So by now youv'e probably figured out that I am a huge nerd, I also play RPG's. I dont LARP, if you like it great, but I RPG for the narrative aspect of the game, and kids running around yelling "critical hit, critical hit" is not my scene. I am currently in 2 different groups that both play on Sundays ( its exhausting getting both games in sometimes ). I am going to discuss issues I have encountered with these group.
Note; these "rules" I abide by and wish others would are for the most part "my opinion" and in no way should be considered hard and fast. Some people like pineapple on their pizza, some dont. If you like to game in a way that I consider distasteful, more the power to you, so long as your group is happy with how each other plays there is 0 problem. Also I dont mean this to sound like I am a perfect RPG specimen, I have faults just as any person (character) will, but here are the things that bother me.
The first rule I always thought went without saying but I encounter it quite often in the nerdy pursuits. Personal Hygiene. It is required that you brush your teeth and wear deoderant if we are going to game together, I cant tell you how annoying it is to smell your B.O. when we are gathered around a table.
Rule #2 Your indoor voice is for indoors. I understand that occasionally people will get caught in the moment and not realize just how loud they are. A simple "hey you gotta mind your voice, my (wife,neighbours,etc) are just upstairs should fix this. When I have a fellow player who is consitently yelling I start to get annoyed. Unless your character is yelling and youre just trying to add to the moment with it there is no need, normal decibal or even slightly louder are acceptable.
Rule #3 Respect your fellow players. Even nerds have their alpha nerds. The guy who needs to prove hes the best/coolest guy there. I thought at my age I had passed that particular threshold and wouldnt encounter them anymore, or if I did it would be the watered down version. If you start trying to bully the party and imposing your own rule without the groups consent we have a problem.
Rule #4 If you have min/maxed your character to be the most supremely awesome fighting force around, but dumped your Int and Cha so its lower than the toilet, I want the GM to incorporate that. I want EVERY NPC you speak with to be considered at least 1 level lower on the reaction table. I want random people to throw garbage at you as you walk the streets, spit on you, etc. I want the GM to have NPC's speak in languages that your character doesnt know. If youre going to treat this game like that, make the character suffer for his 5 Cha. Each stat exists for a reason FOR EVERY CLASS. The pompous wizard should be making enemies where there didnt need to be. The stupid fighter shouldnt be attending battle strategy meetings since he shouldnt be able to add anything other than "Krog like hit things"
Now I'm not saying certain classes dont have the "dump stats" but when doing a point buy if you are tanking these to their minimum so you can boost your "fighting" stats that extra Umph then I want the GM to make you actually pay for all those 16+'s in your "class stats".
Rule #5 Youre playing a ROLEPLAYING game. I dont need you to wax philisopical IC, but youd better show some consistency with your character actions. If something isn't ok when it concerns you, then it better not be ok when it concerns me. Otherwise where did that moral outrage come from in the first place? This includes meta-gaming. If YOU know/suspect another character did something, but your character really "shouldnt" then its up to you to pull back and not Sherlock the crap out of a situation. "Hmmm you suddenly woke up feeling nausiated the morning after you punched your party member who has Craft: Alchemy. Perhaps you drank/ate something that didnt agree with you." The point is that when I as a person wake up feeling crappy I dont immediately suspect my wife of poisoning me, that comes later.
Rule #6 "But thats what my character would do....." this normally would go with #5 but its so darn prolific that it deserves its own spotlight. YOU are in control of your character. You dont get to make an asshole character, treat the other characters like garbage, and then when they finally turn on you act indignant. If youre going to insult the other characters (players) after they have told you to stop. When the party suddenly says " we dont want to continue with X anymore" youve got to roll up a new character. I dont want the player to suddenly start begging to let his character stay and now he will behave. They were given their chance when the characters told him to stop, if its impacting my enjoyment of the game to that point, I am going to try and make you lose your character of super awesomeness because thats the personal idiot tax you pay for assuming that PC halo meant we wouldnt kick you to the curb for your actions if it became too much. There are many ways to play an asshole or arrogant prick, or even an evil murderer that wont just piss the table off. If youre going to be one either find one of those ways, or accept the fact things may go to crap. Iv'e played rogues in a paladins party fully aware that until I build that level of repitoire with the paladin he will possibly throw my ass in jail if im caught stealing. Theres other ways for a paladin to punish a thief ( if he thinks he needs the thiefs skills, or has a personal bond with him ) but if your paladin wont budge then this is the risk I took and I accept that.
Pretty much all of the in-game issues I have mentioned are solved by a good GM. If you trust your GM then your game "should" be enjoyable. The best groups are the ones where everyone is of a similar mindset. If you have 1 hardcore roleplayer, 2 50/50, and a "roll" player then the 2 guys on the extreme are probably going to get annoyed when its time for the other guys moment. I have had a someone start a fight while I was trying to collect information and the entire "social encounter" became a bar room brawl. Now fun was had, by the fighter. I spent the time trying desperatly to discover what I was after in the pandemonium, and then the building burned down. The fighters player was having a blast as he was yelling his actions at the GM and the other players, but in all honesty I was a little annoyed. I dont like mono-building each character for combat and its a lot easier to take away a roleplaying encounter than it is to take away a rollplayers. Players need to understand that sometimes its not YOUR moment to shine. I spent 80% of a session unconcious once ( failed fort saves ) and while it was annoying ( especially since some members of the party elected to search a tunnel we had discovered instead of reviving me, and we were in a town ) I accepted that for this session I was going to be useless. The GM apologised later for how the whole session went down ( it got a lot worse for me ) but I told him I am fine with it. I dont need to feel like I am king shit every session. Real people fall, they have flaws, dreams, fears. In my world, if youre just playing stats and dice then we arent even playing the same game, but hey if that floats your boat then cudos to you, but I invite you to try a taste of what its like to take actions that you KNOW are not ideal, simply because when you think about it, "thats what my character would do........."
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