A Request for Consistency

[Acacea]

Well, no... that one is pretty much what I meant when I was saying it wasn't so much about the small things... because -11 is dead. Like, dead dead. Under all normal circumstances, no amount of hoping or bandaging is going to revive the character.

A GM may decide, as is his right on his quest, that the character is still able to be revived at whatever negative HP. Typically this is out of pity for the close to wiped party, or something that should not have happened as it did. Or you may be out of luck. Your character cannot see what the negative number of HP is...so it's GM discretion, in my opinion.

Likewise if Savin died to another epic fire trap and ends at -12 HP, the GM may say that his body is a mangled corpse of charred limbs, or a pile of ashes... he's dead by fire explosion either way...

[Dezza]

From my own personal GM viewpoint...and I stress this is my viewpoint from years of GM'ing both pnp and here in Layo. Which I might add...may be seen by some as wrong and by others as right. Personally it does not worry me..this is my own view.

With that said I will say it hehe.

My rules in any GM encounter, quest, impromptu whatever is fun, spontenaity, pace, danger, thrills and of course fun. Oh and one more thing...fun.

I know the rules, I have the pnp rulebooks but they are written by human beings for a fantasy world that is affected, changed, developed and re-written by the actions, adventures and escapades of player characters!

Thus I am open to anything. Even if what a pc wants to do seems unrealistic I firmly believe that they should get the opportunity to get try whatever it is they have thought up. People who play this game have the most amazing imaginations and thought processes.

I see the GM role as the arbiter of such events. They may not always work and sometimes the idea is so fantastic and fasical that it defies reality. In the role as GM we have to make a call on such things. I personally am willing to let you have a chance.

And if a thief wanted to pole vault a paladins horse then flip upside down and attempt a backstab while in mid air I would probably let them make a few rolls. Its not my fault really when they miss and land in the water trough as the Paladin swings a mace with a crunching blow and cracks them on the head as they surface...is it?

Seriously though each and every GM has their own style and what they are willing or not to engange in. Some are not confident in carrying out some of the suggestions we get, others can't see the sense in it and I can tell you we get some radical requests at times in quests. While others are more open to allowing attempts at certain things. Some people feel uncomfortable when something arises thats not in the rule book. Others can work outside standard operating procedure.

Remember, WE ARE HUMAN, we come with all sorts of ideosynchracies, strange moods, odd humour, spelling mistakes, common sense rulings etc etc. You want to go on quests for the enigma's they present, the challenges they offer, the potentialities they unlock. There has to be some common ground where players say alright, you took the time to give us this quest we'll go along with what your willing to do..and we say well thanks for coming, hope you like this, will allowing this to happen increase peoples fun?

This is my ramble, its exactly what it is, a light hearted opinion from the depths of my own consciousness.

[Acacea]

I think most people agree that you can try whatever you like, but nice knowing you Most of the quests I attend are open and focus on player initiation...so you can take as much time as you want to dicker around doing whatever... can work up the rituals and rolls for anything you please... if there really wasn't anything special about that particular patch of daisies after all and the NPCs have all keeled over in the meantime waiting for you though, whose fault is that!

[Pseudonym]

We demand rigidly defined areas of doubt and uncertainty! - Douglas Adams

[Tialle Dianesis]

And as for you, player Z, they're not carrying your body out, they're carrying your ashes out, because at -120 HP, there's nothing left of you."

Ha! *laughs at the thought of her ashes being swept in a bag*
I so needed a good laugh to start off the day. Thanks Milton!

[vgn]

A lot of good points and suggestions in here so I probably don't need to add anything more, but I will.

I believe the primary frustration is consistency and what is truly being requested is not a list of things you can or can't do, nor is it asking the GM team to peg themselves into one style of running a game. The heart of the matter is the frustrations that can occur on both the side of the player and the GM when a player tries to do something done without issue on a previous quest and the following awkwardness when the current GM doesn't feel comfortable with that, isn't ready for that, or just plain doesn't feel it's appropriate. If the GM says no, the player is bent because they feel stifled, especially when it has worked previously. If the GM says yes, they may be off their game or in uncomfortable territory for the rest of the quest.

So, if that is the primary issue, then I think there are some steps that can be taken on both sides to reduce this frustration without resorting to laundry lists and too much busy work.

First, on the side of the player, it has been mentioned already in this thread, but I think it is the core thing a player can really do to help the situation. I know all players like to exercise their imaginations and often times, especially on bigger quests, they are trying to find a way to stand out and to be useful. If you can dream up an ability that isn't standard, but isn't too far out, then all of a sudden you can up your standing in the group as your new ability saves the day as it were. I think as players, it is our responsibility to realize that while GMs are also creative and flexible, throwing too many of these types of things at them isn't too fair. All I ask players is not to stop doing things outside of bounds, but just try not to get too carried away. Going for subtle changes to spells, or focusing on the things that really should be able to happen were it not for mechanics.

On the side of the GM, I think the responsibility lies in making sure communication lines in the GM team are as open as possible. I used to be on the team, and I know there is a lot of communication, but more can rarely ever hurt. Information is stored on characters and it is only as good as the GMs that fill it in. Here I'd recommend a few things. First if it's an on-the-fly type request during a quest and you aren't sure if you should or should not allow it, it doesn't hurt to toss it out on the GM channel on irc for some instant feedback. You might hear from a GM that already allowed/denied a similar request. Second, after the quest is over, take a few minutes either during your quest write up, or after, to update any relevant items in the character profiles, and also, if you granted an ability to someone during a quest, it wouldn't hurt to start a new and separate thread on it for discussion amongst team members. If the majority of the team feels it was fine, then great, most know next time around it should likely be allowed. If the majority of the team does not think it was ok to allow it, then follow up right away, send a PM to the player and let them know that while it did happen on the quest (you can't take that back), that the team has decided it is not something that can be done moving forward. I think players can respect that and not feel too bent because they have to know that in the heat of a quest, any request for special treatment or abilities often has to be decided in a vacuum and there isn't time for a consensus of the team.