Lets talk about what makes a player or GM truly great? Is it how a player makes their character, roleplay at the table, a GM who is very descriptive, etc.Or we can share stories about really good players or GMs we met at our own tables.
>good GMHe keeps the game rolling (no long pauses to check some rule that doesn't come up often, just resolve the situation and check things later)He has both some stuff prepared and can land on his feet if something unexpected happensHe has the world react to what the PCs do, without making them the only relevant characters out thereNo all powerful DMPCs that do everything, powerful NPCs give a sense of scale and breadth, but the PCs are the ones the action focuses on>good playerIs interested in the gameDoesn't check his phone or distract the others with unrelated stuff if he's not involvedKnows his character and what he can doDoesn't bog the game down every round because he didn't think about what he wanted to do, or how, or how the rules work in the first place
Shows up every week unless Force Major prevents it and participates. The bar doesn't sound high but it is.
>>97336345Are such unreliable players really a widespread problem? I never had any issues here.
>>97336205I've been in about a dozen different campaigns and gaming groups over the past few years and have found exactly one player who is punctual, not politically brainrotted, knows how to roleplay without hogging the spotlight, and actually knows how play the damn game (by reading the rules) without powergaming. He gets all the love from me.
>>97336361Yes. We had to cull the weak before our current stable group was formed. One week cancelled quickly turns into multiple, eventually they haven't showed up for months. A lot of people just don't have it.
>>97336361Sadly, they can be. There's chronic liars who show up before the game starts, make a PC, then show up once or never, and complain about not playing for months after that.There's people that always comes late, or doesn't read the group chat, or says they're not coming at the last minute "because they're tired" (while they work 20 hours per week and I can touch 60)...they don't have the balls to say they don't care, or they don't even realize it, for them the game night is just something that is there, if there's something else to do they deem better, they do that without a second thought.
>>97336400Got lucky then with mine. Could imagine there being a lot of newcomers however who lose interest again because it is not their thing. Ofc they then could simply tell it is not their thing instead of simply ghosting the group.
>>97336205>Good GMKnows the rulesApplies the rules consistentlyLets us know about house rules ahead of timeCommunicates what he expects the campaign to be like and what he wants out of the playersCommunicates at allUnderstands what the players want out of the campaign and helps facilitate thatComes up with scenarios that are interesting both lore-wise and mechanicallyGives exhaustive descriptions so the players have something to work with>Good playersKnow the rulesShow up on timeLet us know ahead of time when they're not going to showMake decisions quickly so we can get on with itPay attention during sessionsCommunicate their wants and preferencesCollaborate with the GM's vision>Good charactersHave clear, consistent personalitiesAre written so as to facilitate engaging scenariosAre grounded in the setting we play in>>97336368That's one more than I've found.
>>97336416Hm, the ones that somehow still come but do not really engage in the game are a problem. Think a group can tolerate one of these but not more.
One of my players offered to take up the mantle of GM and is going to use my homebrew setting for Barbarians of lemuria. I'm pretty hyped for it, actually playing a pc for the first time, and glad that he is willing to go forward with my "creation", developing it further, instead of running a known IP. Couldn't ask for more.
>>97337028>me, realizing that's been pretty much my entire group for the last year and a half.
>>97337621Oh no. I can feel you here very well. :(I still believe some of these cases can be engaged enough to do at least something (trust me, I tried my best here ... and almost typed "tried" as "tired"). But for an entire group that sounds like playing on nightmare mode ...
>>97337743Worst is I don't think they were always like that. It's as if something shut off in all of them as we moved from one arc to the next. It's perplexing, because they are the group with the best attendance record I have ever had. Yet their passivity was enough to make a friend of mine who joined on bow out, since there's only so much a single person can do to ensure the entire party isn't gawking (metaphorically) at the GM silently for a solid minute when an NPC is speaking with them, or being presented with a situation that doesn't have an obvious thing to punch.
