Quote from: Benoist;383761What I was thinking about was more "let's redo the whole fight" kinda deal!

Even when a player, I'd rather eat a TPK than have to replay a fight and pretend it didn't happen the first time.

Quote from: jrients;383767Even when a player, I'd rather eat a TPK than have to replay a fight and pretend it didn't happen the first time.

Me too. Definitely.

Quote from: Benoist;383761What I was thinking about was more "let's redo the whole fight" kinda deal!

People do that?

Quote from: Insufficient Metal;383776People do that?

I used to be in a group that would occasionally retcon whole sessions.  Drove me nuckin' futz.

Quote from: Insufficient Metal;383776People do that?

I had this happen to me, though I absolutely do not remember the exact circumstance, despite trying to do so. Might have been while running Stormbringer, or Vampire. Or both, actually (might have done it more than once). I don't think it was a player whining, but me realizing I had made a mistake and ruling we would just replay the fight. The results were disastrous, in the sense that the game lost all its momentum, and it became basically a reenactment of something that already happened in the game, with just the mechanical bits and tactical variants taking place. I wouldn't do it again.

Quote from: jrients;383784I used to be in a group that would occasionally retcon whole sessions.  Drove me nuckin' futz.

Oh man.

Quote from: Benoist;383786I don't think it was a player whining, but me realizing I had made a mistake and ruling we would just replay the fight. The results were disastrous, in the sense that the game lost all its momentum, and it became basically a reenactment of something that already happened in the game, with just the mechanical bits and tactical variants taking place. I wouldn't do it again.

That does sound painful. I can understand the initial instinct, though. I've misjudged game balance in scenarios before, but I usually run for the dice fudge instead.

Quote from: jrients;383784I used to be in a group that would occasionally retcon whole sessions.  Drove me nuckin' futz.

You played with Hickman?

Quote from: Peregrin;383840You played with Hickman?

I dunno if he did, but one of my players did.

I'll have to ask him if that went on...

Quote from: Peregrin;383840You played with Hickman?

No, just some perfectly nice folks who valued their personal visions of their PCs' story arcs more highly than the integrity of the overall game.  It was a round robin GM affair and the next time my turn came up I murdered my own PC off-panel as an act of protest.

Quote from: jrients;384050No, just some perfectly nice folks who valued their personal visions of their PCs' story arcs more highly than the integrity of the overall game.  It was a round robin GM affair and the next time my turn came up I murdered my own PC off-panel as an act of protest.

Off panel?  I'd have done it right the fuck in front of them.

"Alkazar stabs Sir Jrients to death."
"What?"
"No, he doesn't, I leap in the way of the blackguard!"
"I'll cast hold scenario!"
"I wish that it was undone!"
"Nope, it already happened, I'm the GM, so let's move on shall we?"

Quote from: Peregrin;383840You played with Hickman?

I've been meaning to ask...where did you find the art for your avatar?

I'd like to get a closer look at that.

I have decided two things.

One: I am merely a mediocre GM who has moments of inspired genius and pathetic stupidity in roughly equal measure (possibly more stupidity than Genius... but really, its easier to remember the good days than the insipidly dull ones).

Two: there is no objective measurement of quality for a great number of things that people would love to get objective measurements on. Such as, for instance, the quality of a GM.  Honestly, there are no 'right' answers and not nearly as many 'wrong' ones as you think.

This is not to say the conversation is pointless. The point, however, is to merely while away a few moments in meaningless conversation with peers and cohorts.


However, I will deign to offer this bon mot in the spirit of this thread:

A Good GM is the GM who gives the players just enough of what they want from the game (beer, pizza, hookers and blow, or dragon hordes, take yer pick) to make them happy and not so much that they are satisfied, so that they always come back for more.  He doles out things they don't want in as much as he can get away with, but never so much that the players feel like they are miserable.  

And for poetic grace notes: He is the yin and the yang, the right and left hand of god, who rewards the sinner and punishes the righteous. He is the scale that never balances yet never tips. He is the traffic jam when you are already late, the no smoking sign on your cigarette break.

A good GM should probably smoke a pipe.

The rest of my ideas on this subject are reserved for my upcoming book, The RPGPundit's Politically Incorrect Guide To GMing.

RPGPundit