For Day 6 and Week #2 the theme is 'How' and today's prompt is 'How Can Players Make a World Seem Real"
The biggest things are to show up consistently and be prepared to play.
Some of the potentially worst sessions are when a character suddenly has to go catatonic for a session because their player couldn't make it. Of course, we live in the real world and most of us have responsibilities in one way or another but when a character is a major part of the story and the player is hit and miss with showing up, it makes it hard to involve her center stage. When playing a more realistic game--such as I am now with Cyberpunk 2020--there isn't a spell or device that lets the missing character join up with the rest of the party out of nowhere. Sometimes the party may be split up by hours of travel. The alternatives are to bring the character in from the start and let them sit there like a mannequin, run the character as another NPC or to let a different player take over for the session. None of these are good options and the PC loses their "voice" in one way or another no matter how it's handled.
In my most recent case, I had to move on with a "main" story plot twist although much of it involved a missing player as I had already side-quested the group and had them spinning their wheels for the past two or three sessions. I'll write the whole frustrating scenario--week X the player is present and the wheels of the plot twist are in motion, week X2 player couldn't make it so the group got roped into a side quest, week X3 player makes the session and rejoins the group as they (nearly) complete the side quest, and week X4 player is missing again doesn't participate in the finish of side-quest and I wasn't about to rope the group into another, so I took over the character and presented the plot twist without the player.
Also, a player should be prepared to play. In my case, the campaign is on Roll*20 and I write a weekly recap in the forums. Players should at least try to give that a read even if they're not up on all the lore of the system setting. Players should certainly know what their own characters can do even if they aren't aware of the abilities of their friends. At least one of the players should make note of group money, equipment and contacts. Those contacts start getting too numerous and I'm thinking of making a document to list them all, but that's on me. The bottom line is that after the first few sessions, a player should at least know what his character can do, and be prepared to act on his/her turn so that things move at a decent pace. Keeping focused on the game also helps with that. If it's a live table, the TV and smart phones should definitely be put to the side. We are either there to play or we're not.
It might look like I'd be a hard person to play with, but the opposite is true. I'm laid back as a GM and player. Side conversations, stopping for snacks and drinks and making jokes are all a part of the fun of playing RPGs. If we have to look up a rule or if GM or Player forgets plot points, it's not a big deal really, but the world will be a lot more engaging and realistic if everyone tries to show up and pay attention when they are there.
The biggest things are to show up consistently and be prepared to play.
Some of the potentially worst sessions are when a character suddenly has to go catatonic for a session because their player couldn't make it. Of course, we live in the real world and most of us have responsibilities in one way or another but when a character is a major part of the story and the player is hit and miss with showing up, it makes it hard to involve her center stage. When playing a more realistic game--such as I am now with Cyberpunk 2020--there isn't a spell or device that lets the missing character join up with the rest of the party out of nowhere. Sometimes the party may be split up by hours of travel. The alternatives are to bring the character in from the start and let them sit there like a mannequin, run the character as another NPC or to let a different player take over for the session. None of these are good options and the PC loses their "voice" in one way or another no matter how it's handled.
In my most recent case, I had to move on with a "main" story plot twist although much of it involved a missing player as I had already side-quested the group and had them spinning their wheels for the past two or three sessions. I'll write the whole frustrating scenario--week X the player is present and the wheels of the plot twist are in motion, week X2 player couldn't make it so the group got roped into a side quest, week X3 player makes the session and rejoins the group as they (nearly) complete the side quest, and week X4 player is missing again doesn't participate in the finish of side-quest and I wasn't about to rope the group into another, so I took over the character and presented the plot twist without the player.
Also, a player should be prepared to play. In my case, the campaign is on Roll*20 and I write a weekly recap in the forums. Players should at least try to give that a read even if they're not up on all the lore of the system setting. Players should certainly know what their own characters can do even if they aren't aware of the abilities of their friends. At least one of the players should make note of group money, equipment and contacts. Those contacts start getting too numerous and I'm thinking of making a document to list them all, but that's on me. The bottom line is that after the first few sessions, a player should at least know what his character can do, and be prepared to act on his/her turn so that things move at a decent pace. Keeping focused on the game also helps with that. If it's a live table, the TV and smart phones should definitely be put to the side. We are either there to play or we're not.
It might look like I'd be a hard person to play with, but the opposite is true. I'm laid back as a GM and player. Side conversations, stopping for snacks and drinks and making jokes are all a part of the fun of playing RPGs. If we have to look up a rule or if GM or Player forgets plot points, it's not a big deal really, but the world will be a lot more engaging and realistic if everyone tries to show up and pay attention when they are there.
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