I received this today from penandpapergames.com; notification of a new player in my area looking for gamers:

"Looking For: Looking for a player to join a GURPS Game.
The world is Fantasy/Tolkein Derivative with Romanesque elements.  I'd also describe open-world, low-fantasy, and heavy emphasis on role-playing versus roll-play.
Heavy GM interaction needed for character creation as the world is 20-years in making and refining.  Must be 18+ due to NDA required to play, and we're utilizing GURPs for the game system due to flexibility.  It's not necessary to know GURPS though, as Our GM been using it 30 years+."

This is pretty much my idea of hell. It has all the hallmarks of awfulness to come. Role play/Roll play, a micromanaging GM, and GURPS. And the NDA tells me the GM either thinks his world is publishable, or this whole game is designed around building the plot for his novel. I'm almost tempted to join in just to subvert it...

Quote from: Herne's Son;972351I'm almost tempted to join in just to subvert it...

Or and I'm just throwing this out there you can leave them alone to have their fun and you can have yours.

Which is what I'll inevitably do.

Gaming ads are just like other personal ads (or if you've ever been a hiring manager-- applications, resumes and cover letters sent for openings). There are always plenty of very clumsy, poorly thought out first attempts that you can totally take pity on or make fun of if you want to. It would be pointless and cruel to actually join just to ruin this person's time. However, if someone were to actually show me an ad like this that they were thinking of posting and asked what I thought, I would respond with something like, "No, you shouldn't. It sounds truly horrible. Gamers who think their game world is going to become a novel make terrible GMs, and there aren't many people who really want a micro-managing GURPS GM. I would be genuinely worried about someone who said yes to this ad being in reality a troll trying to mess with you. You are better off leaving this pet project of yours in the shoebox under your bed."

I saw one recently where the Player was looking for a GM to run a game for him in a setting that Player had created.
That seemed... unlikely to succeed.

Another one, for a Vampire game, promised a 'curated' gaming experience... which I asked about, and got this reply:
"There will be a lot of scenes for individuals, for them to pursue their own desired course for their character. These scenes will be tailored to you; they may make you happy or sad or anxious, but they will all help you personally develop. Vampire isn't about running through objectives as a party for us, but rather building a world where everybody still feels like the main character in their own story."

All fine and good, 'other people's fun' and all that...

I wouldn't get near this with a ten foot pole. Or a ten foot Pole for that matter. The NDA aspect does make it seem a little creepy though.

If the GM's game world is that delicate, I wonder that they allow anyone to play in it, other than in hopes of some sort of ego stroking.

The biggest redlight to me is the heavy GM interaction to character creation. I have a friend who runs games like this and you feel like your playing his novels characters. I'd not be interested in repeating the experience but others fun may vary.

So many red flags:

"role-playing versus roll-play"

"the world is 20-years in making and refining"

"NDA required to play"

and of course

"GURPS"

Okay, that last one is a joke.

(Also: How can a Tolkien-ripoff take 20 years to "create and refine"? That's longer than it took Tolkien!)

There was a time in the early '90s after I left school when I was hard up for people to game with. I tried a few of the ads on the FLGS corkboard, and I regretted it each time. I quickly discovered it was easier to make people I already liked into gamers than to try and find gamers that I liked.

Unless it were for a big playtest or something, I would never sign a legal document of any kind to participate in a game. A bit of a red flag.

Quote from: Herne's Son;972351I'm almost tempted to join in just to subvert it...

See if he has good stuff.

If he does, you know what to do.

NDA is that for real?!

I'd empty my bladder with laughter if some 'no mark' asked me to sign one for their pwecious game.

Quote from: Baulderstone;972375...it was easier to make people I already liked into gamers than to try and find gamers that I liked.

Rave On, John Donne

Hmm. I wonder if the "experienced GM" got a chance to look at this before it got posted. The writer says he's a different person, and has awful ad-posting style. The NDA seems off, but it might be "hey we take this world seriously so we want you to be an adult and promise not to post OOC details online to not undermine IC character knowledge and so on" which gonzo ad poster dude just writes "NDA" for.

However, some of you folks' reactions make me wonder where you guys "come from". It can make complete sense (worded another way) to involve the GM in character creation for a detailed GURPS campaign. In fact, the GM had better at least spec out what sort of character to make, or it may not fit the campaign, especially if you're looking at the 4e Basic Set which lets you buy multiple arms and super powers and a nictating membrane and whatever else.