RPGnet Columns
12-08-2005, 05:07 PM
Post originally by Siege72 at 2005-12-08 16:07:32
Converted from Phorums BB System
This was a great article, summing up a lot of things that have caused problems with a number of groups.
There's a couple of things that I wanted to add to the list. (The first two could be added to number 8):
* Accept failure gracefully. Not everything your character does will always work. Some things are just ineffective. Critical failures on dice rolls happen. Deal with it. Don't try to rescind your action, don't complain about the dice, or go on about your character being useless, etc.
* Don't be a rules lawyer. Just because you know the setting, system, and have the important pages bookmarked doesn't mean you're right. Prolonged arguments with the GM do nothing but kill the mood. State your case, reference the page, and _trust_ the GM to make the right call. (If you don't trust the GM, there are bigger issues than a simple rules interpretation.)
* Communicate with the GM -- and be honest. The GM isn't a mind reader, and doesn't know what you do or don't like about the game unless you tell him. I've seen a fair amount of unpleasantness because players wouldn't say that they were unhappy about X or Y, which kept the GM from addressing it.
Converted from Phorums BB System
This was a great article, summing up a lot of things that have caused problems with a number of groups.
There's a couple of things that I wanted to add to the list. (The first two could be added to number 8):
* Accept failure gracefully. Not everything your character does will always work. Some things are just ineffective. Critical failures on dice rolls happen. Deal with it. Don't try to rescind your action, don't complain about the dice, or go on about your character being useless, etc.
* Don't be a rules lawyer. Just because you know the setting, system, and have the important pages bookmarked doesn't mean you're right. Prolonged arguments with the GM do nothing but kill the mood. State your case, reference the page, and _trust_ the GM to make the right call. (If you don't trust the GM, there are bigger issues than a simple rules interpretation.)
* Communicate with the GM -- and be honest. The GM isn't a mind reader, and doesn't know what you do or don't like about the game unless you tell him. I've seen a fair amount of unpleasantness because players wouldn't say that they were unhappy about X or Y, which kept the GM from addressing it.