What is the proper etiquette? - Page 2

NotU · #11 04-27-2009, 02:25 AM

Is it possible that the DM built in a trick to make things a little more workable? I know some of my players had complained about the difficulty of which I made my games at first. Once I explained to them that I always built in some kind of device to help them, they started figuring some of them out. Suddenly, what seemed impossible before was actually pretty simple. All they had to do was try looking for ways other than charging down the center.

Hexblood · #12 04-27-2009, 03:03 AM

The others have pretty much covered it. New groups are also usually a bit rough in the beginning. Once the players and DM get used to each other things tend to get a bit better.

I would have to agree, it sounds like the guy had some situation he was hoping to heard you guys into or trick he had placed for you. He might have done some kind of plan for the outcome but the players diverted from the plan he had set up. Less experienced DMs often have troubles like this.

Sending 18 zombies after you sounds like he wanted you guys to run away or go someplace/do something that he thought would be a natural choice but your group did not take.

A good idea for a new group is to save a spot of time after the session to talk some things out. If you felt something was handled poorly then the DM get's a chance to explain somewhat. Like he had something planed but everyone failed a perception check to notice it, or something like that. Don't expect him to hand over his notecards or anything. Sometimes this helps out the DM adjust and learn by a large margin.

absolutlush · #13 04-27-2009, 05:57 PM

After reading the responses and thinking about it all day yesterday I wrote a relatively calm email suggesting that we as a team start working on plans and have a retreat avenue planned out. I like the people personally, they are friendly, some are overly stereotypical but whatever lol. I suggested maybe that we figure out with the DM what an acceptable "take-20" distance is for shouting to each other. I also asked the DM if he would be okay with drawing the interior of a house when we enter it so we can count distance and understand what we are going to do inside. I'm not a fan of *poof* your in a house with a magical staircase to a second floor haha.

Most importantly what NotU and Hexblood said really triggered one of those "Heavenly trumpet OMG I am SMRT moments." Thinking on it I realized he wanted us to all bunch up in a house or possibly do what I ended up doing out of frustration. He kept hinting that we should all take torches and stuff for fire. And he kept mentioning the shrubbery. In extreme retrospect he was trying to lead us to an easy victory by burning the zombies. We could have even lead them into a building and set it on fire after barricading them in.

I am hosting this weeks session at my apartment. I think the less crowded environment will also provide a great place to all chat about what the DM was expecting from us and to set some goals for our group. I might ask to re-roll a character to play a druid for another healer.

I don't know what I would do without you guys haha. Seriously thank you all for the comments and suggestions. Every single one of them has helped me think through this experience clearly. I have high hopes for this group now pending the outcome of the bitchfest

<3

Hexblood · #14 04-28-2009, 08:35 PM

Glad to hear we could be of some help

Like I said, new groups can be a bit rough sometimes.

Since you guys are using some interwebz communication between sessions you might want to suggest a simple forum be set up. It could help facilitate things a bit faster than just relying on emails.

absolutlush · #15 05-28-2009, 07:04 PM

I know it's bumping an old thread but in the last month we lost the cleric who wouldn't heal and the wizard that just ran away. Our archer is a local student (at GW Uni I think) so he's out of town and actually on a study abroad for hte summer. So we are rolling for him.

The dm worked alot of our complaints, bitches and suggestions and now openly rolls in front of us which we all find more exciting. I think the open conversation was what made the big difference, everything is now a two way street. I write up reports for everyone after the session, have hosted two sessions, and we are all getting along really well in sessions and out of sessions.

We have since leveled up to 3rd and the groupd dynamics are great. we have one guy who is a great strategist and good talking to NPCs (which i suck at lol) and i'm good at acting out my barbarian. The cast enlarge on me and i walked over the front gate and started swinging. half the army failed moral and left after very gruesome rawr!

Thanks again everyone for the advice and encouraging me to stick with it.

Hexblood · #16 05-29-2009, 09:05 PM

I have to say, you would never get me or any of the DMs I play with to put all rolls out in the open.

Combat and other "Face-to-face" type encounters sure.

As a DM I can be very sneaky. Tossing a die or 3 behind my screen at random times for no reason at all. Sometimes for a reason I cannot tell the players. When they ask what that was for I would either toss out something cryptic or disconcerting. If they stop and start poking around the area when they seemed content to move on I'd make up an excuse to pop a monster or trap or some such thing on them. I like to break my players of "Meta-playing" as I called it

I once had a DM who had these little trays he would hand out to the players at the beginning of a session. He would have us roll our dice on them. If we rolled our dice off the tray it was an automatic Critical Fail. Sometimes he would have one or all of us roll a full set of dice on the tray. That way we did not know what we were rolling for.

You also have to keep in mind that sometimes a DM wants you to win or fail an encounter for plot development, at those times the DM may need to keep rolls hidden so that they can "alter" the results as needed.

If there is a local comic/gaming store nearby that hosts sessions you may want to go sometime and watch how others play.

Other than that, glad to hear your game is going well.

LordXenophon · #17 05-30-2009, 08:22 AM

He sounds like a very inexperienced DM, but are you sure he was actually trying to kill off the player characters on purpose?

Maybe he was hoping you would think of a clever way to save the town, or at least get away. Maybe he thought that you would use fire, or that the cleric would succeed at turning them. Maybe he wanted you to flee the town in the general direction of the other adventure. Of course, these possibilities are far more likely for an experienced DM, but they're possible.

BlueEyesWhiteGirl · #18 06-01-2009, 09:43 PM

I joined a Savage Worlds game at a game store last Saturday and one of the guys had a mini for his character with a bare boob. He claimed it was supposed to be authentic Amizon to have armor with one boob bare. I thought it was kind of rude, and a bit disturbing that it was a guy playing that character, but nobody else seemed to care about it but me.

revlazaro · #19 06-02-2009, 12:05 AM

You should ask him if he'd go into a fight with a testicle showing, especially a knife fight. If he says "of course not" pull out the sharpee pen and cover that girl up. If he acts cocky and says hell yeah, kick him in the nuts as hard as you can and just walk out.

It may not be gaming etiquette; but it'll teach the guy to stop failing at life.

LordXenophon · #20 06-08-2009, 02:13 AM

Vandalizing his miniatures is an incredibly rude thing to do, and it could also land you in jail for a day or two. It could also trigger a fist fight which could land you both in jail and/or the hospital. If you have to cover up his miniature, use a sticker.

Besides, I have a hard time imagining any armor at all, even with a bare breast, could possibly be as revealing as what those sorceresses wear.