Post by Jeff on May 3, 2007 16:07:31 GMT -4
Figured this thread could be a cool place to post any articles anyone (which probably means mostly me) comes across.
This is one that I read years ago, posted by someone on the main D&D boards of WotC. It's really helpful. Of course, it talks of D&D in the standard tabletop game, but I think it's just as applicable in a play-by-post game like ours.
Playing Into the Game
At some point in our lives as gamers, we encounter the most horrifying monster of them all. You may encounter them from the DM’s chair, hurling adventure hook after adventure hook at them with not a nibble of interest. You may be a player, having to deal with an entire session gone to waste, trying to convince one player that maybe he should be interested in saving the elven kingdom from a great evil. In the worst possible scenario, it’s you, sitting down to an evening of gaming, with a carefully designed character that is so refined as to only be able to draw interest from the most obscure points in the world. This is a party in desperate need of learning to “Play into the Game”.
My first encounter with someone who played into the game was a human thief, named Skye. For Skye, everything was negotiable. A great role-player, Skye’s player made an effort to bite every adventure hook that it seemed remotely likely the rest of the party would go along with. Usually, he did so (in-character) grumbling about how the price wasn’t right, and that everyone around him was going to owe him “big time.” He had a full character history, but didn’t rely entirely on that history for making future decisions. At the time, he was the most flexible gamer I have ever played with. I never had to write plotlines targeted directly at getting his character involved, because he made a conscious effort to fit in to every adventure in his own greedy-overconfident-intimidating way.
I have had so many encounters from behind the DM screen with gamers who didn’t play into the game, that it always warms my heart when I see one who does. Some people do it naturally. I played in a session once with a human mage in Krynn, who had never played D&D in his life. He was refreshing to sit at the table with. A more experienced player (5+ years of gaming, and 2 years as DM) nearly drove the evening to a standstill, because nothing going on the entire evening was motivational.
What follows is a brief summary of what it means to play into the game (PITG). While it is not entirely helpful for DMs, I have seen it work wonders with players. With some simple coaching, I have seen miraculous changes in my gaming groups.
1. PITG does not mean you have to give up your character’s original vision. It is simply recognizing that you (the players) and the DM are all there to have a good time. The world does not revolve around you, and not everything that happens is going to happen to you. But, when it does, you will enjoy it that much more if you aren’t alone.
2. PITG does mean that it is up to the player to motivate the character, not a list of interests in the PC’s history, not a Role description in a 2ed Kit, not the Prestige Class, and definitely not some vague description from the PHB about what that Race/Class/Alignment is like.
3. PITG does not mean jumping on every adventure hook. It does, however, mean jumping from time to time on a hook that isn’t the perfect hook for your character. From my experience as a DM, trust me when I say if the guy behind the screen throws out a tasty morsel, it is going to be more enjoyable for the party as a whole than the random encounter he has to roll because the party is still standing around waiting for a better adventure to come along.
4. PITG is not letting yourself be railroaded. It is taking positive actions that encourage party involvement such that the DM does not feel the need to lead players around with a leash. A person who plays into the game takes the DM’s planned adventures, and makes them his own, by instilling his character’s own unique perspective into the session.
5. PITG is something you can teach other players by example. Look around your gaming table, and if there is someone who is not involved in the session, who seems bored or feels like they are not part of the group, play your character into involving them.
Of course, all of this may seem like basic role-playing for more experienced gamers. However, you may find that people who are adamant that they are excellent players still benefit from this. Examples to each of my above explanations follow, all are actual game experiences that I have had with people who either did or didn’t embrace the PITG philosophy. Names have been changed to protect the innocent and the ignorant.
1. “Thagar” was a dwarven warrior from Krynn. His original character idea was that he set out to find his son, who had left home during the Stormblade incident, and now the father had decided that enough was enough. The party he fell in with was Solamnic Knights attempting to find a magical sword dedicated to Paladine. Thagar’s player decided he had absolutely nothing in common with this party, but he became involved with them because he could get a cheaper ship fare on a Solamnic vessel. To get the discount he needed a recommendation from the knights, and thus decided to give his “underground expertise” to their dungeon crawl.
2. “Falahan” was a thief from Hillsfar, who described himself as a self-proclaimed bringer of vigilante justice. He would often spend an entire session wandering away from the party, having nothing to do with the other players. Several times, he was given adventure hooks that could involve the rest of the party. Most of the time he chose to go it alone, and wound up re-rolling characters. He often complained that his character didn’t fit in with the rest of the group.
3. “Alexander” was a half-elven Bard/Priest from Evereska. He had set for Berdusk to study under the Twilight Hall. Instead he fell in with a group of paladins and priests of the Lawful Gods. When given the opportunity, he passed up a profitable mercenary career. Instead, he convinced the Knights to help him track down a ruined temple from clues he deciphered from a farmer’s letter to his brother.
4. “Rothleed” was a dwarven Cleric. His party was dead set on exploring an abandoned City, but several players were absent. The DM had prepared an alternate adventure, to stall for time until all of the players could be present. One character was insisting on going in without the rest of the party, and could not be swayed by the DM’s side plots. Rothleed, however was able to reason with the other characters that “A rock in a cave is still just a rock in a cave.” In the end, the side plot won out, and the full group was able to enjoy the DM’s glorious lost city at a later date.
5. Thagar (again) was shipwrecked on Kendermore. His party was scattered, and the DM was trying to introduce a new player, who was playing a kender. Most of the party was (wisely?) avoiding the kender like the plague. Thagar’s player however, latched onto one of the little vermin, conveniently the new player’s kender, and declared her to be his guide. Having another person besides the DM involve her directly, she blossomed into a very successful gamer.
My hope is that these ideas will not be dismissed as the ramblings of an aged sage, or even a foolish drunk, but considered the next time you sit down at a table on either side of the screen. It is probably better advice for players than DM’s. While it may seem simple, it can help bring good game to the table.
This is one that I read years ago, posted by someone on the main D&D boards of WotC. It's really helpful. Of course, it talks of D&D in the standard tabletop game, but I think it's just as applicable in a play-by-post game like ours.
Playing Into the Game
At some point in our lives as gamers, we encounter the most horrifying monster of them all. You may encounter them from the DM’s chair, hurling adventure hook after adventure hook at them with not a nibble of interest. You may be a player, having to deal with an entire session gone to waste, trying to convince one player that maybe he should be interested in saving the elven kingdom from a great evil. In the worst possible scenario, it’s you, sitting down to an evening of gaming, with a carefully designed character that is so refined as to only be able to draw interest from the most obscure points in the world. This is a party in desperate need of learning to “Play into the Game”.
My first encounter with someone who played into the game was a human thief, named Skye. For Skye, everything was negotiable. A great role-player, Skye’s player made an effort to bite every adventure hook that it seemed remotely likely the rest of the party would go along with. Usually, he did so (in-character) grumbling about how the price wasn’t right, and that everyone around him was going to owe him “big time.” He had a full character history, but didn’t rely entirely on that history for making future decisions. At the time, he was the most flexible gamer I have ever played with. I never had to write plotlines targeted directly at getting his character involved, because he made a conscious effort to fit in to every adventure in his own greedy-overconfident-intimidating way.
I have had so many encounters from behind the DM screen with gamers who didn’t play into the game, that it always warms my heart when I see one who does. Some people do it naturally. I played in a session once with a human mage in Krynn, who had never played D&D in his life. He was refreshing to sit at the table with. A more experienced player (5+ years of gaming, and 2 years as DM) nearly drove the evening to a standstill, because nothing going on the entire evening was motivational.
What follows is a brief summary of what it means to play into the game (PITG). While it is not entirely helpful for DMs, I have seen it work wonders with players. With some simple coaching, I have seen miraculous changes in my gaming groups.
1. PITG does not mean you have to give up your character’s original vision. It is simply recognizing that you (the players) and the DM are all there to have a good time. The world does not revolve around you, and not everything that happens is going to happen to you. But, when it does, you will enjoy it that much more if you aren’t alone.
2. PITG does mean that it is up to the player to motivate the character, not a list of interests in the PC’s history, not a Role description in a 2ed Kit, not the Prestige Class, and definitely not some vague description from the PHB about what that Race/Class/Alignment is like.
3. PITG does not mean jumping on every adventure hook. It does, however, mean jumping from time to time on a hook that isn’t the perfect hook for your character. From my experience as a DM, trust me when I say if the guy behind the screen throws out a tasty morsel, it is going to be more enjoyable for the party as a whole than the random encounter he has to roll because the party is still standing around waiting for a better adventure to come along.
4. PITG is not letting yourself be railroaded. It is taking positive actions that encourage party involvement such that the DM does not feel the need to lead players around with a leash. A person who plays into the game takes the DM’s planned adventures, and makes them his own, by instilling his character’s own unique perspective into the session.
5. PITG is something you can teach other players by example. Look around your gaming table, and if there is someone who is not involved in the session, who seems bored or feels like they are not part of the group, play your character into involving them.
Of course, all of this may seem like basic role-playing for more experienced gamers. However, you may find that people who are adamant that they are excellent players still benefit from this. Examples to each of my above explanations follow, all are actual game experiences that I have had with people who either did or didn’t embrace the PITG philosophy. Names have been changed to protect the innocent and the ignorant.
1. “Thagar” was a dwarven warrior from Krynn. His original character idea was that he set out to find his son, who had left home during the Stormblade incident, and now the father had decided that enough was enough. The party he fell in with was Solamnic Knights attempting to find a magical sword dedicated to Paladine. Thagar’s player decided he had absolutely nothing in common with this party, but he became involved with them because he could get a cheaper ship fare on a Solamnic vessel. To get the discount he needed a recommendation from the knights, and thus decided to give his “underground expertise” to their dungeon crawl.
2. “Falahan” was a thief from Hillsfar, who described himself as a self-proclaimed bringer of vigilante justice. He would often spend an entire session wandering away from the party, having nothing to do with the other players. Several times, he was given adventure hooks that could involve the rest of the party. Most of the time he chose to go it alone, and wound up re-rolling characters. He often complained that his character didn’t fit in with the rest of the group.
3. “Alexander” was a half-elven Bard/Priest from Evereska. He had set for Berdusk to study under the Twilight Hall. Instead he fell in with a group of paladins and priests of the Lawful Gods. When given the opportunity, he passed up a profitable mercenary career. Instead, he convinced the Knights to help him track down a ruined temple from clues he deciphered from a farmer’s letter to his brother.
4. “Rothleed” was a dwarven Cleric. His party was dead set on exploring an abandoned City, but several players were absent. The DM had prepared an alternate adventure, to stall for time until all of the players could be present. One character was insisting on going in without the rest of the party, and could not be swayed by the DM’s side plots. Rothleed, however was able to reason with the other characters that “A rock in a cave is still just a rock in a cave.” In the end, the side plot won out, and the full group was able to enjoy the DM’s glorious lost city at a later date.
5. Thagar (again) was shipwrecked on Kendermore. His party was scattered, and the DM was trying to introduce a new player, who was playing a kender. Most of the party was (wisely?) avoiding the kender like the plague. Thagar’s player however, latched onto one of the little vermin, conveniently the new player’s kender, and declared her to be his guide. Having another person besides the DM involve her directly, she blossomed into a very successful gamer.
My hope is that these ideas will not be dismissed as the ramblings of an aged sage, or even a foolish drunk, but considered the next time you sit down at a table on either side of the screen. It is probably better advice for players than DM’s. While it may seem simple, it can help bring good game to the table.