Sunday, November 7, 2010

Pardon my Rant

Pardon my little rant here for a bit.  I think, well actually I know for a fact, my least favorite part of DMing is the management/politics.  You know what I'm talking about... the coordinating of schedules, the behind the scenes emails, listening to folks who have issues with another player or your choice of miniatures etc...  As you all know I've been running, or trying to run a Labyrinth Lord game, well folks understandably have lives and schedules so we haven't been able to meet that regularly.  I tried to make sure we had enough players to play.  So I put out a recruitment poster.  Does that say anything about this being a 3.5 game??? Apparently to some folks it does, or at least they decided it would become that if they sent me enough emails about it, or whined enough about this not being 3.5, or that they were doing me some kind of favor by playing "my" game even though it wasn't 3.5...
I apparently should have also added that the game didn't mean for you to bring your small children either.  I'm all for folks playing with their kids, and involving them with their hobby, I game with my family as well on occassion.  BUT my intentions were for this game to have some mature content not really appropriate for youngsters, nothing bad, but just not gentle either. Wouldn't you ask before you just up and decided to bring your kid(s)?  Hmmmm maybe I'm just the grouchy old man yelling at kids to get off of my lawn??
Anyways, I admittedly get aggravated by this kind of the thing and in the past have just "taken my toys and gone home" maybe the problem is me.  Maybe trying to run a regular long term campaign that meets consistently and frequently is just not where my life is right now. Our last session ended with the players in a tight spot in the middle of a dungeon, we are down a core player and some of the others can't make it or aren't coming, for reasons stated above. I emailed the guys, the core ones I have and based on their feedback we've decided to play Mutant Future today. 
Now I know why so many of my old gamer friends have shifted to Board Games.
Rant Off...

9 comments:

  1. Nope, you're not out of line at all. To join up and then try to bully you into 3.5 is just rude. Bringing their kids along without saying a thing about it is rude also.

    A lot of people have forgotten their manners these days.. sigh :/

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  2. I don't think you did anything wrong. I totally get your rant.

    Manners are manners!

    Bringing a child to anybody's home without asking is not only rude, it's bad parenting. I am a parent and I'm always sure to make sure it is not only okay for me to bring my child but also that the place I am bringing them is kid friendly. I also accept that if my children are not welcome, it may mean that I cannot participate if I have no other care for them but myself. Bottom line, I would never impose my children upon anyone.

    Trying to waylay somebody's campaign is a time-honored trouble with gamers. I have had players who felt that once in, they could turn my game into their game or make it more like that one they played way back when...

    Your advert was quite clear and system specific. I just think that some of your players are lacking in the manners category.

    -Eli

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  3. I hear you. As we get older it's increasingly difficult to establish and maintain a decent group of players.

    Good luck managing the asylum, my friend.
    -Christian

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  4. Apologies to Tom Petty . . .

    Well you cant turn him into a company man
    you cant turn him into a whore
    and the boys upstairs just dont understand anymore
    well the top brass dont like him talking so much
    and he wont play what they say to play
    and he dont wanna change what dont need to change

    Chorus:
    And there goes the last DM
    who plays what he wants to play
    and says what he wants to say
    hey hey hey
    and there goes your freedom of choice
    there goes the last human voice
    and there goes the last DM

    and some folks say there gonna hang him so high
    casue you just cant do what he did
    theres some things you just cant put in the minds of those kids
    as we celebrate mediocrity all the boys upstairs wanna see
    how much youll pay for what you used to get for free

    Chorus:
    And there goes the last DM
    who plays what he wants to play
    and says what he wants to say
    hey hey hey
    and there goes your freedom of choice
    there goes the last human voice

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  5. Well, you handled that way better then I would have. Its like going to a Encounter Critical game, and folks ask to play GURPS. Folks somehow got it within their heads that 3rd Ed is "old-school" because its no longer supported by WotC. Even if you gave-up and said "OK, we're playing third edition", and then folks come around to play a real "old-school" game, then who would look like a fool? And WTF? When did game gatherings became a damn daycare center?!? Kids are loud, get into everything, and keep the parents highly distracted. And yes, a good old-school game has a good amount of scary and sensual content.

    The last time I had a kid at a game, the child ripped a player's sheet, broke one of my props, and thought the dice where candy! (it was a family game)

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  6. Thanks for the comments everyone. I really appreciate them. I must admit the event(s) I described put me in a not so very good mood going into my game yesterday, but fortunately my core players that made it are some great folks, and we had a blast playing Mutant Future yesterday. I'll try to post about it when I get a bit of free time. One guy took some pics too, so when he gets those posted I'll share. We play in one of the player's office breakroom so we had some cool little boxes and such to use as terrain.
    Wow, CC!! : )
    Thanks again!!!

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  7. Sorry to be late to the dance, but maybe you can use this as a learning experience.

    You used the term Old School Gaming and that carried a lot of meaning for you that perhaps it didn't for people who are not connected into the interwebs.

    Maybe you could rework it to be more explicit in what you are looking for?

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  8. Sorry if this is coming in late Bill. I share your pain. Right now, a regular game is something so impossible in my life. Just trying to set up a game, make schedules mesh, preparing a game itself and all the while trying to survive real life is a true challenge only those who have gone through can relate to. As for me, having players can't/won't return my SMS text message to confirm whether they can play and all the while spend their time whining is a total pain in the posterior. Days like these make me wonder why I even try at all.

    For whatever it's worth, you are not alone my friend. Hope your games turn out better from hereon.

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  9. Good point Greg, you know your getting old when folks think of 3.X as old school. : )

    Hey Spielmeister, good to hear from you.
    I hope you get your gaming going again. I really enjoyed reading your session posts, your MF ones in particular were quite Kirbyesque!!!!
    Thanks for the kind words. : )

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