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Author Topic: Gettin' Back That Lovin' Feelin'  (Read 1358 times)

PaladinCA

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Gettin' Back That Lovin' Feelin'
« Reply #15 on: April 08, 2009, 11:16:16 AM »
The group you are in makes all the difference.

Even then, some sessions fall flat while others are fantastic.

I've been burned out before, thinking I might be finished with this silly hobby, and then I'll experience one of those epic sessions where I remind myself of why I still do this.

Silverlion

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Gettin' Back That Lovin' Feelin'
« Reply #16 on: April 08, 2009, 11:44:20 AM »
I think its almost an alchemical creation.

The right group is important. Good people who enjoy the tone of the game your running. (Whatever that tone may be.) Who don't make too light of serious themes, or too serious the light ones. Those that aren't so concerned with the rules and oneupmanship, but simply having a good time and enjoying the game not just for their actions but for those around them, in the group, having fun and doing well OR screwing up (in character at least.)

Games where you play no matter who is there, in some manner, and keep having fun even if its not about moving some big plot around.

I also tend to like lighter rules myself that I can judge to help people have fun on the fly, rather than locking them into some for ordained structure that might impair fun.

One thing to nod towards Paladin's post above: Part of it is being willing to go on, even when the session isn't exactly what you want. In my opinion: Stop having an agenda and just have fun.
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Simlasa

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Gettin' Back That Lovin' Feelin'
« Reply #17 on: April 08, 2009, 04:11:32 PM »
One thing I do notice is that I really enjoy having that sense of 'danger' some here have spoken of.
In my earliest games our GM was pretty impartial when it came to character death... dead was dead.
The games I play in now... well, it seems pretty hard to die. I've had two characters die but both times it was by my own volition, because I refused to spend the fat chip/karma points needed to keep him going... it just felt like they should be goners. It didn't feel quite the same though... in both cases the GM offered me an out.
It seems the trend of late has been toward less character death and more 'teh awsome' in character power... and I've never really been one to enjoy being 'teh awsome'.

droog

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« Reply #18 on: April 08, 2009, 04:46:45 PM »
When you first encounter things, part of it is the sense of wonder. But you can't recapture that. It's best to go on learning and developing, and trying to deepen your experience. What you lose in innocent wonder – and you lose it anyway – you gain in understanding.

Either that or give up and do something else with your time.
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Megamanfan

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« Reply #19 on: April 09, 2009, 11:03:13 AM »
Certainly it will never be possible to get it back, as droog makes a fine point.  Maybe what I'm looking for is as simple as creating interest and players who clamor for more when the session ends every week.

Silverlion makes a good point about competition as I've seen it happen a lot over the years.  I want to nip that in the bud too.

Aporon also makes me think that fudging die rolls in favor of the players is a bad idea and one I've certainly been guilty of in the past.  It could be said that a character who survives years of honest to goodness danger is going to be more precious to a player than not.

I'm thinking that, when I finally get a chance to run a game, it's going to be a fairly light rules set with lots of action and whole lot of letting players try out wacky things without getting too bogged down in rules.  I'm seriously considering not using a screen either, to keep me honest.
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Idinsinuation

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Gettin' Back That Lovin' Feelin'
« Reply #20 on: April 09, 2009, 01:15:52 PM »
Quote from: Megamanfan;295184

Aporon also makes me think that fudging die rolls in favor of the players is a bad idea and one I've certainly been guilty of in the past.  It could be said that a character who survives years of honest to goodness danger is going to be more precious to a player than not.

I'm thinking that, when I finally get a chance to run a game, it's going to be a fairly light rules set with lots of action and whole lot of letting players try out wacky things without getting too bogged down in rules.  I'm seriously considering not using a screen either, to keep me honest.

I rarely if ever fudge and only if it keeps things exciting.  Danger and risk is naturally exciting so I never feel the need to fudge those sorts of rolls unless I made a horrible error on my part as the GM.

Screenless is definitely the way to go IMO.  I do use one but it's off to the side of me and keeps other stuff hidden, I always roll on the table save for the rare event when a result must be hidden for the time being.  One way to make that interesting is to have a cup and extra dice.  Shake your die/dice up in the cup, slam it down and then keep the roll hidden from everyone until such time as it's needed.
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Soylent Green

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« Reply #21 on: April 09, 2009, 02:10:42 PM »
Quote from: Megamanfan;295184


I'm thinking that, when I finally get a chance to run a game, it's going to be a fairly light rules set with lots of action and whole lot of letting players try out wacky things without getting too bogged down in rules.  I'm seriously considering not using a screen either, to keep me honest.


Funny you should say that. After a long spell of general dissatisfaction with the hobby I started in January a Marve Super Heroes campaign (the old TSR version with the colour coded charts).

Just like you said, it is rules light, I'm pumping up the action, more than any previous campaign I've run and I am rolling my dice in the open (I tend to do that anyway, but in a game like MSH in which the players can use Karma to even things out there really is no reason not to).

It's been an absolute blast so far. We've done 6 sessions so far and everyone seems to be hungry for more with comments ike "Man, to think we could have been playing this all along!". Now I'm prepping the 7th, grinning ike a madman.

So, in my book at least, I think you have the right idea!
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madunkieg

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Gettin' Back That Lovin' Feelin'
« Reply #22 on: April 09, 2009, 11:14:07 PM »
I definitely have more fun now than I did back then. The challenges I face or set up in games are a lot more interesting. I even get that sense of wonder sometimes, but that's because I don't play the same rpgs anymore. The gamebooks of the rpgs I played twenty-odd years ago might as well be firewood, even the new editions of those games.

If I want those old feelings back, I need new games to challenge and explore.
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Kyle Aaron

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« Reply #23 on: April 09, 2009, 11:24:39 PM »
You just have to shake things up a bit. That childish sense of wonder you're nostalgic for came about because it was all new to you. So you have to make things new, change them.
  • play a game (whether setting or system) you've never played before - even a game you don't want to play. Try it anyway!
  • GM a game you've never GMed before. With this and the last one, you might be surprised how much you enjoy them, and even if you don't, you'll see your stuff you do like with fresh eyes.
  • play with some people you've never played with before
  • recruit some people to play who've never gamed before
  • write an entirely new game with the wackiest possible mechanics and run it
  • take a break and don't come back until you really miss it

Variety is the spice of life, and gaming.
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shalvayez

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Gettin' Back That Lovin' Feelin'
« Reply #24 on: April 10, 2009, 04:37:02 PM »
Quote from: Kyle Aaron;295365
You just have to shake things up a bit. That childish sense of wonder you're nostalgic for came about because it was all new to you. So you have to make things new, change them.
  • play a game (whether setting or system) you've never played before - even a game you don't want to play. Try it anyway!
  • GM a game you've never GMed before. With this and the last one, you might be surprised how much you enjoy them, and even if you don't, you'll see your stuff you do like with fresh eyes.
  • play with some people you've never played with before
  • recruit some people to play who've never gamed before
  • write an entirely new game with the wackiest possible mechanics and run it
  • take a break and don't come back until you really miss it

Variety is the spice of life, and gaming.


 This is dead on. I might have my special gaming hatreds, most notably, anything Palladium, but I'll even play that if I can trust it's not going to end up being a teenage powerwank. Don't get me wrong, I think creating a character for Rifts is nearly as tedious as creating one for Champions, but, I'm more familiar w/ Rifts, which KIND OF speed things up, when I can find the list, chart, skill, spell, or power armor, etc I want.
 
 That shit needs to be color coded or something.
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