demon ([info]tacohunter) wrote in [info]roleplayers,
@ 2008-05-11 16:01:00
Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
the perfect recipe for a bad role-playing game
  • 4 to 5 characters starting at very high level (20th+ level for D&D, 150+ starting xp for any White Wolf game)
  • give 1 million gp to each character for starting equipment and magic items
  • add 1 GM who insists on creating his own NPC to travel with the party

    oh! and two of the players are ex'es who can't really tolerate each other in large doses

    what am I missing?

    • (Post a new comment)


    [info]ineednosalt
    2008-05-11 08:50 pm UTC (link)
    I'm pretty sure 1,000,000 GP is less than the recommended starting funds for a level 21 character (after all, a +6 longsword costs 720,315 gold.)

    Really, it's the bad GM that ruins things (and only if the NPC is actually a GMPC.)

    (Reply to this)

    [info]mort_q
    2008-05-11 08:53 pm UTC (link)
    Some characters should be of races that aren't designed to be PCs, and would normally be attacked and killed on sight by most civilized nations.

    (Reply to this)(Thread)
    (no subject) - [info]lederhosen, 2008-05-12 01:27 am UTC

    [info]allamistako
    2008-05-11 08:54 pm UTC (link)
    You're missing "Use anything from any book" and "Do waht you want, I've not prepared anything"...

    (Reply to this)

    [info]sephidarshu
    2008-05-11 08:56 pm UTC (link)
    The entire game takes place in a tunnel that is magically enchanted to never let anyone teleport in or out. The tunnel also never branches.

    (Reply to this)

    [info]voltbang
    2008-05-11 08:57 pm UTC (link)
    One of the players should be the girl the GM wants to sleep with. Don't forget that part.

    (Reply to this)(Thread)
    (no subject) - [info]tacohunter, 2008-05-11 08:59 pm UTC
    (no subject) - [info]tacohunter, 2008-05-11 09:01 pm UTC

    [info]wolviepris
    2008-05-11 09:00 pm UTC (link)
    Not enough characters for starters. There should be a bare minimum 8 PCs, and those characters should have multiple people to control. The Druid should have a build that allows him to have a veritable army of animal companions, the party's wizard should be a necromancer who focuses on having undead minions and stand right next to the Radiant Servant of Pelor so he/she can't Turn Undead without frying said controlled undead minions, and the person with the highest charisma should have the Leadership feat.

    Also, introduce some new players. Maybe someone got into a new relationship and can bring this new person to the table because he/she would like to "try it out". Think of it as sink or swim as the newbie tries to figure out the rules at level 20+.

    (Reply to this)(Thread)
    (no subject) - [info]sephidarshu, 2008-05-11 09:04 pm UTC
    (no subject) - [info]rian_al, 2008-05-12 03:27 am UTC

    [info]amokk
    2008-05-11 09:30 pm UTC (link)
    I think the only recipe is a bad ST/GM and bad players. Has nothing to do with character level/xp, starting cash/equipment, etc. It's that whole, you know, role part, not the crunchy bits.

    (Reply to this)

    [info]geekling
    2008-05-11 09:30 pm UTC (link)
    Said DM is of the "historical realism" bent. Where realism in D&D = said DM living out his sexist fantasies of degrading women.

    So never mind that all the characters are 20th+ level, any female character (or really any character played by a female player) will either ignored and talked down to by any NPC, including the 0lvl commoners. Or, get raped, repeatedly and in great detail while "DMing" with one hand under the table. But more commonly, both.

    (Reply to this)(Thread)
    (no subject) - [info]amokk, 2008-05-11 09:33 pm UTC
    (no subject) - [info]geekling, 2008-05-11 09:38 pm UTC
    (no subject) - [info]amokk, 2008-05-11 10:18 pm UTC
    (no subject) - [info]operations, 2008-05-12 03:20 am UTC
    (no subject) - [info]amokk, 2008-05-12 04:09 am UTC
    (no subject) - [info]operations, 2008-05-13 09:30 pm UTC
    (no subject) - [info]amokk, 2008-05-14 04:20 am UTC
    (no subject) - [info]sixswordsamurai, 2008-05-11 10:25 pm UTC
    (no subject) - [info]uhlrik, 2008-05-13 12:45 am UTC
    (no subject) - [info]cygnia, 2008-05-11 09:58 pm UTC
    (no subject) - [info]terrycloth, 2008-05-11 10:05 pm UTC

    [info]sixswordsamurai
    2008-05-11 09:31 pm UTC (link)
    The only thing about the above statements that might make for a bad time is the 2 players that are exes who can't stand one another.

    Everything else is reasonable and within limit given a prepared and intellegent DM/ST/GM/whathaveyou.

    ~~Me.

    (Reply to this)

    [info]terrycloth
    2008-05-11 10:06 pm UTC (link)
    High power games aren't automatically awful, and neither are GMPCs... both can lead to awfulness, though. Or to awesomeness. Awe of some sort is likely.

    (Reply to this)(Thread)
    (no subject) - [info]syntaxerror37, 2008-05-12 02:00 pm UTC
    (no subject) - [info]terrycloth, 2008-05-12 05:21 pm UTC

    [info]halfjack
    2008-05-11 10:28 pm UTC (link)
    You had me half way through the first bullet point.

    (Reply to this)
    It's only lacking one thing:
    [info]tarafore
    2008-05-11 10:48 pm UTC (link)
    Dolls

    (Reply to this)(Thread)
    Re: It's only lacking one thing: - [info]xuenay, 2008-05-11 11:30 pm UTC
    Re: It's only lacking one thing: - [info]tarafore, 2008-05-11 11:48 pm UTC

    [info]blacktigr
    2008-05-11 11:29 pm UTC (link)
    How about hosting it where the people have had two children, but still do not acknowledge the idea that children disrupt RPGs when allowed to run wild?

    (Reply to this)

    [info]xuenay
    2008-05-11 11:33 pm UTC (link)
    The group should be evenly divided between people who are just there to have fun with a tactical challenge and character optimization, the people who want to get deeply immersed in their characters and hate the mention of rules, the people who want to tell a great story, and the people who want to have everything as realistic as possible. The GM should be neutral, in that he considers the opinions and arguments of each one with equal weight, never doing anything like saying "this is my game, so here's how we'll do it".

    (Reply to this)

    [info]bandersnitch
    2008-05-11 11:49 pm UTC (link)
    Holy crap I have played that game.

    But it was Cyberpunk and the NPC played by the gamemaster were established characters and we could shop for equipment with all our virtually unlimited cash from any sourcebook.

    Basically by the time character creation was completed I was having a hard time finding a motivation outside of "retirement"

    Such a bad session. When they asked us when we should schedule the next session we all said no. No dicing words or finding a polite way to say it.

    (Reply to this)

    [info]lederhosen
    2008-05-12 01:29 am UTC (link)
    Make it a LARP, then invite that guy who has difficulty with the player/character divide.

    (Reply to this)

    [info]sorceror
    2008-05-12 01:54 am UTC (link)

    ...Why??!?? Are you just trying to depress us? :-(

    (Reply to this)(Thread)
    (no subject) - [info]tacohunter, 2008-05-12 06:28 am UTC
    (no subject) - [info]sorceror, 2008-05-12 02:54 pm UTC

    [info]bloodangel
    2008-05-12 03:54 am UTC (link)
    *The game is ran at a bustling FLGS. Lots of onlookers, background noise, and neckbeards giving unwanted advice. No one really gets in-character for fear of looking foolish.
    *Lots of cellphones. None of the players has children or is on-call, but they leave their phones on anyways.


    Players:
    A) Would rather be playing a different setting/game. He/she constantly knocks the game being played and tries to recruit players for the other game. Or worse, has the temerity to ask the GM to discard the current game and run said game.
    B) Cat piss man. Hassles the new blood. Doesn't wear deoderant.
    C) The Lone Wolf. Sends his character off on his own, getting his own private little adventures while everyone else sits on their thumbs.
    D) The guy who tries to come up with roleplaying reasons for his character being antagonistic towards other characters.

    Edited at 2008-05-12 05:34 am UTC

    (Reply to this)

    [info]zorbathut
    2008-05-12 04:26 am UTC (link)
    Make sure there's at least one paladin and at least one chaotic evil character. Also, make sure that precisely one of those people (not more, not less) is the kind of person who'd use "I can't help it, it's my alignment! I'm just roleplaying!" as an excuse for fucking over their party.

    Bonus points if it's the two exes.

    Edited at 2008-05-12 04:26 am UTC

    (Reply to this)(Thread)
    (no subject) - [info]anchiale, 2008-05-12 05:43 am UTC
    (no subject) - [info]wolviepris, 2008-05-12 12:23 pm UTC
    (no subject) - [info]cpip, 2008-05-12 09:13 pm UTC

    [info]clawfoot
    2008-05-12 05:54 am UTC (link)
    Probably equally as bad:

    1) GURPS books, all kinds.
    2) "Sliders" campaign (i.e. many alternate realities)
    3) A GM who says to players during character creation, "Make whatever you like. Don't pay any attention to point costs."

    It was an experiment.

    It did not work.

    (Reply to this)

    [info]cartoonlad
    2008-05-12 06:19 am UTC (link)
    Note passing, cellphones, and laptops so the players can surf the web when it's not their turn.

    Oh, and at least one of the guys in the game shouldn't bathe for at least a week before the game starts. Bonus points if he always looks at the female players about a foot or so below the eyes. His character should be a lesbian, too.

    (Reply to this)

    [info]candidgamera
    2008-05-12 03:01 pm UTC (link)
    Nothing wrong with any of your bullet points. I've played in some damn fine games with that recipe.

    (Reply to this)(Thread)
    (no subject) - [info]cpip, 2008-05-12 04:28 pm UTC

    [info]incompleteangel
    2008-05-12 04:34 pm UTC (link)
    A pony keg and the following rules:

    Anytime you roll 11+, take a drink.
    Anytime you roll 1-10, take two drinks.
    Anytime you say something out of character while in character conversation is happening, finish your drink and refill.

    (Reply to this)

    [info]paka
    2008-05-12 05:12 pm UTC (link)
    Someone else mentioned the Leadership feat already.

    Why do GMs ever insist that an NPC travel with the party? It's such a terrible idea. Surely there's no function involved in that, which the GM can't accomplish by handing over the quest/item/information/ability to a PC or player-controlled NPC, or by having an NPC who goes away after handing over a quest/item/information/ability.

    (Reply to this)
    re: what am I missing?
    [info]utforsker
    2008-05-13 12:33 pm UTC (link)
    unrequited crushes across the gaming table

    (Reply to this)

    Create an Account
    Forgot your login?
    Login w/ OpenID
    English • Español • Deutsch • Русский…