Rawma, you're being a prat.

Quote from: rawma;814781Your defensiveness, even in the face of a joke, says more about you than I needed to know.

That's not defensiveness, that's sarcasm.  DO try to keep up.

Quote from: rawma;814729Well, that's the problem: neither of you is recognizing that this is a penalty or cost to at least some players.

Is this a "I'm disappointed because I was looking forward to the game but I'm fine with playing a board game or watching a movie or I could stay home and take care of something around the house so it's cool." type of penalty?

Or is it a "I'm getting the shakes because I need my D&D fix and nothing else will do! Why are you ruining my life?" type of penalty?

Because one of those players is not the type of person I would want to interact with (socially or otherwise).

Quote from: jgants;814869Is this a "I'm disappointed because I was looking forward to the game but I'm fine with playing a board game or watching a movie or I could stay home and take care of something around the house so it's cool." type of penalty?

Or is it a "I'm getting the shakes because I need my D&D fix and nothing else will do! Why are you ruining my life?" type of penalty?

Because one of those players is not the type of person I would want to interact with (socially or otherwise).

Which one?

Quote from: soltakss;814884Which one?

Obviously it's the former. We all want players who are committed don't we.


And yes that pun was intended.

I mean, EITHER players do exactly the adventure prepared for them, OR players decide what to do, OR something in between.

There's the potential for any player to be disappointed or frustrated by any point on this continuum. There is the potential for the GM to be a dick about it along any point on this continuum.


Big fucking whoopdeedoo.

We used to have 1 GM and 3 players and 1 NPC in the party. Our campaign is Gloranthan RuneQuest 3ish, but with Hero Points acting as Experience Points, as in HeroQuest.



One of the players had to work away a couple of times, for extended periods (6 months at a time) and had to go to France for a year. So, when he is away, we treat his PC as a pseudo-NPC and make decisions without him. If he can Skype in, or is available, then he plays.

What we tended to do was to give his PC some experience that kept him roughly on par with the rest of the party.

It seems to work for us.

Now, we have 1 GM and 4 players, with the 4th player playing the old NPC, so it isn't too bad when the other player cannot make it.

What we have found is that ideas flow more freely when there are more players involved, but the game can trundle along quite happily with 2 players.

Quote from: Will;814886I mean, EITHER players do exactly the adventure prepared for them, OR players decide what to do, OR something in between.

There's the potential for any player to be disappointed or frustrated by any point on this continuum. There is the potential for the GM to be a dick about it along any point on this continuum.


Big fucking whoopdeedoo.

Oh, there you go being all calm again.

Also, I'm actually amused how "I have several things for my players to do.  If they don't like any of them, which has never happened, it might take me time to come up with something else" has turned into "AN INTERNET THING" about frustrated players being abused by a dickish referee.

The Internet.  You can check out any time, but you can never leave.

Quote from: jgants;814869Is this a "I'm disappointed because I was looking forward to the game but I'm fine with playing a board game or watching a movie or I could stay home and take care of something around the house so it's cool." type of penalty?

Like this, but perhaps a little bit more "What, I drove all the way over here just to find out the game is off? But it's on if we choose to go with what the GM wants, even though it makes no sense for any of our characters?" But yes, having a fallback board game or alternate RPG is probably a solution for many groups, if they can agree on it.

QuoteOr is it a "I'm getting the shakes because I need my D&D fix and nothing else will do! Why are you ruining my life?" type of penalty?

Because one of those players is not the type of person I would want to interact with (socially or otherwise).

I agree, don't game with strawmen. Fire hazard.

Quote from: rawma;814968"What, I drove all the way over here just to find out the game is off? But it's on if we choose to go with what the GM wants, even though it makes no sense for any of our characters?" .

Jesus H. tapdancing Christ on a bagel.  If you got that from what I originally wrote, you need intensive mental health therapy.

How the fuck did you get that from "I've got five or six things we can do, and if you don't like any of them it may take me a bit of time to come up with something else.

Fuck.  You are really, truly going out of your way to get your pecker twisted in a knot.  What an assmunch.

Yeah, it's time for you to tongue my pee hole.

I lost the topic's train of thought for the past few pages. So fuck it, I now vote public crucifixion of the intermittent player. Does that make things better?

No Opaopajr that doesn't help becuase we have to then decide on the style of crucifixion and do we send invites out since it is public, We have to do announcements and it becomes a Big Hellabaloo!!

Quote from: Artifacts of Amber;815076No Opaopajr that doesn't help becuase we have to then decide on the style of crucifixion and do we send invites out since it is public, We have to do announcements and it becomes a Big Hellabaloo!!

And I don't know where the nails or the damn rope are which means a trip to wander the endless aisle of the Home Despot.

Quote from: Old Geezer;815047Jesus H. tapdancing Christ on a bagel.  If you got that from what I originally wrote, you need intensive mental health therapy.

How the fuck did you get that from "I've got five or six things we can do, and if you don't like any of them it may take me a bit of time to come up with something else.

Fuck.  You are really, truly going out of your way to get your pecker twisted in a knot.  What an assmunch.

Yeah, it's time for you to tongue my pee hole.

Are you still riding the waaaaaaaambulance, now over a post that has nothing at all to do with you, your posts or your games?

Quote from: Bren;814885Obviously it's the former. We all want players who are committed don't we.

Well I have a few that may have been committed at one time, but they have obviously escaped now.