PCs VS PCs

A quick message from Blackjack:

The following was written by NightLife who will be guest hosting, on and off, probably bi-weekly, while I attempt to get my act together. Any feedback on this writing should go to him. Especially if the feedback is nasty. All opinions presented are those of NightLife himself and do not necessarily reflect the way I perceive reality. (Unless these ideas are good, in which case I agree 100 percent.)

-BJ

As you might have guessed or maybe even have heard, BlackJack has been a little busy for a while. My name is NightLife and I’ll be your guest host for a while now. In the true vein of the corner we will address one of the oldest problems in the SR game and that can best be described as “The PC’s Vs the PC’s”.

I’ve been gamemastering for four years now with many changes in my gaming roster. While I can’t claim to have been at it for 9000 years like BJ, I think I got a pretty good idea on how things are supposed to be. Notice I said “supposed to be”.

Honestly I can’t remember when things went as smoothly as they were supposed to. Now some of that blame falls on me the GM at about 10 to 15 percent of the problem. The rest of the strife comes from inter-party conflict. Now I realize there are going to be personality clashes but they sort themselves out usually by the one who irritates the group the most just not being invited anymore.

I’ve composed a short list of things that should make the game run smoother:

Quit your bitching—it just gets in the way. If there is really a problem, talk it out later with the person if possible.
Crosstalk makes it hard for the GM to do his/her job. Keep it to a minimum and things will happen faster.
Don’t get lost in the technical side of the game. With all of the SR books and all of the net compilations, there is just too much info to sort through in one night. Anyway, it’s the GM who has the final say in any new tech/magic/rules etc…
Interparty conflict is alright as long as it doesn’t interfere with the game. Keep it to a minimum and keep it on the light side.
If you’re not there to just have fun and socialize, don’t bother coming.
And finally, remember that little saying your mom taught you: “Remember to treat everyone the same way you want to be treated.” In other words, everyone has feelings—be considerate.

If these six little things can be utilized, things will run smoother and more efficiently. The goal of the game is to have fun in the story the GM presents to you.

Branson Hagerty (bhagerty@thunder.temple.edu)