Quote from: Ravenswing;777025Well ... for some time now, I've thought we've been buffaloed by the Truth As Proclaimed By Online Forums.  Take the "GM Is The Players' Slave" riff.  Never mind what people blather about in various forums: how many of you have seen with your own eyes gaming circles that operate off of that paradigm?  I never have.

Ditto. Never see this behavior in face-to-face play.

Quote from: Dana;776565And yes, there have been a few who made it clear that they thought I fit every negative stereotype of a female DM, which I guess meant they believed my games were all about shopping and talking and having feelings. Heh. :rolleyes:.

After 40 years of being a DM, GM, and player one thing I've noticed is that most players (the vast majority in my experience) like shopping; many players like talking to NPCs (and the one's that don't I generally do not invite back because they bore me as a GM); and some, but not all players like their characters to have feelings besides the red rage of battle (some players may need some help drawing out those feelings). A game that doesn't have any shopping, talking, or feelings sounds pretty damn dull, probably doesn't need a GM, and could easily be replaced by a board game.

Quote from: Bren;777099After 40 years of being a DM, GM, and player one thing I've noticed is that most players (the vast majority in my experience) like shopping; many players like talking to NPCs (and the one's that don't I generally do not invite back because they bore me as a GM); and some, but not all players like their characters to have feelings besides the red rage of battle (some players may need some help drawing out those feelings). A game that doesn't have any shopping, talking, or feelings sounds pretty damn dull, probably doesn't need a GM, and could easily be replaced by a board game.

Very much so.

Most of the gamers I know roleplay, but a very small number are 'boardgamers' in disguise that just kill stuff.

Quote from: Ravenswing;777025or is a lot of this wish-fulfillment from those angry players who had a GM be mean to them once and decided that they were permanently traumatized in consequence?

Well, one of those players was Skip Williams, so....


(Not so much "GM was mean to them" as "was a crappy player")

Quote from: Bill;777086And I assume by 'rue the day' you mean, logical cause and effect, and not 'punish because they killed the king'

The sentiment is more 'mess with them for thinking they are more clever than I am' metered by a 'within any and all possible logical constraints' slant.  The goal is to grind them to a bloody stump, because the game world probably hates heroes.  But without cheating outright, I'll fall short of that goal by a fair margin.

Perhaps 'logical cause and effect viewed through the most anti-player lens possible'?

It would take a good blog post to try and fully explain it.

Quote from: mcbobbo;777290The goal is to grind them to a bloody stump, because the game world probably hates heroes.

Fuck, remind me never to play in one of your games.

I'm already participating in an involuntary LARP in a world that hates heroes.  It's called "life".

Back in the eighties, a psychiatrist once asked me if I was having trouble distinguishing fantasy from reality due to playing Dungeons & Dragons.  I replied, "I can't even see how that's possible when reality sucks so much."

Quote from: Old Geezer;777293Fuck, remind me never to play in one of your games.

I'm already participating in an involuntary LARP in a world that hates heroes.  It's called "life".

Nah, I'm a softie, too.  I usually let the heroes stack the deck against the world by being truly exceptional people, I don't typically kill off characters unless I have to (can't think of a way out for them), etc.  The pointy horned helmet is something to strive for, knowing well that I'll fall short landing somewhere in the middle.

And like I said, my style is super flexible.  If I didn't think you were having fun, I'd try and adapt on the fly.  If I knew that wasn't working, we'd talk about it.

Quote from: David Johansen;777296Back in the eighties, a psychiatrist once asked me if I was having trouble distinguishing fantasy from reality due to playing Dungeons & Dragons.  I replied, "I can't even see how that's possible when reality sucks so much."

Don't most humans learn the difference between fantasy and reality at a very young age?

How common is it for an adult to have an actual issue with fantasy and reality?

As in, a serious issue, not just the 'regular' quirks people have.

Quote from: Bill;777461Don't most humans learn the difference between fantasy and reality at a very young age?

How common is it for an adult to have an actual issue with fantasy and reality?

As in, a serious issue, not just the 'regular' quirks people have.

Have you forgotten poor BLACKLEAF!!  

Quote from: Bill;777461Don't most humans learn the difference between fantasy and reality at a very young age?

How common is it for an adult to have an actual issue with fantasy and reality?

As in, a serious issue, not just the 'regular' quirks people have.

Depends on the person. Some people can "disconnect" alot more readily than anyone else.

And some RPG players according to one study on immersion were immersing to the point that the lines were blurring in various ways. Mostly just thinking as the character outside the game. One or two though were bordering on what sounded alot like something akin to multiple personality. The more immersive the play was the higher that percentage seemed to get.

Dont know though of they ever followed it up. It seemed to me too small a crosssection to make any good judgement what was going on or why. It could be as simple as the standard obsession some RPers have with immersion.

Who knows.

But yeah. Probably happens. I know some LARPers want it to happen. ugh.

Quote from: Omega;777471Depends on the person. Some people can "disconnect" alot more readily than anyone else.

And some RPG players according to one study on immersion were immersing to the point that the lines were blurring in various ways. Mostly just thinking as the character outside the game. One or two though were bordering on what sounded alot like something akin to multiple personality. The more immersive the play was the higher that percentage seemed to get.

Dont know though of they ever followed it up. It seemed to me too small a crosssection to make any good judgement what was going on or why. It could be as simple as the standard obsession some RPers have with immersion.

Who knows.

But yeah. Probably happens. I know some LARPers want it to happen. ugh.

I love to be immersed in roleplay.

Don't larp, and I, as far as I know, have zero difficulty with confusing fantasy with reality.

Presumably its a tiny, tiny percentage of people.

Funny enough, I read a study a couple weeks ago that determined the more religious of an upbringing you had, the harder it is and longer it takes for kids to distinguish between fantasy and reality.

This isn't a dig at religion, just an interesting observable tidbit.  One that makes sense if you think about it.

Quote from: Sacrosanct;777497Funny enough, I read a study a couple weeks ago that determined the more religious of an upbringing you had, the harder it is and longer it takes for kids to distinguish between fantasy and reality.

This isn't a dig at religion, just an interesting observable tidbit.  One that makes sense if you think about it.

Which brings me back to this quote -

Quote from: Exploderwizard;777468Have you forgotten poor BLACKLEAF!!  

Indeed Jack Chick seems to have some difficulty distinguishing reality from what's going on inside his head.

Quote from: Bren;777505Which brings me back to this quote -
Indeed Jack Chick seems to have some difficulty distinguishing reality from what's going on inside his head.

I am still waiting for a coven of witches to recruit me because of my dnd experience.

Oh wait....Jack Chick is......wrong.