I feel like a lot of these apply to campaign larps and not theater style larps, so my answers are slightly skewed towards being for theater style larps. This is just my opinion, but....
1) Thou shalt not lie to your players I agree that GMs should be honest to their players about the game preparation. I also think that there is a level of professionalism GMs need to have in reguards to their games. I’ve had GMs who have given me 20 page long character sheets 2 days before game and expect me to costume.
4) Thou shalt not put in place artificial boundaries to play without a really good reason, I would agree with this. I don’t find artificial boundaries to be bad in a game as it makes people who have a skill to surpass them suddenly important, but a good game would have a separate structure available for people to still pass by just with more difficulty.
8) Thou shalt not create a load of unnecessarily complicated game mechanics I think this is my biggest problem is writing games. I’m really good are writing plots and stories and characters, but suckage at game mechanics. I’m constantly working to make my rules more streamline. I usually do the opposite and make them too simplistic (because that is how I like rules)
Be aware of triggers Something I’m over sensitive about. I have a lot of touchy subjects in many of my games and I worry I turn people off to the game when the casting questions have a paragraph of “This is all the things in my game that might turn you off”, but I would rather people know and have a chance to back out if they want to.
Not rob your players - GM taking away their item cards This I disagree with. Sometimes players who physically can’t steal might have a pickpocket ability and this is a usable way to present that. I’ve had it happen to me in larps and it has been effective so that I honestly didn’t know who was pickpocketing me.
Do not throw bugs at players 100% with you! ESPECIALLY SPIDERS!
Being pregnant is not a plot It can be... well, not the fact of pregnancy, but things surrounding it. Ie concealing a pregnancy, or trying to get pregnant, or finding out you are pregnant when you don’t want to be. I see a lot of successful social drama around pregnancy.
Blackmail not a plot I think I disagree with you as well. Instances where a character is being blackmailed and trying to get out of that blackmail can be very creative and interesting. I would actually enjoy such a role if it were done well.
No colour characters - everyone needs stuff to do. I also disagree with this. I personally don’t like fluff characters, but I know some players who do. They don’t want any active or difficult plots they just want to socialize and be a part of what’s going on but don’t actually want to solve or accomplish anything. I try to write at least 1 fluff character into every game for this purpose. I give them things to DO, but if they don’t do it it won’t ruin the game. The worst thing ever is having a player not want to accomplish any plot and it ruin other people’s game experiences.
Don’t kill people in the first half hour MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA *coughs* oh no I NEVER do that... except I do and they come back as ghosts or zombies or some such.
Pickpocketing never works I disagree. I’ve been in several games where it has worked successfully. I wasn’t the pickpocket, but the one being pickpocketed. I think that the players can accept pickpocket if they know what is going on, and it is done in such a way as to give them slightly more control over it. IE spread your cards. Pick 1 card that does not get taken the GM picks a random card from the rest.
Locking a player in prison I have a game in which 1 player is “imprisoned” by being tied in a chair. However very creative mechanics were made to give that player agency. The player had exceptional hearing and the player could leave the chair to listen in on any conversation in the room and everyone had to “assume” they were still in the chair. We have found it worked very well. That players is specifically apped for and so far we have had no complaints from players who have had that role.
Named character in Star Trek I personally would LOVE a player who was a character in Star Trek... why do you hate Trekkies?
> Make a character someone who no-one wants to talk to
Yes. Mind, this goes to players being scum too -- players should generally not avoid talking to the "character nobody wants to talk to". What's the fun in that?
> Do not throw bugs at players
WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?
> Send players everything - don’t expect them to go and find the stuff you > have hidden on the web
This calls back to those 80 pages of background. The players won't read it if you email it to them. They -really- wont' read it if you put it up on the web somewhere and expect them to hunt it down.
> Being pregnant is not a plot > Blackmail not a plot
True in both cases. You can hang plot on either of these things -- the character is pregnant and trying to get an abortion/hunted because the babe has a Destiny/going to use it to confront her one night stand which leads to Drama. The character is being blackmailed and is going to try to buy the blackmailer off, or kill them, or needs to get the money to pay the blackmailer or their secret will be Out, or has been paying the blackmailer and is thus being hunted for embezzlement, etc. But those are plots--the blackmail or pregnancy...not so much.
> Don’t cast your friends in all the cool roles
No, oh god no.
> Don’t kill people in the first half hour
... Unless that's their role. Characters doomed to die in the first half hour have a long and honored history, but the player needs to know.
> Give people leverage if they think they have leverage
Like blackmailers! I've seen the "you're a blackmailer/you're being blackmailed" nonsense without actually having any leverage on either direction; it was sad.
> Don’t hover
I'm not hovering! I'm just listening! Don't mind me; buzz, buzz!
>If they change things from what was emailed then you need to know when the characters are handed out
This means the GMs, right?
> Trials and auctions not very exciting
An action is a mechanic, not a plot.
A trial can be exciting, but only if everyone's engaged in the outcome (probably best to use a judge or 3-judge model, -not- a 10 person jury that eats the game).
> Gods should not show up in your game - unless it’s a game of Gods
NPC gods are fine, as long as they don't grandstand, etc. PC gods with disporportionate power, though, can be problematic. I've heard some good stories re some of the gods in at least one Vagabond game, though.
> Pickpocketing never works
Almost never. But yeah, I hate this mechanic. "Beat someone up and steal their item" is often better, even.
This is just my opinion, but....
1) Thou shalt not lie to your players
I agree that GMs should be honest to their players about the game preparation. I also think that there is a level of professionalism GMs need to have in reguards to their games. I’ve had GMs who have given me 20 page long character sheets 2 days before game and expect me to costume.
4) Thou shalt not put in place artificial boundaries to play without a really good reason,
I would agree with this. I don’t find artificial boundaries to be bad in a game as it makes people who have a skill to surpass them suddenly important, but a good game would have a separate structure available for people to still pass by just with more difficulty.
8) Thou shalt not create a load of unnecessarily complicated game mechanics
I think this is my biggest problem is writing games. I’m really good are writing plots and stories and characters, but suckage at game mechanics. I’m constantly working to make my rules more streamline. I usually do the opposite and make them too simplistic (because that is how I like rules)
Be aware of triggers
Something I’m over sensitive about. I have a lot of touchy subjects in many of my games and I worry I turn people off to the game when the casting questions have a paragraph of “This is all the things in my game that might turn you off”, but I would rather people know and have a chance to back out if they want to.
Not rob your players - GM taking away their item cards
This I disagree with. Sometimes players who physically can’t steal might have a pickpocket ability and this is a usable way to present that. I’ve had it happen to me in larps and it has been effective so that I honestly didn’t know who was pickpocketing me.
Do not throw bugs at players
100% with you! ESPECIALLY SPIDERS!
Being pregnant is not a plot
It can be... well, not the fact of pregnancy, but things surrounding it. Ie concealing a pregnancy, or trying to get pregnant, or finding out you are pregnant when you don’t want to be. I see a lot of successful social drama around pregnancy.
Blackmail not a plot
I think I disagree with you as well. Instances where a character is being blackmailed and trying to get out of that blackmail can be very creative and interesting. I would actually enjoy such a role if it were done well.
No colour characters - everyone needs stuff to do.
I also disagree with this. I personally don’t like fluff characters, but I know some players who do. They don’t want any active or difficult plots they just want to socialize and be a part of what’s going on but don’t actually want to solve or accomplish anything. I try to write at least 1 fluff character into every game for this purpose. I give them things to DO, but if they don’t do it it won’t ruin the game. The worst thing ever is having a player not want to accomplish any plot and it ruin other people’s game experiences.
Don’t kill people in the first half hour
MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA *coughs* oh no I NEVER do that... except I do and they come back as ghosts or zombies or some such.
Pickpocketing never works
I disagree. I’ve been in several games where it has worked successfully. I wasn’t the pickpocket, but the one being pickpocketed. I think that the players can accept pickpocket if they know what is going on, and it is done in such a way as to give them slightly more control over it. IE spread your cards. Pick 1 card that does not get taken the GM picks a random card from the rest.
Locking a player in prison
I have a game in which 1 player is “imprisoned” by being tied in a chair. However very creative mechanics were made to give that player agency. The player had exceptional hearing and the player could leave the chair to listen in on any conversation in the room and everyone had to “assume” they were still in the chair. We have found it worked very well. That players is specifically apped for and so far we have had no complaints from players who have had that role.
Named character in Star Trek
I personally would LOVE a player who was a character in Star Trek... why do you hate Trekkies?
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> Make a character someone who no-one wants to talk to
Yes. Mind, this goes to players being scum too -- players should generally not avoid talking to the "character nobody wants to talk to". What's the fun in that?
> Do not throw bugs at players
WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?
> Send players everything - don’t expect them to go and find the stuff you > have hidden on the web
This calls back to those 80 pages of background. The players won't read it if you email it to them. They -really- wont' read it if you put it up on the web somewhere and expect them to hunt it down.
> Being pregnant is not a plot
> Blackmail not a plot
True in both cases. You can hang plot on either of these things -- the character is pregnant and trying to get an abortion/hunted because the babe has a Destiny/going to use it to confront her one night stand which leads to Drama. The character is being blackmailed and is going to try to buy the blackmailer off, or kill them, or needs to get the money to pay the blackmailer or their secret will be Out, or has been paying the blackmailer and is thus being hunted for embezzlement, etc. But those are plots--the blackmail or pregnancy...not so much.
> Don’t cast your friends in all the cool roles
No, oh god no.
> Don’t kill people in the first half hour
... Unless that's their role. Characters doomed to die in the first half hour have a long and honored history, but the player needs to know.
> Give people leverage if they think they have leverage
Like blackmailers! I've seen the "you're a blackmailer/you're being blackmailed" nonsense without actually having any leverage on either direction; it was sad.
> Don’t hover
I'm not hovering! I'm just listening! Don't mind me; buzz, buzz!
>If they change things from what was emailed then you need to know when the characters are handed out
This means the GMs, right?
> Trials and auctions not very exciting
An action is a mechanic, not a plot.
A trial can be exciting, but only if everyone's engaged in the outcome (probably best to use a judge or 3-judge model, -not- a 10 person jury that eats the game).
> Gods should not show up in your game - unless it’s a game of Gods
NPC gods are fine, as long as they don't grandstand, etc. PC gods with disporportionate power, though, can be problematic. I've heard some good stories re some of the gods in at least one Vagabond game, though.
> Pickpocketing never works
Almost never. But yeah, I hate this mechanic. "Beat someone up and steal their item" is often better, even.
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