tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post5480028710415639145..comments2023-10-14T03:58:59.333-06:00Comments on The Tao of D&D: The Purpose of ChangeAlexis Smolenskhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-26974406502343593462014-01-29T19:22:29.097-07:002014-01-29T19:22:29.097-07:00Nonsense, Eric. The difference in counting systems...Nonsense, Eric. The difference in counting systems is a tiny, tiny hair that you are splitting, while ignoring that all games, and indeed all activities, are played by human beings ... who can be expected to ALWAYS treat one another with respect.<br /><br />Standing on the difference of games to suggest that some other rule should apply to people being well-mannered to one another is EXACTLY the problem this post was written to address.<br /><br />I appreciate that demonstration.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-91521911176201016432014-01-29T18:17:53.948-07:002014-01-29T18:17:53.948-07:00* I've got to echo what Adam has said about pl...* I've got to echo what Adam has said about playing with strangers: it depends on the group. The G+ hangout games I play tend to have an older group of players and a much lower douchenozzle factor, compared to the in-store or met-through-work games I've tried lately. (I'm invited back on a regular basis by a number of different DMs, so if I'm the problem they're amazingly tolerant.) The time factor Silberman mentions comes up here to, as sessions are generally 2-3 hours long.<br />* Chess and contract bridge both have unambiguous numerical win conditions. D&D is about as far from that as possible while still being called a game, so I think you'd be better off finding different examples for "rules for courtesy evolve from play." Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07649420272387984400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-13733561159947083182014-01-29T16:48:02.459-07:002014-01-29T16:48:02.459-07:00You're a regular here, Adam, and I respect you...You're a regular here, Adam, and I respect you. But with respect, I'm just going to say that until I talk to some of those hundred people <i>about your behavior</i>, I'm not going to take what you say as evidence.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-51683618960293216402014-01-29T16:37:32.214-07:002014-01-29T16:37:32.214-07:00It certainly seems that one of the features of rec...It certainly seems that one of the features of recent RPGs has been to try to handle, with a set of rules, the sorts of social interactions that back when I were a wee lad would be handled after the session with "don't come back," or, in extreme cases, at the table with, "you're done: take your books and get the hell out." Although I've never actually seen the latter.<br /><br />There's something, too, about playing with strangers at cons; when most of the players are young, testosterone-addled males, you get the sort of dickhead behavior you're talking about. On the other hand, I've been to four GaryCons so far, and I still stand by what I wrote after I got back from my first one, which was GaryCon II: I played something like twenty-eight hours of games, with something like a hundred different people, and <i>not one was a douchenozzle at the table</i>.<br /><br />I think this was in large part because many--by no means all--of the players at each table were, ahem, more seasoned. So a lot of it, is, I think, just preventing a critical mass of teen-boy-dickishness from building up at the table. Unfortunately, at most cons, that's difficult, given the demographics.Adam Thorntonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06368676086759298705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-439184687938973212014-01-29T14:38:39.170-07:002014-01-29T14:38:39.170-07:00One unexpected contributor to seriousness in a gam...One unexpected contributor to seriousness in a game I started running a few months ago has been the lack of time the group has to meet in person. There are as many as seven players at a session, but schedules have only allowed face-to-face play for maybe five hours every few weeks. I've helped this along by, as much as possible, handling character bookkeeping, planning, and investigating on a facebook group between live sessions. Ideally, whichever players make it to the next live game come with an organized plan, ready for action. <br /><br />After a few live sessions where not much was accomplished because precious time was spent selling gems, or deciding where to go next, I've noticed a definite attitude of "What the fuck, you couldn't have taken care of this before?" emerging. Similarly, patience for table talk and joking around has palpably diminished.Silbermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03634048670337733047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-24413441393234753622014-01-29T14:20:33.778-07:002014-01-29T14:20:33.778-07:00It's a good question, Silberman. I think the ...It's a good question, Silberman. I think the fear of 'standardization' is that it will be forced on people ... but perhaps the standardizations in chess that ultimately came about were those that made the most sense?<br /><br />I do think it must come from somewhere else. Respect at the table, for one. What is called "gamesmanship" in every other game. No crowing about the downfall of others. Less of the sort of shit like, "IN YOUR FACE, DM!" Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-49445019675310231662014-01-29T14:12:30.740-07:002014-01-29T14:12:30.740-07:00I've really been getting a lot out of these re...I've really been getting a lot out of these recent posts about the future of the game. One question that keeps coming up for me, especially after this post, is do increased seriousness and quality of play point to increased standardization of rules across different groups or just the opposite? With a game of this complexity, are standardized rules essential to reach the seriousness of chess or bridge, or is the unifying factor somewhere else?Silbermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03634048670337733047noreply@blogger.com