I do not blame players

Message:

The players often want the game where it seems easier, not an earned easy but a less stressful experience. Why? Group acceptance = Making your Rolls

Given choice More loot or More Mobs? Becomes More Loot, Less Mobs to increase survival now and improvement against later threats. Fun for most is in advancement.

Tougher for the ref to have a rewarding story. Very tough. Compelling story may trump player desire for ease of advancement, but bad luck can foul so many weeks of ref's thought and creation.

What do the rulez do? Nothing. It's the rolls not rules that change play. All rules do is slow play.

Campaign Story reduces to a List of Places to Roll dice. Number of successful dice rolled determines advancement.

Publisher is selling something everyone can already do if they are willing to argue. But there is the essential problem. To have at least the start of the argument seems important, especially with strangers. e.g., See here on page seven. I am doing it right.

Gamers do argue. Most arguments being Unfair! e.g., I want to live despite my poor rolls. Social groups abhor that conflict but it exists despite all the attempts (swelling rulebooks) to make everything Fair (Faery).

A thriving gaming group is always adding strangers. Strangers change dynamic and strangers bring their own preconceptions. New person may not be loudest to call Foul, but others wanting the new guy to succeed will argue or cajole for roll negation.

Key to all is set the campaign length and divide by the character progress desired. Play for ten weeks and have all gain seven levels = about one a week, with one or two players lagging and one always getting one more than norm. It's a group dynamic thing.

Oh and try not to bore (this old grognard who thinks he's seen and done every twist).



Yours,