Month: July 2019

The Village Idiot

A fool’s errand…

Last week’s post was aimed at GMs. This week I’ll talk to the players.

If you play RPG’s long enough, you are going to come across “that guy.” You know him (or her). They push the red button, attempt theft in broad daylight, and insult dignitaries to see what happens. It seems like they just want to watch the world burn. Maybe they are trying to play a specific archetype, maybe they think they’re being funny, but the rest of you think they should be hung by their toenails on the nearest light pole.

I think most of us would have to admit that we all get a little satisfaction from causing mayhem in an RPG. What “that guy” (or gal) fails to realize, is when their fun is ruining fun for everyone else.

Playing the fool.

But maybe you want to play the goofball, the idiot, the counter party character. How is that done without ruining the fun?

Here are some suggestions:

Ask the GM: Most GMs have an assumption about how PCs are going to interact with the game world. Tearing apart the narrative on a whim makes the GM’s job hard and if the GM says no, don’t push it. The GM is hopefully looking out for you. Letting the GM know you want to play that character ahead of time allows them to work it in, if it works at all.

Ask the Party: While spontaneity is fun, you really want to read the rest of the group. The other players are the bulwark against which excessive stupidity can break. More asking you say? Won’t that slow down the game? Yes! So…

Limit your “that guyness”: Goofing up at just the right time can lighten up a game. Goofing off all the time slows the game down. Players will quickly build up an immunity (followed by an allergy) to your play style. All things in moderation.

Don’t flippantly foil other PC’s success: We’ve all seen a movie where the hero is sneaking around “big bad villain guy’s” lair. His accident prone side kick knocks something over, the hero is detected, and a chaotic montage of scenes follow. As the audience we love this! However, in an RPG you are not the audience, you are the mortified heroes with no idea if they will survive the encounter. Never do anything that knowingly ruins the game. If you know the big red button kills the party, don’t push it. If the whole party is low on health and items, don’t kick the sleeping dragon they just snuck past.

While there are many other tips that could be given, these few should help steer you away from some of the biggest blunders of playing a counter party character.

RPGender Equality

Who ordered the can of worms?

In the past role playing games were viewed as the domain of the introverted nerd-man-child. However, in today’s social networking age it has become apparent that almost all ages, social groups, races, and genders have role players among them.

In my local RPG group, the concept of gender equality is often a default state of mind. When we sit down to game there is no special treatment given to either gender. (Except maybe the moms. Moms are awesome and I am willing to jump through hoops so they can participate with a baby on their hip. Go moms!)

What I want to look at is how we can create an enjoyable, thought provoking environment using the concept of “Gender Equality” in game.

Modern Medieval

First up we have a typical setting. Guy and gal players are equal, so in game PCs of both genders are equal. This avoids controversy and allows for a very relaxed play style. These games are especially good for teaching new players. Most people are already learning a whole new social skill in learning to role play, and don’t need another.

The limiting “issue” if you will allow, is that we often play in historical and cultural settings where this wasn’t (or isn’t) a reality. This is known as an “Anachronism,” applying something to an era or place where it was not present. We remove these barriers out of respect for our fellow players and generally improve our RPG experience.

What if we didn’t though?

Hey, Man!

Picture this:

The PCs enter a new area and stop to resupply in the first village they encounter. The male PCs quickly discover that none of the women in the town will trade with or even acknowledge their presence. The more the PCs try, the more nervous the townswomen get.

So what is going on in this village? Are the local women so devalued and oppressed that they fear to even look in the direction of the male PCs?

Nope.

The male PCs are soon rounded up by a local all female guard and thrown in the town jail. The female PCs are informed that charges have been brought against them for not keeping “their” men under control.

[End Scene]

You see what I did there? I took a situation, gave it a semi-historic surface appearance, and then with a very simple flip the PCs have an interesting adventure to play out.

I Rebel.

Another option is to play a more historically accurate setting. How is this fun you ask? Allow me to elaborate.

In our local group, some of the biggest murder hobos and thieves are the women players. They enjoy breaking normal social boundaries in game, as much as the guys.

This is a good environment for “Maid Marion” style games. Social norms dictate female PCs to behave in a certain way that prohibits adventuring. So the girls have to be creative and sneaky in their dealings. They never know when they might find a governess attempting to drag them home.

Are they loud rebellious princesses? Are they secret vigilantes? These games can be a lot of fun.

The Prince is in Another Castle

One last option is somewhere in the middle. Maybe certain areas are less “progressive.” A female PC gets kidnapped and taken here. What will she do while temporarily relieved of her rights? How far will the party go to change or violate the laws of the land to rescue her? (Maybe they aren’t willing to? Oh the drama! The horror! The humor?)

Maybe a baroness visits and a male PC gets taken. Technically he has rights, but nobody in the barony is gonna cross the baroness.

A word of caution on these two suggestions: talk to the player of the kidnapped PC ahead of time. This will help prevent them from feeling railroaded and they can assist in playing up the situation.

Whatever Floats Your Boat

Ultimately, the choice is yours. Get to know your group and see how unconventional RPG gender equality might enhance the experience.

Remember: the goal of playing a RPG is to have fun!

Now if you’ll excuse me, I can hear the power gamers coming….

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