(no subject)
Ok. It is about time I update this thing. I have a lot to say this time, so lets just get started. I'll start with the good news.
I love my lady-type.
There. That's the end of the good news.
Here's the bad news. Well, not really bad news, but it's gonna be a rant. I'm going to be brutally honest. So, if you are offended, then I will be sure to turn the volume of the world's smallest violin up. I honestly mean no offense. I just need to rant about my feelings, if that makes any sense. I'm gonna let them flow.
As most of you know, I am the Storyteller (ST), Game Master (GM), Dungeon Master (DM), or whatever you want to call me. I like to call myself the Game Organization Designer (or Dictator. You have to be both, honestly. (Otherwise known as GOD.)) I'm the one that sets up the story and lets the players tell the story the way they see fit. I think that i'm decent at it. I make it a point to be fair to all of my players. Some of them disagree with my idea of fair. Usually after I explain what I was thinking when I made my decisions, most of them understand, whether they agree or not, and we all move on.
My style of storytelling is hard to explain. I bet my players could explain it a lot better than I. I like to include realism into our little fantasy world. Mind you, I do NOT blur the line between fantasy and reality. I'm not gonna be one of those people who kill each other with REAL swords. That's just stupid. Those people give good gamers a bad name. But anywho, I like to think that i'm a good storyteller. I think my rules and my methods are fair. If your character hasn't been using a gun, i'm sure as hell not going to allow you to gain ranks in Firearms. It just doesn't make sense. You know what I mean?
I guess I could get on with my rant. Now, I admit that I have made some crappy decisions before. But, I have tried to make reparations for them. If I have wronged a player, or their character, I try to make it up to them. I admit. I broke most of my own character creation rules when I allowed a friend of mine to play a Stargazer. I told myself that I wasn't going to let anyone play a Stargazer, or have Kailindo. But, seeing as how my friend had a good story, and was genuinely excited about playing the character, I let him play it.
It has caused little more than grief ever since. No, I reinterate, there have been plenty of good times. But it was more trouble than it was worth.
All of my other players have characters that have very defined strengths. Where one character is weak, the other is strong. The Stargazer is....good in so many ways that it almost overshadows some of the other characters. He can kick some serious ass with Kailindo. He is a Philodox, so he is good at keeping the law. He has a variety of Gifts that makes him very effective. So why am I complaining? My player has taken enough time, and has thought so much of my game that he made a great character. I have no real reason to complain. So why the rant?
The character, nor the player fits in.
There have been several situations where the player has outright YELLED at me and the other players because someone wasn't right when it came to the nature of the rules. I have had to change the Kailindo rules, and the rules of Metamorphing to be able to accomodate this character. The player made a point of showing how faulty the rules are DURING THE GAME BY PLAYING OUT THE GLITCHES TO HIS ADVANTAGE. Then, afterwards, after I had nearly ripped my hair out, he explained that he was making a huge deal about it because he wanted to show that the rules were bad. That lead to a few uncomfortable minutes. He didn't bother to say "hey Mitch, these rules suck. Can you fix them?" I would have fixed them in short order.
Anyways. Enough about him. On with the rant.
Oh, right, most of my rant kinda revolves around this guy. Nevermind.
Last session I made the mistake of not paying attention to how much damage I had dealt. A nexus crawler had all but destroyed this Stargazer character. I wasn't out to get him. I wasn't specifically gunning for him. I rolled the dice. I rolled well. He rolled poorly. Terribly! Basically what happened was I took this character down to Crippled (6). Doug's character healed him to Bruised (1). Then, the nexus crawler hit him for 6 and he didn't soak. So that took him to Incapacitated. I wasn't paying attention. I told him to roll his Rage in hopes that he would survive. He didn't. He died. Well, at least I thought he did.
After an unnecessary hissy fit, the player left.
Soon after, after the session was over, he called me and informed me of my mistake like a good rules lawyer that he is.
I goofed. So what did I do? I did the right thing. I made reparations. I didn't, however, want to take back what had happened. I wanted to bring the pack a sense of loss. I wanted them to understand that this is Werewolf, the World of Darkness, and things were AWFUL. But, to make good on my mistake, I allowed this player to keep his character, but he had to play him as a spirit. He would have an impact on the game, but not a huge one.
Apparently that is where I went wrong.
Some of my players; those who aren't very big fans of the Stargazer, have decided to bitch. Why? Because they think that i'm being unfair. They think that i'm breaking my own rules to allow this guy to play. Honest and true? I'M NOT! I'M DOING THE -RIGHT THING- BY GIVING THIS GUY A SECOND CHANCE WITH A CHARACTER THAT I DIDN'T EVEN KILL IN THE FIRST FUCKING PLACE! I SCREWED UP, AND NOW I'M MAKING GOOD! Oh, and what grinds me even more? I heard this SECOND HAND. These people didn't bring their complaints to me. They decided to take it to committee rather than address them to ME, the person they SHOULD be talking to.
Ahem.
I told one of my players this today, and he seemed to understand. I am grateful for that. Hopefully the others will too.
Don't get me wrong. I love my players. I think they're great. I have little to no complaints about them, or the way the game is going. I just needed to bitch.
I'll write more later.
I love my lady-type.
There. That's the end of the good news.
Here's the bad news. Well, not really bad news, but it's gonna be a rant. I'm going to be brutally honest. So, if you are offended, then I will be sure to turn the volume of the world's smallest violin up. I honestly mean no offense. I just need to rant about my feelings, if that makes any sense. I'm gonna let them flow.
As most of you know, I am the Storyteller (ST), Game Master (GM), Dungeon Master (DM), or whatever you want to call me. I like to call myself the Game Organization Designer (or Dictator. You have to be both, honestly. (Otherwise known as GOD.)) I'm the one that sets up the story and lets the players tell the story the way they see fit. I think that i'm decent at it. I make it a point to be fair to all of my players. Some of them disagree with my idea of fair. Usually after I explain what I was thinking when I made my decisions, most of them understand, whether they agree or not, and we all move on.
My style of storytelling is hard to explain. I bet my players could explain it a lot better than I. I like to include realism into our little fantasy world. Mind you, I do NOT blur the line between fantasy and reality. I'm not gonna be one of those people who kill each other with REAL swords. That's just stupid. Those people give good gamers a bad name. But anywho, I like to think that i'm a good storyteller. I think my rules and my methods are fair. If your character hasn't been using a gun, i'm sure as hell not going to allow you to gain ranks in Firearms. It just doesn't make sense. You know what I mean?
I guess I could get on with my rant. Now, I admit that I have made some crappy decisions before. But, I have tried to make reparations for them. If I have wronged a player, or their character, I try to make it up to them. I admit. I broke most of my own character creation rules when I allowed a friend of mine to play a Stargazer. I told myself that I wasn't going to let anyone play a Stargazer, or have Kailindo. But, seeing as how my friend had a good story, and was genuinely excited about playing the character, I let him play it.
It has caused little more than grief ever since. No, I reinterate, there have been plenty of good times. But it was more trouble than it was worth.
All of my other players have characters that have very defined strengths. Where one character is weak, the other is strong. The Stargazer is....good in so many ways that it almost overshadows some of the other characters. He can kick some serious ass with Kailindo. He is a Philodox, so he is good at keeping the law. He has a variety of Gifts that makes him very effective. So why am I complaining? My player has taken enough time, and has thought so much of my game that he made a great character. I have no real reason to complain. So why the rant?
The character, nor the player fits in.
There have been several situations where the player has outright YELLED at me and the other players because someone wasn't right when it came to the nature of the rules. I have had to change the Kailindo rules, and the rules of Metamorphing to be able to accomodate this character. The player made a point of showing how faulty the rules are DURING THE GAME BY PLAYING OUT THE GLITCHES TO HIS ADVANTAGE. Then, afterwards, after I had nearly ripped my hair out, he explained that he was making a huge deal about it because he wanted to show that the rules were bad. That lead to a few uncomfortable minutes. He didn't bother to say "hey Mitch, these rules suck. Can you fix them?" I would have fixed them in short order.
Anyways. Enough about him. On with the rant.
Oh, right, most of my rant kinda revolves around this guy. Nevermind.
Last session I made the mistake of not paying attention to how much damage I had dealt. A nexus crawler had all but destroyed this Stargazer character. I wasn't out to get him. I wasn't specifically gunning for him. I rolled the dice. I rolled well. He rolled poorly. Terribly! Basically what happened was I took this character down to Crippled (6). Doug's character healed him to Bruised (1). Then, the nexus crawler hit him for 6 and he didn't soak. So that took him to Incapacitated. I wasn't paying attention. I told him to roll his Rage in hopes that he would survive. He didn't. He died. Well, at least I thought he did.
After an unnecessary hissy fit, the player left.
Soon after, after the session was over, he called me and informed me of my mistake like a good rules lawyer that he is.
I goofed. So what did I do? I did the right thing. I made reparations. I didn't, however, want to take back what had happened. I wanted to bring the pack a sense of loss. I wanted them to understand that this is Werewolf, the World of Darkness, and things were AWFUL. But, to make good on my mistake, I allowed this player to keep his character, but he had to play him as a spirit. He would have an impact on the game, but not a huge one.
Apparently that is where I went wrong.
Some of my players; those who aren't very big fans of the Stargazer, have decided to bitch. Why? Because they think that i'm being unfair. They think that i'm breaking my own rules to allow this guy to play. Honest and true? I'M NOT! I'M DOING THE -RIGHT THING- BY GIVING THIS GUY A SECOND CHANCE WITH A CHARACTER THAT I DIDN'T EVEN KILL IN THE FIRST FUCKING PLACE! I SCREWED UP, AND NOW I'M MAKING GOOD! Oh, and what grinds me even more? I heard this SECOND HAND. These people didn't bring their complaints to me. They decided to take it to committee rather than address them to ME, the person they SHOULD be talking to.
Ahem.
I told one of my players this today, and he seemed to understand. I am grateful for that. Hopefully the others will too.
Don't get me wrong. I love my players. I think they're great. I have little to no complaints about them, or the way the game is going. I just needed to bitch.
I'll write more later.