[UA] Varying skill costs . . .

Fri Mar 12 11:16:59 PST 2004

 Jade, No question, the GM has a responsibility to make adventures that suit the players, however, I'll add the caveat that, in some cases, the guy running the game should have the ability to say, "I wouldn't take that skill at such a high level" or "take another skill that would be useful..." during character generation.  I've rarely been able to make someone who took high levels of photography in any game feel it was a useful investment.  I appologize to all gamers in my games who've done it, but I just never found the way to make that pay off in space opera game.Though I did manage to make "vocational agriculture" useful when the party needed to match a gored body to the dog they thought did it.... I'll also stipulate that there are characters who just don't fit in a game and it's the player who made the character who is to blame, not the GM, not the other players.  I'm sick of the idea that any character concept is equally valid.  One of my best friends, Marv, is a great guy, but I have to sit on his head and apply electric shocks to his groin to get him to make characters who work within the context of the game.  For those of you familiar with the old polyhedron magazine articles, the guy plays smurfs (though not necessarily communist ones).  Most (90%+) of his characters, if they were in movies would be appropriate for an early-career Jim Carey movie.  There's not necessarily much wrong with that, for a toon game.  For Call of Cthulhu, it just doesn't work.You know, he's got really great hair, for a speed freak...-Excerpt from actual conversation--- "Hammons, Jade" wrote:> If you can not find time to spotlight what your> characters think are> important skills/abilities/personality traits, you> should not be> game-mastering. Period. > Let's take CSI as an example. Player says, "I want> my investigator to> have a really high level in entomology", GM then> places something buggy> every few episodes. > "I want my 23rd century navigator to have knowledge> of 19th century> earth firearms." - Ok Takei, I think I can work that> in there.> > A player not being motivated and sitting on their> ass is not the same as> not having the ability as a game master to make your> players choices> important. If your player took 50% in cat lover,> they obviously wanted> it to define there character, and that becomes your> job to make it> important from time to time. If you can't, and your> players feel> shorted, it's your fault, especially if you just> nodded your head and> said "Uhm, ok, you can take that skill." If you are> doing your best,> and they still whine, then maybe you have a valid> complaint.> > If you have a classic D&D game going and you have a> thief and you fail> to put in things for them to overcome, you are> shortchanging him. If you> don't have a thief but insist on putting thief> challenges in your game,> you are punishing your players for a party> imbalance. > > The story has to adapt to the skills and> personalities of the characters> involved, not the other way around. If you want> your story to survive> contact with the players, you better be making some> pre-rolls, and> writing up some strict psychological outlines for> them to adhere to.> > If you became a GM to satisfy some control complex,> maybe you should> take up writing, because that's the only way you> will get your> characters to play their roles just like you want.> > As a GM it is my job to make Hairdressing, or Cat> Lover important. If I> can't do my job, then I need to be fired. It's that> flexibility that> makes me a dangerous player, because if I take an> esoteric skill in a> game, you can be damn sure I will find ways to use> it.> > Jade Hammons> "Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous> energy merely to be> normal." - Albert Camus> > > > > -----Original Message-----> From: ua-bounces at lists.unknown-armies.com&gt
 ; [mailto:ua-bounces at lists.unknown-armies.com]On> Behalf Of Chad Eagleton> Sent: Thursday, March 11, 2004 11:15 AM> To: The Unknown Armies RPG Mailing List> Subject: Re: [UA] Varying skill costs . . .> > > > > > If the player takes the skill, it is> his/her/hir/hes> > prerogative as a player to find an application to> > use> > the skill they took in the freaking first place.> If> > players can't find a place to use their skills,> too> > damn bad. > > > > This is crap. As a GM I've had it up to the> ruptured> > fucking jugular with players that sit on their> asses> > and whine about not being motivated or there's> > nothing> > for them to do, or the game is boring.> > You do have a point. There are players who just sit> around and bitch. But I've also played with GMs who> were just as responsible for games sucking...case in> point I was playing in a Fading Suns game...during> character creation I decided I wanted to play a> priest, so I went to the GM told him what I wanted> to> play and asked, "Is that going to work with what you> have planned for the game?" "Sure, sure," he says.> And> then lo and behold look at that, I have nothing to> fucking do, because my priest character with his> lack> of combat skills or piloting space craft ability had> nothing "useful" to the game. Oh, I still had> fun...for a while, but then when I tried to mention> it> to him, even suggesting I make another character> more> suited to what we were doing, he assured me no, no,> we'll work something out. And you know what--it> never> came, and I just got a lecture about how I should> take> inititive and not his responsibility, blah blah blah> blah, he crafted this fine story blah blah> blah...then> who's responsibility is it? You're the one running> the> fucking game. If you can't look at my character> sheet> and do something with what's there to give me a bit> of> a personal interest, then what the fuck? Hell, even> Xander on Buffy got his "own" episodes...Maybe you> should just try to right novels on your own and give> up gaming. > Players can and often do suck, forgetting that> they are the main character and they should be> interested in what's going on because of that very> reason. I mean hell, would you what I tv show where> as> soon as the first plot point came around the main> character decided he was going to go off and work on> his car? No.> But GMs can suck just as much too...and I think> all it takes is a littler effort at character> creation> and a little time spent now and then doing something> for the characters to improve things all around.> > chad> > __________________________________> Do you Yahoo!?> Yahoo! Search - Find what you're looking for faster> http://search.yahoo.com> _______________________________________________> UA mailing list> UA at lists.unknown-armies.com> http://lists.unknown-armies.com/mailman/listinfo/ua> _______________________________________________> UA mailing list> UA at lists.unknown-armies.com> http://lists.unknown-armies.com/mailman/listinfo/ua__________________________________Do you Yahoo!?Yahoo! Search - Find what you’re looking for fasterhttp://search.yahoo.com_______________________________________________UA mailing listUA at lists.unknown-armies.comhttp://lists.unknown-armies.com/mailman/listinfo/ua

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