Finally, could another character be tasked with going after Bob, making sure to rail them in every now and again? That might add lots of purpose and identity to a more heroic character, for example.
What story beats, investigation clues, and meaningful trouble can I device for Bob's solo-escapades this week?
Importantly, I take care not to let Bob take up more of the limelight than the others.
Also, I will punish their character hard if they keep getting into stupid situations.
As a GM, I am a planner & set'er-up'er (some might accuse me of therefore being a railroader). I tend to try and take each player's style into consideration. If I know that Bob will always go off on their own (and end up on a rooftop fighting naked in the rain <--true story), I simply plan for that.
IMHO, rolling dice is for resolving critical beats and climaxes in the narrative. Everything else should be resolved through roleplaying (i.e., we're playing RPGs, not DRG [Dice Rolling Games]).
I have never bought a fancy version of any game book in my life -- not interested in that -- but swanky player aids, and maps, and such I very much appreciate. Basically, anything only the GM sees I don't need to be fancy, but what the players get to play around with, that I want to be nice.
I'm actively running (as in, ran at least one session last year) 6 different campaigns:
2x FFG SW RPG
1x Alien RPG
2x L5R (homemade rules)
1x CoC Delta Green
Am also currently playing in 1 campaign:
1x Warhammer FRP
Same here; just watched the recording. The winning trio seems very sweet and Malinin congratulating Shaidorov shows good sportsmanship.
All in all a wholesome event :)
I'm indifferent to D&D & its catalogue of games worlds.
There are much more interesting games to choose from.
That said, the conduct of D&D owners & publishers have often aggravated me in the past and I'd much rather give my money to wholesome, community-supporting companies than to WotC & Hasbro.
Alien
Alien 3 (Assembly Cut)
Aliens
Alien: Romulus
Alien: Covenant
Alien: Earth
[Hon. mention = Predator: Badlands]
Prometheus
Aliens vs. Predator
-------------------------
Alien 3 (theatrical version)
Alien: Resurrection
Aliens vs. Predator 2: Requiem
Most players tend to just shrug stuff off and reset their character behavior back to "factory settings" without any development. This makes it very difficult to do true horror, relationships, and any kind of debt of story.
Players, let yourself (i.e., your PC) get scared, corrupted, angry, moved!
I wish players were better at developing their character behaviors in response to things that occur in the game, in particular in response to trauma (i.e., when a PC almost was killed by ninja, nearly got eaten by owl-bear, saw their best friend die in battle, got mind-controlled by Dark Lord etc.)
Jeg synes Nissens regler er litt drøye: du er hittebarn og har ikke foreldre, så du står ikke på gavelisten? Så bare de vellykkede og heldige kommer på nissens liste, altså... Snakk om dobble-whammy!
Prepping a session of their favorite I-never-get-to-play-this game and booking a surprise game night with the group behind their back?
Players who can't make character decisions themselves, but rather want to roll dice for everything. If all a player brings to a game is rolling dice, then I could be playing the scenario by myself and just roll dice for everything.
Players ought to play their characters, not react to dice.
I am of the conviction that it is as much the players' responsibility as the GMs to make sure the game & session is fun for all. Players who selfishly sabotages a session is not pulling their weight. If there are logical reasons for a PC's reluctance, then players & GM find a way to make it work.
I can't remember any of my own moments, but recently my buddy told how he GMed for his 12yo daughter & her two friends, when one of their characters face death. It all came down to a single save throw with poor odds... which came up a natural 20! The room exploded with joy, and now I'm tearing up.
🤣
Hvis jeg dør nå så er det din skyld, Maja!
😆
I think I ran a 9-player game at some point, perhaps a hundred years ago.
Nowaday, 5 players is a hard max for me but I prefer 2-3 tbh.
Currently, our campaign (L5R) revolves around a bunch of escalating story treads in a single, quite trouble city (Ryoko Owari Toshi - The City of Lies; if you know you know).
The previous campaign (also L5R) was more or a travel adventure, visiting many places, with some downtime at home.
TLJ <3
Basically, I'd be f***ed.
Sometimes, I have notes and story beats plotted out in a paper notebook, but 9 times out of 10 I simply couldn't have run the session.
(I should also mention that my memory is crap, so its simply impossible for me to GM without notes. I wouldn't remember a single thing!)
It is very difficult to calculate; some periods, we play multiple online (ca. 4 hours) sessions per week, or even several longer in-person (ca. 7 hours) sessions in a week, while in other periods we don't play for a month or so. But if I was to guess, I'd say we on average play about 6 hours a week.
I'm willing to bet that cocaine was involved... 😏
More like: "Your eyes look tasty, man-child."
Songs that the Hyades shall sing,
Where flap the tatters of the King,
Must die unheard in
Dim Carcosa.
Song of my soul, my voice is dead;
Die thou, unsung, as tears unshed
Shall dry and die in
Lost Carcosa.
-The King in Yellow
CASSILDA'S SONG
Along the shore the cloud waves break,
The twin suns sink behind* the lake,
The shadows lengthen
In Carcosa.
Strange is the night where black stars rise,
And strange moons circle through the skies
But stranger still is
Lost Carcosa.
Lost Carcosa, man...
Without TTRPGs, I would've been a very sad and grumpy boy.
In our groups, the GM tend to pre-gen characters to fit the stories, conflicts, & milieus. So, it is largely the demands and opportunities of the setting and plots that determine what kinds of PCs & NPCs partake. As a GM, I try to find story avenues and setting slots where PCs will snugly fit.
