I just wish that wasn't necessary!

but the general rule is whoever's home you're playing in makes the rules.

And yet, because I have 3 rules (no wet on wood, don't leave your food on the floor for my dog, and leave at 6pm) I am painted as intolerent.

The problem person said that rpgs are generally played in bachelor pads...where people don't care about the environment. Okay. But mine is a mid-level, nice place...you can't adjust?

The problem person said that rpgs are generally played in bachelor pads...where people don't care about the environment. Okay. But mine is a mid-level, nice place...you can't adjust?

No kidding. I've gamed in bachelor pads, basements, garages, and people's living rooms. You adjust based on the circumstances. Game or not, you're still entering another person's home.

Use a coaster, don't make my dog sick and go home when it's over are hardly unreasonable rules.

I know a lot of gamers like to talk about the session once it's over, which could be part of the wanting to leave problem. Is there anywhere nearby the group could go afterwards to socialize that you could recommend to them?

Running a game that's going well can be as big of a high as when you're writing and the words are just flying on to the page, and can be just as exhausting when you're done.

Heh. My longest single turn as a GM was a pulp-themed TORG game I ran in one marathon 11-hour session to avoid the problem of never being able to get all the people back in one place at the same time again (there were 10 players, some from other towns). Everyone seemed pretty enthused and wrapped up in it during, but when it ended at 4 am it was as if someone cut the strings of a whole room full of marionettes.

Running a game that's going well can be as big of a high as when you're writing and the words are just flying on to the page, and can be just as exhausting when you're done.

Heh. My longest single turn as a GM was a pulp-themed TORG game I ran in one marathon 11-hour session to avoid the problem of never being able to get all the people back in one place at the same time again (there were 10 players, some from other towns). Everyone seemed pretty enthused and wrapped up in it during, but when it ended at 4 am it was as if someone cut the strings of a whole room full of marionettes.

I think with the Sean Maher pic it's not just his chin, but also the fact that he has relatively high color in it. Dude usually makes everyone this side of Edgar Winter look tan.

Use a coaster, don't make my dog sick and go home when it's over are hardly unreasonable rules.

Bless you.

I know a lot of gamers like to talk about the session once it's over, which could be part of the wanting to leave problem. Is there anywhere nearby the group could go afterwards to socialize that you could recommend to them?

This is a good suggestion. I'm be more specific. Everyone who takes the Metro passes 4 or 5 restaurants and one very inviting pub on the way to my door.

Wow. Beej, I have to say that I didn't tolerate that kind of behaviour from gamers even in college, in the crappy 150-a-month college apartment I shared with 3 guys.

As an adult, I once invited an intern from work to join our group for a couple sessions, but once he failed to flush the toilet after using it in a big way, and another time he failed to use the splatter screen in the microwave, and that was that. And that's not NEARLY what you had to deal with.

And honestly, showing up expecting free food? The few times I provide food (cook or whatever) for games, the other gamers either bring drinks/snacks or offer to pay me. Mostly everybody pitches in for pizza or similar.

Fun there may have been, but I'd restrict the guest list.

My RPG analysis will wait for another post.

Thanks Raq.

As this kerfuffle fluffed up, there were a couple of moments where I paused to think...am I imagining it that this is completely ridiculous? It's nice to get confirmation that I wasn't thinkin' crazy.

Lots of the regular gamers do bring snacks...generally of the generic cookie variety, which is why I have been making a big pot of soup or other substantive food. I'm a fan of nutrition!

I'd love to hear your RPG analysis. Getting actual gamers perspective has been really interesting in terms of how the Serenity game stacks up against others.

Ultimately, for me, whether a game (as in book/setting/etc) is successful is dependent on whether the setting is clear and evocative and the rules make logical sense and allow the player to accomplish anything which is appropriate for said setting.

Beyond that, it's up to the GMs and players. A great GM can make a lousy-ruleset work, and the best-written game in the world is still going to suck if you have a lousy GM and/or players.

It also depends on what sort of game you're looking for. D&D works well for hack & slash and high adventure. The White Wolf World of Darkness games do not. However, they do work really well for story-based games. As a friend mine said about play-testing one of their new offerings back in the day "Incredible setting. Rules system with holes big enough to drive a truck through."

I haven't read the Serenity RPG book yet, so I'm not sure where it falls on that scale. But you can always add more role-playing and story aspects to a game that features a lot of number-crunching. It's a lot harder to do the reverse. (I sometimes wonder if the reason the WW games use so many dice is to discourage the players from rolling them as much as possible.)

The White Wolf World of Darkness games do not. However, they do work really well for story-based games. As a friend mine said about play-testing one of their new offerings back in the day "Incredible setting. Rules system with holes big enough to drive a truck through."

I got spoiled by the WW system, after which I had a hard time tolerating others. It suits my brain too well. WW made me realize what makes gaming good: story. I've run games that lasted hours during which no player would make more than a dozen dice rolls. Some of them got to be like text adventures ported to real life: I'd make the story react to them in conversation, and stats only came into play when it couldn't be avoided. Or when one of my recurring power-gamers would deliberately get into stuff that would force a roll, just to show off how he'd set up his dice pools in his favor. I had to kill him more than once to save a game.