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I need some help. (Read 1985 times)
shawnmtoups
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I need some help.
Jan 30th, 2010 at 1:44am
 
So my fiance has played D&D a couple times and for the most part enjoys it.  However, she thinks she is a bad player and doesn't want to play anymore.  She feels she can't think on her feet, which the games I play/run require.  Anyone with ideas or advice to make it easier on her?
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Re: I need some help.
Reply #1 - Jan 30th, 2010 at 6:09am
 
You could try to adjust Your style to help her out since you know this.  in fact knowing her, you should be able to do it easier than someone else, without making it obvious or being disrespectful to the other players.  You know, showing favorable behavior...

If that is part of the problem, being objective, then try this...

Give her AND the party some options..."This creature is HUGE and pretty slow, looks like it will take forever to move across the room." or use dramatic comments like "The elf, moves quickly but you know you could catch him if you wanted to..."  ... "Although your spells are powerful, you know the limitations of the spell will not reach him although your bow might...What do you want to do?"

By giving her options on what she could or might do, it allows her to choose something while still making it her decision.

Good Luck.
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shawnmtoups
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Re: I need some help.
Reply #2 - Jan 30th, 2010 at 3:28pm
 
Thanks for the advice.  But I already similar stuff.  I was more looking for advice to give her.
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Re: I need some help.
Reply #3 - Jan 30th, 2010 at 4:21pm
 
I'd recommend reminding her that it is just a game and that it isn't the sort of game that is "win or lose." Having fun is the main point in participating, and the experience and enjoyment will bring a fuller gaming ability as far as the playing ability is concerned. If she is not interested because it is boring to her, or if she acts like she'd rather do something else, then perhaps she should not play. A feeling of ineptitude though is just a natural part of learning when you are the "newbie" and everyone else can rattle off every statistic of every item in the game already.

Basically, good ol' encouragement is the best way, and keep reminding her that not being the quickest on the ball won't cause her to "lose" the game.

Oh, and perhaps talking to the other gamers on the side to get them to help with encouragement and advice. Think of it as a corporate team-building seminar. Only less boring. Good luck to you guys though; every new gamer is good addition to the local gaming society as a whole.  Smiley
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shawnmtoups
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Re: I need some help.
Reply #4 - Jan 30th, 2010 at 5:00pm
 
That is the hardest part.  Trying to convince her that she can't lose.  The thing is she makes excuses to the group about how she is tired, or not feeling well.  She tends to think that the members of the group we currently play with don't want her to play because she is new and the rest of us have been playing for years.  After her, I have the least amount of experience, only 4 years.  She is under the belief that she is slowing everyone else down and making it not fun for them.
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Re: I need some help.
Reply #5 - Jan 30th, 2010 at 5:03pm
 
Have her play a forgivable type of player.  A big beef cake that won't die immediately if she makes a wrong decision.  And make her a bodyguard or soldier who has a boss or commander making most of the decisions for her. 

Or ease back on always needing a "correct" choice.  Life as well as gaming is not so much about making the 'right' choice as much as it is about making a choice and dealing with the consequences.  (I once had a character that was startled by a bugbear.  He immediately attacked and nearly killed the bugbear in the first round.  Turns out the bugbear was a friendly NPC and the next part of the game was the party trying to find a priest to heal the bugbear before he died)  Oooopses that are well played by the GM can enrich the game immeasurably.

Maybe make the game lighter and more fun for her as she starts out.  I'm not sure what kind of game you run but if you want your soon-to-be-wife to enjoy this pastime you have a narrow window to hook her in.  My wife's one attempt at gaming was in one of the slowest, most cumbersome campaigns I've ever payed in.  It was mind numbingly boring to anyone who did not find spending hours calculating acceleration out of a gravity well fascinating.  Needless to say she does not game game now despite all efforts.  On the other end of the spectrum there was Red Ninja adventure.  One of our DMs was having his kids join in on an already existing campaign.  For about a half dozen gaming sessions the party's primary nemesis were a bunch of child-stealing goblins (actually kobalds) that wore red granny panties on their heads and called themselves the red ninjas.  This worked well to hook in the young gamers and entertained the crap out of the experienced gamers.

Another rout would be to have her play a type of character that's not expected to make all the right choices.  When I first started out I was given a chaotic neutral half crazy swashbuckler to play.  The nature of the character  made any potential decision the right decision.  Encourage your fiance to do the absolute first thing that comes to mind.  Jump off the cliff!  Hug the bugbear!  Try to body surf across the top of the attacking mob!  She might die.  Let her know that.  But if you can get her to commit to the crazy character I'll bet she'll have a blast until she does.  And if she does die, the next part of the game could be finding a priest to do a resurrection.  Or reincarnation!  I've had that happen in a game a couple times.  Read the rules on reincarnation.  Hilarious!  Two words for you:  Chicken paladin.  I will say no more. Lips Sealed

Heck, this could end up being a running gag.

The character dies when she gets burned to a crisp by a red dragon that did not think wedgies were funny.
The rest of the party then says:  Oh My God!  He Killed (Characters Name)! You Ba$tard!  Grin

Bottom line.  Gaming is supposed to be fun.  It's not supposed to be work.  Change your style a little.  Encourage her to have fun with her character.  Good luck.  Now go have a good time! Cheesy
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Re: I need some help.
Reply #6 - Jan 30th, 2010 at 6:57pm
 
^What he said. Or you could try running Paranoia   Wink
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Reply #7 - Jan 30th, 2010 at 10:56pm
 
Great advice guys!  I agree, that you still have to make her comfortabke but know that it could be too late for her want to play anymore...

that said, I recall my friend's wife, she was having so much fun with the rigger drones, naming them and making them do things for her, all the while she was talking to them.  Talk about awesome way to get into character...anyway, we thought it was cool taht she found something that she liked and was running with it.  She ended up stopping playing and killed the group because she thought we were making fun of her.  Even when we explained how cool it was she got into character...the whole point of roleplaying for most people, she still did not want to play....damage done I guess.  Might be what you need to do is ask her straight out if she wants to truly game because she likes it/finds it interesting or is doing it to know more about what you do...find the common ground and maybe be able to work it out with her.

I mean, either

a) she wants to play but can't gert into it
b) she does not like being the inexperienced player, who does, and can't get past that awkwardness of letting the group down,
c) she does not want to play and does not know how to tell you,
d) you might be pushing her too hard to pull her into your world?  (Just a thought, no disrespect intended, since I don't know you... just that I know how much you might want to share with her & keep on trying because you want her to be a part of it)
e) some other reason.

Good Luck.
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Re: I need some help.
Reply #8 - Jan 31st, 2010 at 3:19am
 
okay, this is his fance.

the reason i do not like playing is because i do not like being inexperienced with a group of people who have been playing since like middle school.

i also dont like the roleplaying aspect of it.

i am an actress who is very hard on herself and shawn(my fiance) telling me to think of it as a play just ruined any chance of me wanting to role play.

the problem is that its not scripted and that there is no set way and for me being inexperienced and self concious with the way i play anyway, and i do not like doing improv and i feel like i do it wrong.

i know there is no wrong way to do the things from your own imagination, but i still feel like i am doing it wrong.

i did play a fascinating elf ranger.

she has flame and frost scimetars, and we named the move "crimson frost." and the story line was interesting but they wanted character interaction, so i didnt enjoy it.

plain and simple it all comes down to the roleplaying.

EDIT:  So she just told you guys more than she has told me everytime I ask.
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« Last Edit: Jan 31st, 2010 at 4:19pm by shawnmtoups »  
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Re: I need some help.
Reply #9 - Jan 31st, 2010 at 6:15pm
 
Sucks.  Some people are just not the RPG type.

The only other thing I can think to try is start her out with a group of less experienced gamers to get her feet wet in a less stressful environment.

The thing about being an actress and not being able to think of it as a play seems a little odd, but each person approaches things in their own way.  I did theater about a million years ago (and was extremely bad at it) but the idea of 'getting into character' transferred over into gaming quite well for me.  Thinking about who the character was and why he did the things he did was half the fun.

Maybe try getting into character before the game.  Give your character an over-the-top personality and then try so slip into it.  Don't just act out the character, try in some little way to become the character.  My first character in an ongoing campaign was a fancy-pants half crazy swashbuckler.  On gaming days I would wear silk shirts and while gaming often wandered around drinking wine directly from a wine bottle.(Usually Boons Farm.  Forgive me, I was 21 and it was the mid 90's) 

Another early character was a gnome.  He was the smallest character in the party so I would often sit on the floor during gaming so my eye level would be always below everyone else .  The character was a leather worker by trade, so I gave him a fascination with shoes.  So at least once during each gaming session I could be found messing with the shoes of another player and making random comments on the quality of the shoes. (Ah, I see thee boots bare the mark of Master Nike.  Beautiful work but for dungeon work I prefer the unparalleled craftsmanship of Master Puma)

This is a bit out there, but it can help get into character.  Give your character prejudices and hobbies.  It is often the shortcoming of a character that make it more real.

That's about all I can think of.  Good luck.





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Re: I need some help.
Reply #10 - Feb 1st, 2010 at 11:33pm
 
Interesting take. Not many folk out there acting who dont follow "The Method" anymore.  Some classical "ACTORS" but not many for sure. (( The role-playing aspect is essentially "The Method" with dice.))

Still the lack experience thing at the table can be exaggerated in some groups simply because the setting used is so immersed in crunchy bits that it chips away at the experience. (Trolls dont turn to stone in the sunlight but need to be burned?) People without the experience in the setting feel like their characters should know things that the player them-self does not. Nobody wants to be put into a situation where they look like a fool. (well the jesters do but..) I think the dual axis alignment system from AD&D sometimes fostered this feeling in players who paid too much attention to it.

To the no "set way" feeling, that is where I think you are missing it. There is a set way and if you dont do it that way then from the perspective of the character you are doing it wrong! The good news is that you get to define what the right way is. Is this character a nervous person? proud? a liar? Trustworthy?  Once the character of the character is decided upon you just portray that character how you think someone of that quality would act. No special voice required!

In a sense it is like Improv but the character development can go much deeper than that. In my game I think we can count on the wizard to complain and talk down to folks, the ranger to make gurgling sounds (and to invade the homes of innocent non-humans) the fighter to try to do "whats right"... each player made these choices for their character.

Still if the game doesnt interest you, theres always competitive games.
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Re: I need some help.
Reply #11 - Feb 2nd, 2010 at 1:35am
 
I believe that the group we play with has a bit to do with it.  One of the members is a rules lawyer.  He plans out his character out to epic levels.  I think this make my fiance feel like she isn't doing enough.  In my opinion, she does great.  Her characters are interesting.  But they tend to be a little more basic than some of the groups PCs.  I'm trying to convince her that size doesn't matter.
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Re: I need some help.
Reply #12 - Feb 2nd, 2010 at 3:45am
 
Maybe we are over thinking this whole thing.  Continued praise and reassurance may be all you really need in the end.  Works for most of the rest of us.
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Reply #13 - Feb 2nd, 2010 at 7:14pm
 
Praise and reassurance from me doesn't really work.  She says I'm supposed to say she is doing great.  Oh well.  We will see when the next groups starts.  Thanks guys.
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Re: I need some help.
Reply #14 - Feb 2nd, 2010 at 7:25pm
 
It may be that the style you run a game in is simply not the best style for her to play in.  What I mean is that you seem to favor more of a free style where players actions decide the path of the game and she seems to want more of a set script.  I'd suggest you find a game both of you can play in so you aren't 'in charge' over her.

Also, tell her the point is to have fun.  Some people have fun by 'winning' or by beating everyone else.  These people will be obnoxious and hold it over the other people, but they miss the point that its not a zero sum game.  A win is different for different people. 

If she doesn't want to play because she thinks she is doing badly if might just be that she isn't enjoying it as much as she thinks she is supposed to.  Again, I'd suggest finding something where the two of you are equals in experience.

There is a LARP group for Changeling in World of Darkness that meets twice a month I think.  Check the posts from Krazy on here or go look at meetup.com.  I'd think an actor would do well in that environment as long as you can deal with improv.  The exercise is to make a character and then react to what happens, not to meet a specific goal other than make a believable character that everyone else can interact with while they do the same.
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