[big]On Party Mechanics[/big]
We all know that on Layonara the solo traveler often ends up overwhelmed and visiting the Soul Mother one too many times.
It is for this reason that individuals group together and travel as one to achieve a common goal. Whether it be gathering some raw materials for crafting new and wondrous items, going out for a little training and monster bashing, finishing a challenging task given by one of the many NPCs in the world, or participating in a fabulously in depth quest by one of the many awesome GMs.
What is often not known or misunderstood is how one should act in a party and interact with the party members. This helpful document is not designed to point out any one individual, as many of us have probably been guilty of various party no-nos in our RP career. This document is intended to help point out some tips and to provide some possible direction while in a party, and still continue RPing your character correctly.
Leadership:[/u] When in a party of more then a few, let's say 5 or more, it is often considered helpful to assign a clear party leader. This is especially true on GM run quests. The leader should be a character that has a great deal of experience with the world and/or a particular area of expertise with whatever the party is attempting to do. For example, Luna needs to get the Oil for Juanita. She asks several people to help her and soon finds herself in a rather large party. One of the characters has already obtained the Oil and thus knows the area and the strategy to use. It would be very poor of Luna to not allow the experienced character to lead the way and would possibly end up getting a number of her comrades killed.
It is the party's responsibility to listen to and heed the advice of the leader. That is why they are the leader. If a character cannot reasonably take direction from the leader, then perhaps they should not be in the party.
The leader has responsibilities to the party as well. They are responsible for the general party's well being. The leader should also listen to any concerns and ideas that the fellow party members have, thus ensuring a good, viable plan. A leader needs a certain amount of intelligence, wisdom and charisma to be an effective leader. He/she should know the risks the party is entering and make sure everyone is informed. A leader also should not usually act brashly, but should be calm and methodical. The leader is also usually the one to do the talking to any NPC's and other characters while on a GM led quest.
Looting: There should always be one person designated as the looter. That character should be the only character looting, unless otherwise stated. This character is usually a non-front line person. For example, the mage, druid, possibly the cleric, or perhaps, the rogue. It is also usually a lower level character as well. It is this character's responsibility to collect the loot that has fallen from the slain monsters and what have you. When Luna loots, this is what she does: She will pick all gold, keeping a careful tally of the total. She will pick up any item she thinks is valuable for later distribution. She will almost always announce that if she leaves loot on a monster, then it is free game. If a character asks her to pick up scrolls and what have you, she will. If two or more character's want a scroll, a dice roll will decide the recipient. At the end, before the party splits, it is the looter's responsibility to divide the gold equally amongst all members of the party that participated. If a party member leaves early, they get a share of the loot up to that point. If a party member arrives late, their share will not be as much. If for some reason a party member declines their share, then that share gets evenly distributed amongst the remaining members. It is also important, that if for some reason a character logs before getting their share, at the next earliest opportunity, the looter needs to give the share to them. It is EXTREMELY important that the looter be honest. Also, and this is important, the party needs to wait for the looter to finish looting BEFORE they rush off to the next encounter!
Teamwork: This is vital, as one can imagine. Teamwork covers many aspects. Knowing what each character's skill and abilities are so that a proper formation and strategy, and discussing this ahead of time, can be developed falls under this category as does proper communication. For example, the party's cleric wants to cast some preparatory spells prior to heading into an area where there will be an expected battle. She/he kindly asks the party to hold while this is performed. It is only proper for everyone to wait until everyone is ready before proceeding. Usually a simple asking of, “Is everyone ready?” and waiting for everyone to reply is sufficient. Teamwork covers many intangibles as well and stems from RP. If your character is not that bright, then figuring out some puzzle might be some stretch, even if you, the player, knows. Trying to take the spotlight and the focus is also poor teamwork. Let other players have a chance to shine. Everyone will feel much better about themselves if this happens. Another aspect to teamwork is when you get to the end of an area, before proceeding to the next area, wait for everyone to get through the current area. Perhaps a character is walking for some good RP reason.
Soul Stones: These little gems are lifesavers for the clerics in the party. They make it much much easier to raise you if you die. I recommend having at least two. They are not very expensive. When you buy one, you have to imprint it for it to work. Do this by right-clicking and using it. Don't leave home without one, or two.
Magic: Magic is often times a welcome aspect of traveling with a group. It is important, however, that it be used correctly. If you mage wants to fireball a group of gnolls, warning the party in advance as to you intention is very wise. Woe to the mage who casts a fireball and toasts his own party members. Now, if a mage does warn you, and you do not heed the warning, then woe is to you. This applies to all classes that can cast Area of Effect spells.
Pets: Various players will have a “pet” of some sort. Be it a familiar, an animal companion or a summon. These often get out of control, especially on GM run quests. It's simple. If you can not control your pet, then do not summon one. In most instances, they are not integral to the success anyway and should only be used for RP purposes.
Party Chat: Party chat is very nice to have while questing or what have you, however it is very easy to misuse and abuse. If your character is in Hlint, and the rest of the party is in the Berhagen Mountains, asking everyone ICy if they need supplies just cannot happen. You are no where near the main group so no one can hear you talk. Now, if you are in a dungeon and the group gets seperated and Bruenor is using party chat and says, “*yells loudly* Let's all meet near the strange ruin on the wall that we saw!” This can be acceptable as there is a chance everyone might hear him. One note of caution, the GMs can hear everything that is said in party chat. If there is inappropriate use or a large amount of OOC talk, which there never should be, then one never knows what they may do.
RPing your character: Lastly, let's look at RPing your character. Everything has exceptions and the same applies here. If you play a barbarian, battle raging dwarf who is told to wait to attack, it might be appropriate at times for the character to rush off and attack the first thing he sees. If you play a rogue, a sneaky conniving thief, picking up items and not telling the rest of the group might be acceptable. On two conditions: 1.) RP IT! For instance, Jondar the sneak comes across a shiny, possibly magical ring while looting. He furtively looks around, seeing no one is looking, slips it into his hidden pocket for further investigation. Luna sees him and asks what he found to which he replies, “Hmm? Oh, nothing. I just thought I lost something of value.” Is this acceptable? I think so. As long as it is RP'd correctly. 2.) BE PREPARED FOR THE IC CONSEQUENCES! For example, Grug, the half-giant barbarian battle rager, has an intense hatred for the undead. A group of semi-powerful mummies are spotted in the crypt by the scouts and the leader advises caution. Grug, in a fit of fury, belches forth his battle cry and rushes headlong into the fray, thus endangering the entire party. Grug has to be able to accept the IC consequences of this. Which may include, his death, being held responsible for other deaths, or even being kicked from the party. One very important item to note: Never take IC actions personal! If a character does something drastic and ends up being removed, it is IC. If a character is yelling at you, threatening you, or even trying to bring about your demise, it is IC. It is NOT OOC and therefore not a personal attack. If it is taken personal, then it flows into OOC and makes things very unfun for everyone else.
I hope this has been helpful, and if anyone else has anything to add, please do so. I am not the expert on such things. These pointers and tips have just been my observations after many years of RPing in both the PnP world and NWN.
Thank you, and have fun RPing!
