Group Dynamics |
Group Dynamics |
Oct 19 2011, 06:10 PM
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#1
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Neophyte Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,001 Joined: 26-February 02 From: Michigan Member No.: 1,514 |
Has anyone ever generated a character that just didn't fit with the rest of the team? How did you handle it as a player? How did you handle it as a GM?
One of my own experiences: We had a pretty large group, who at the time consisted of a largely anti corporate, and anti Japanese group of PC's. When one of the players showed up playing a Japanese character, who looked like something from a circus with out my prompting what so ever the other PC's made plans to murder this character. (On their own time, no less. I kind of knew they were up to something, I just wasn't sure what until it touched down.) After about three games they felt they had a good feel the character, and in the middle of a game decided it was time to handle business. They ended up waxing the character-but they took some damage doing it. At first the player in question was a little pissed. But ironically it ended up being a lot of fun for him, and actually inspired something we did for years: Omnidome! Omnidome was a chance to play against each other with out actually being in game. I'd draw a map, they'd pick characters-and once every few weeks try and kill each other. It was great to practice and become acquainted with the rules, with out losing a PC. |
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Oct 19 2011, 07:17 PM
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#2
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 582 Joined: 13-April 08 Member No.: 15,881 |
I've been a player with a character that didnt fit and I also GMed with a group that had a character that REALLY didnt fit.
As a player, you just have to remember to not try to hog the spotlight because it's easy to do, especially if your character is over-the-top. It's easy to get excited and caught up in a scenario but its also easy to forget that you aren't the only one at the table. As a GM, these characters can be great tools but also annoying as fuck. The character I had playing under me was a Pixie Face Magician who used his size to circumvent almost everything and was so annoying most of the other PC's had to be convinced to not leave him behind several times. Another character we had was very unusual but I was able to make her my icebreaker. The group had a tendency to plan things to death and while it worked out well for them, it took FOREVER. Her character was impulsive so I encouraged her to act on that impulsiveness when things were dragging on too long to make the group do something and make them proceed where it was moment-to-moment decision making rather than a carefully laid out plan. As long as the player doesn't make a nuisance of themselves with the character and bring the game down for everyone, oddball characters can be a lot of fun. |
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Oct 19 2011, 09:27 PM
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#3
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Shooting Target Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 1,989 Joined: 28-July 09 From: Somewhere along the brazilian coast Member No.: 17,437 |
I try my best to create a character that can work with the rest. Rivalry and minor back-stabbing is ok, but I try my best not to kill another player's caracter although I not always succeed.
But I do keep tabs on each player and make contingency plans for each one of them. |
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Oct 19 2011, 10:18 PM
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#4
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 993 Joined: 5-December 05 From: Crying in the wilderness Member No.: 8,047 |
When i am the odd ball character to the group there does not seem to be a middle ground, either I love the game but nobody else seemed to know what to expect or I am not told anything and so end up pointless or to cool for school.
I usually take extreme pains to avoid the latter so mostly its been when nobody got a brief or did their home work. In gameI work to migetate both end of the spectrum. When the ref has failed though all I can do is encourage/adv ref and pick up the slack. The down side for that though is the group lets so much slide cos they wont tell the ref to change game until I have been running round like a headless chicken while everyone else is bored. The best result, is the character fits to work but the players realise they have steep learning curve to catch up with pyshcology involved. As a GM/ref (bar one offs) this does not happen. To much consultation and prep for this kind of mistake. Sorry |
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Oct 19 2011, 10:37 PM
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#5
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 189 Joined: 21-February 11 Member No.: 22,370 |
We had, until recently, a CAS expat rigger in our group of Caribbean ne'er-do-wells. Said rigger had a pretty strong prejudice against orks and trolls in a party consisting of a Fomori Scotsman, an Oni, and an Ork Voodoo mystic passing as human. He was already pretty uncomfortable with us; getting his legs blown off by a recently-awoken EVO troll cyberzombie only made things worse.
We don't talk to that rigger anymore. |
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Oct 20 2011, 07:47 AM
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#6
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Runner Group: Members Posts: 3,009 Joined: 25-September 06 From: Paris, France Member No.: 9,466 |
I kinda got that problem in one of my campaign. Hopefully, it was just a problem between the characters not the players, so it went well.
One of the player had to do a new character after the death of his character (who already had some trouble with the team, but that was more because of a drug addiction problem that went really bad). He created a technology-loving hacker/mage, who was convinced that mages were a superior breed and had to lead society (some PCs were heavily into politics in that campaign). She clashed politicially with the neo-anarchist nazi (supporter of a strong State that could enforce a free economy) ork hacker and he didn't take her hacking skills seriously. And since, for some reason, that ork was the "natural leader" of the group, she didn't get very well with the team. So the player decided to create a new character and have this one become a NPC. |
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Oct 20 2011, 11:49 AM
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#7
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Neophyte Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,001 Joined: 26-February 02 From: Michigan Member No.: 1,514 |
In my previous example I was lucky the players were all mature enough to handle the intraparty conflict. I've had situations where they couldn't-luckily very few but the few that we had were prolific and generally more because the cats we were gaming weren't compatible with us. (Maturity levels, game goals, interests, etc...)
I'd like to think that we've always handled these situations pretty maturely-we're not rude, or dicks about it. But sometimes we've had to say "Look, sorry Dude but this isn't going to work." |
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Oct 20 2011, 11:56 AM
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#8
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Running Target Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 1,003 Joined: 3-May 11 From: Brisbane Australia Member No.: 29,391 |
I played an elderly gentleman who had to take up running to support his grand daughter after his son died and wasn't big into extraneous killings. The rest of the group decided to follow a no possible witnesses policy so he had to leave the run and stop working with that crew. Which sucked because that character was a personal favorite (IMG:style_emoticons/default/frown.gif) .
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Oct 22 2011, 01:03 AM
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#9
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 187 Joined: 3-May 11 Member No.: 29,372 |
We had, until recently, a CAS expat rigger in our group of Caribbean ne'er-do-wells. Said rigger had a pretty strong prejudice against orks and trolls in a party consisting of a Fomori Scotsman, an Oni, and an Ork Voodoo mystic passing as human. He was already pretty uncomfortable with us; getting his legs blown off by a recently-awoken EVO troll cyberzombie only made things worse. We don't talk to that rigger anymore. There was a reason why only the human looking one got to keep the rigger as a contact. The game I am currently GMing was planned as Pink Mohawk but my players appeared with a wide array of pinkness. One is fully Pinked out and will go in guns blazing. The Minigun toting troll can afford to do that but the other team members he drags along with him aren't hardy enough to keep up with him. Inversely, despite being whimsical and free spirited, the mystic adept in my group is really a black trenchcoat character ( possibly a dark blue trenchcoat); his sneaky tactics don't mesh with the party and the party gets bored when the mystic adept goes swimming in the ocean for hours. |
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Oct 22 2011, 01:07 AM
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#10
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Neophyte Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,001 Joined: 26-February 02 From: Michigan Member No.: 1,514 |
I've tried, in the past when I was a lot younger, to force group dynamics but in the end I've found they have a way of settling themselves. I've been lucky-as I've said many times before in many threads-my players have always been pretty mature, and so they've never equated IC strife to OOC bad feelings. Admittedly when we were younger we had to take a few strategic "breaks"-where the players went out and had a smoke on the porch and every once in a while I'd pop out and we'd discuss some things.
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Oct 22 2011, 03:43 AM
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#11
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 189 Joined: 21-February 11 Member No.: 22,370 |
There was a reason why only the human looking one got to keep the rigger as a contact. The game I am currently GMing was planned as Pink Mohawk but my players appeared with a wide array of pinkness. One is fully Pinked out and will go in guns blazing. The Minigun toting troll can afford to do that but the other team members he drags along with him aren't hardy enough to keep up with him. Inversely, despite being whimsical and free spirited, the mystic adept in my group is really a black trenchcoat character ( possibly a dark blue trenchcoat); his sneaky tactics don't mesh with the party and the party gets bored when the mystic adept goes swimming in the ocean for hours. Which explains why two players are rolling up new characters...again. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wobble.gif) |
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Oct 22 2011, 04:35 AM
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#12
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 328 Joined: 3-March 10 Member No.: 18,233 |
Did the new player know who the other characters were when coming in? Usually when a new player joins, a good thing to do is an OOG/metagame intro so he/she knows what the group is like. Not saying to bar that person from making the character they want, but let them know what they are getting into.
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Oct 22 2011, 03:41 PM
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#13
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Running Target Group: Members Posts: 1,019 Joined: 10-November 10 From: Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia Member No.: 19,166 |
My groups have all been able to get along fairly well, but since I do my GM'ing online lately, it's easier to gremove someone if they are a problem, especially if we don't know them that well. The worst I can think of is the combat monstrocities, since I tend to go more black trenchcoat. Had one player who tried to check out the building they were going into for the run, and completely lacked the skills necessary. His play style just didn't mesh, and he didn't last long.
The current group has different levels of ability, but they tend to have the basics needed to survive in my world (except first aid, but the guy who rolls 11+ dice on logic tests makes up for it...) and they get along well enough, they even seem to compliment each other well enough that a plan isn't necessary half the time. |
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Oct 22 2011, 06:37 PM
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#14
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Neophyte Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,001 Joined: 26-February 02 From: Michigan Member No.: 1,514 |
Did the new player know who the other characters were when coming in? Usually when a new player joins, a good thing to do is an OOG/metagame intro so he/she knows what the group is like. Not saying to bar that person from making the character they want, but let them know what they are getting into. Some cats can handle this, a few can't. The majority of experience is with people who can take a minute, out of game, listen to what we're running and why and find their place in that. The few people who haven't cut the mustard are the ones who just couldn't communicate or relate to us in any way. Some were even adversarial, or so socially inept in real life we just couldn't tolerate them. (And again this is a small number.) |
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Oct 24 2011, 06:19 PM
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#15
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 943 Joined: 24-January 04 From: MO Member No.: 6,014 |
You are not playing Shadowrun right if the players are not trying to kill each other.
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Oct 24 2011, 07:09 PM
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#16
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Great Dragon Group: Members Posts: 6,640 Joined: 6-June 04 Member No.: 6,383 |
Once I had a PC snipe out another PC. Lots of BS drama ensued.
I think that problems can arise whenever someone is too invested in their character. I prefer disposable heroes. That is why I like SR3. Because a starting character can be very powerful. No bullshit level curve to fall behind. |
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Oct 24 2011, 09:48 PM
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#17
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 187 Joined: 3-May 11 Member No.: 29,372 |
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Oct 24 2011, 09:53 PM
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#18
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 189 Joined: 21-February 11 Member No.: 22,370 |
It's hard for most people to not take the death of their character personally. In a setting where 50% of runners don't live to see their first paycheck, you can't really afford to get emotionally involved. Death just has to be accepted as commonplace in SR, something that players of That Other Game have trouble adjusting to. |
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Oct 24 2011, 09:59 PM
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#19
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Prime Runner Ascendant Group: Members Posts: 17,568 Joined: 26-March 09 From: Aurora, Colorado Member No.: 17,022 |
In a setting where 50% of runners don't live to see their first paycheck, you can't really afford to get emotionally involved. Death just has to be accepted as commonplace in SR, something that players of That Other Game have trouble adjusting to. And if they cannot adjust, they can always Burn a point of Edge. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) |
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Oct 24 2011, 11:46 PM
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#20
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Freelance Elf Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 7,324 Joined: 30-September 04 From: Texas Member No.: 6,714 |
And if they cannot adjust, they can always Burn a point of Edge. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) At which point -- knowing some players and their competitive attitudes -- they're still probably bitchy, because another player just "robbed" them of a permanent attribute point, etc, etc, so they "might as well" have just let the character die. |
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Oct 25 2011, 12:10 AM
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#21
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Prime Runner Ascendant Group: Members Posts: 17,568 Joined: 26-March 09 From: Aurora, Colorado Member No.: 17,022 |
At which point -- knowing some players and their competitive attitudes -- they're still probably bitchy, because another player just "robbed" them of a permanent attribute point, etc, etc, so they "might as well" have just let the character die. True... I tend to let a character die when it happens, regardless of the amount of Edge he has. Sometimes, though, you just cannot go out like a punk (the death should at least have some meaning), so it is warranted, on occasion. I prefer just starting another character, though. I have a ton of ideas, and about 50 already made up. *shrug* |
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Oct 25 2011, 01:36 AM
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#22
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 187 Joined: 3-May 11 Member No.: 29,372 |
True... I tend to let a character die when it happens, regardless of the amount of Edge he has. Sometimes, though, you just cannot go out like a punk (the death should at least have some meaning), so it is warranted, on occasion. I prefer just starting another character, though. I have a ton of ideas, and about 50 already made up. *shrug* As an Altoholic, I generally feel the same. However, if you have too high of a character turnover rate, it is hard to build party cohesion and RP. |
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Oct 25 2011, 01:49 AM
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#23
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Prime Runner Ascendant Group: Members Posts: 17,568 Joined: 26-March 09 From: Aurora, Colorado Member No.: 17,022 |
As an Altoholic, I generally feel the same. However, if you have too high of a character turnover rate, it is hard to build party cohesion and RP. Also True... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) |
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Oct 25 2011, 02:20 PM
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#24
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Neophyte Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,001 Joined: 26-February 02 From: Michigan Member No.: 1,514 |
To be honest I have the marvel universe of the 90's approach to death. No one's truly dead if there is a good story to tell. No alive doesn't equate to unscathed...
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Oct 26 2011, 04:47 PM
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#25
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 664 Joined: 26-September 11 Member No.: 39,030 |
I had a GM that made us sit down and tell a story about a previous mission or adventure that we had gone on as a group to establish group cohesion before we had actually finished our characters. It worked great. Usually one person starts the story and everyone else jumps in where they see a place they think there character fits. Things like:
Player 1: "I remember this one time at this bar and there was this guy that just could not take a joke. His beer would have thawed eventually." Player 2: "Yeah, I remember that time. I was hiding under the table for most of the night. Until you knocked the troll unto my table." Player 3: "Yeah me too. That's where I got this gun. Some guy just left it lying next to a puddle of blood towards the end of the night." Player 1: "Do you remember when the bouncer got involved? . . ." It really helps us develop a feel for the type of group we have, what everyone wants to play and how they want to play it, and is way more fun than writing "character backgrounds". I have had games where some players do not mesh. I ran a campaign of The Other Game and I had a player that had taken Blind Fight (as a sorcerer) and so literally every battle would cast obscuring mist or some other fog spell, so that he would have an advantage when he went to stab things. The rest of the party was not amused. He did not last long. |
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