hyperactivity or internal nervousness and it's something I do tolerate, however, if he's not at least listening to what's going on when his turn comes up, I skip him. This is one of my children too. I mention this case because you can make allowances for personal quirks and still run a successful game. Just keep it in mind as you plan.
I want to mention one more form of distraction: the rules. Yes, many players have forgotten that the rules can be a distraction in and of themselves. Your job as GM will sometimes be to make a decision, rather than stopping the game to look things up. The price of tea in China isn't important when the ancient dragon you spent two weeks stating is making his grand, fiery appearance. The rules are guidelines. Repeat that. They are guidelines that help us do what we did when we were children: make believe. The rules help us pretend and should not become a distraction.
A few of my pet peeves in this area is taking a huge amount of session time shopping for the best price on ale, haggling over magic items (or whether there's a dude in town selling those assembly line +5 vorpal blades). This stuff just isn't the stuff of fantasy to me. Want a vorpal blade? Then go defeat the god living on Death Mountain and take his. The point is don't get bogged down in the rules or details that detract from the game.
I welcome a certain level of rules lawyering, because it helps us play better in the future. Just know the difference between an intelligent exchange that helps everyone learn the rules better and bickering about a +1 modifier from three rounds ago. Another pet peeve of mine is having players who want to backtrack several rounds to change what happened. My answer to this? Just say no. Missing modifiers and other details as well as telling players no to backtracking will help them remember those details the next time. Again, it modifies the distracting behavior.
So, remember that the key is pacing. Fix any issues you may have, as a GM, then attack issues with players who just can't pay attention. Finally, if you have players who just won't cooperate, don't appear to be interested in the game, or don't even appear to be having a good time (the goal of any roleplaying game) then they really need to find something else to do, because they're harming play for everyone else. It's impolite and unfair. Don't be afraid to politely suggest another activity because ultimately the game should be the focus and not other things.
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