The Nerdery #16

[Fellfrosch]

http://www.timewastersguide.com/view.php?id=1009

To ward off the inevitable question, the subtitle comes from "Guys and Dolls." A mob boss joins a crap game but insists on using his own dice, which are completely blank: "I had the dots removed for luck, but I remember where they formerly were." He then proceeds, naturally, to win every roll.

[Spriggan]

Heh, that's a great title Fell.  Thought I was onto something here, but guess no one else feels that way by the lack of comments.

[fuzzyoctopus]

I came here just to post that I loved the Guys and Dolls reference, only to find that Fell has already explained it.  Oh well.  I still like it.

The thing is probably that I didn't start roleplaying or doing anything with dice until after performing in Guys and Dolls my senior year.

[fuzzyoctopus]

Heh, that's a great title Fell.  Thought I was onto something here, but guess no one else feels that way by the lack of comments.

As for the article... I like it.  Having both played and GM'd you're right.  

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

well, I think the thing is that at least on this forum, GM flubbing isn't a big issue. We all think he should do it, but that it should be controlled and infrequent.

[Fellfrosch]

Yeah, we all agree, so there's not much to add. Your next article should be about how GMs should kill at least one party member per session--that would get everyone's motor running.

[Gemm: Rock & Roll Star; Born to Rock]

I'm not sure if we've gone over this before, but how does one shut a friend up about going on and on about something they did in the past elsewhere when it's the 5th time that night he's brought it up? You know, telling them in a nice manner.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

you say something along the lines of "shut it, friend."

[n8sumsion]

Or you could start shaking your dice and yell, "Roll for initiative!"

[Spriggan]

Yeah, we all agree, so there's not much to add. Your next article should be about how GMs should kill at least one party member per session--that would get everyone's motor running.

Actualy I think that there should allwayse be the threat of easy death for players once they hit a certain level, by then you've learned how your character works and have phat loot.  If you die becsaue of doing something stupid or because you flubb a roll tough luck, if you can use an instant kill spell (or massive damage one) why can't the GM?  'Course I'd rather write something about selfish players who break up groups when their characters die once.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

the two of those could easily be combined into one article.

[Mad Dr Jeffe]

I'm not sure if we've gone over this before, but how does one shut a friend up about going on and on about something they did in the past elsewhere when it's the 5th time that night he's brought it up? You know, telling them in a nice manner.

In that situation the correct decorum is a must. Peel the riding glove off your hand and strike him twice across the face with it. Then arrange to meet in a quiet local using weapons of his choice at a future date. Have your seconds work out the rest of the details. Good Luck!

[Nicadymus]

Had a situation in our last gaming session that brought this article to mind.  I know.  That is just wrong, but it happened anyway.

I had just started a new campaign with 2 players.  Their was a trap they encountered that shot one of the players with 4 poisoned darts.  Naturally he attempted his Fort. save to resist, but botched...bad.  The poison dropped the characters constitution score severally with the first waive, and was likely to eliminate it when the secondary effects hit.

It has been a policy in our group that even the GM rolls in the open should the players request it.  I am fine with this as it allows chance to dictate what will occur and aids in what has been called "fairness," which the players have been very insistent on.

So, in fairness, I rolled the secondary effects of the poison, and it dropped the character.  Of course he was a little upset as we had just started the campaign, and expressed his disfavor with the outcome.  I shrugged, and replied, "Well, that is the way the dice fell."  He responded with, "Well, you could have fudged the roll.  You ARE the GM!"

Put me in a very awkward place.  Any suggestions?

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

call him a cry baby and laugh at him.

I mean, er...

you can't please everyone all the time. Was this die roll in the open? If players are going to demand that a roll be done in the open, and it doesn't come up in their favor, you have a real problem when the disfavorable result is death. There is no satisfactory resolution. If the player KNOWS you cheated, he feels a little icky knowing his character didn't really make it. If you stick to the result, he dies. What do you do? In my opinion, the more satisfying (or rather, less dissatisfying) answer is to hold to the result, esp if it's a new character. He doesn't miss out on too much if he has to reroll the char, and you don't break form by ruining the game.

However, if they were less demanding of behind the screen rolls, they wouldn't have had the problem in the first place,a nd they need to realize it (preferably in a non-confrontational approach).

If the die-roll was behind the screen, I'd have cheated and let him live. He already had a weakened constitution. However, the damage is done either way now, and I'd stick to my guns. Nothing sends a gaming group in a downward spiral than a GM who will change the game or house rules retroactively. Change 'em on the spot while making the resolution? That's fine, as long as the results of the rule haven't applied and you've moved on. But if you HAVE moved on it's better to be consistant, maybe changing the rules for the future (and explaining that you will and why), even if the ruling was ultimately unfair.

[Nicadymus]

Well, the roll was in the open, and I decided to stick to my guns and have the character die.  The other character tried to save the dying one or at least take his body to a priest to get him resurrected, but he ended up not making it out of the dungeon while trying to carry the dead wait of the other character.

We have since moved on to a new campaign, but I would like advice on how to handle a similar situation should it present itself in the future.