How to let an Experienced GM know his game is not for you? Options

[Tiralee]

Hi Chummers,

We've recently moved (Note: update the location box of profile) and managed to join a Pathfinder session that was just starting. (As a bit of background, I've GM'd Pathfinder for ~ 7 years and Shadowrun since I've been posting.)

Now, I know my time spent running as cat-herder has coloured my perceptions, and I liked the people and yes, even the gameworld we're kicking about in, but we (my lovely wife and I) don't really like his gamestyle.

He is a reasonable GM, but he's sort of running it like a White-Wolf/Storyteller game. This really wasn't what we were after and if I was trying to roleplay Settlers of Catarn, I'd have made it a bit more explicit in the introductory notes.

I also appreciate that he's trying to build a rich game world through player interaction, but after 2 hours the bard hadn't rolled a die. Even though she'd been roleplaying non-stop with the other players and interacting heavily with npcs.

What's a nice way to say, "We like your table, but not how you run it?"


Regards,

-Tir

[Wounded Ronin]

Just tell him you appreciate the effort but can't make it anymore because you are just so squeezed for time. Basic politeness. That's what I did the last time I had to bail from a Pathfinder game.

[Blade]

As a GM, I know that my games aren't for everyone, so I don't mind having a player tell me that he's got another play style.
Then it depends if you are globally ok but don't like one thing or two, or if you can't enjoy this style. In the first case, you might try to tell the GM the changes you'd like to see and see if he's ok with that or not, or invite him to a game you run to let him see how you do stuff and what you'd like to see. In the latter case, just tell him that he's a fine GM but that you're not looking for that kind of stuff when you play RPG.

[bannockburn]

Basically, there are two adult solutions.
Either, you have already decided to leave the table, in which case you should call and tell the GM that you can't make it anymore, because $things happened, or you're still interested in playing with these folks.
If the latter, tell the GM clearly and politely what you enjoy and what not, e.g. that you want more dice rolls and actual mechanics involved, and ask if they'd be willing to accomodate your preferred style of playing the game in a compromise. If they aren't, thank them for the time and leave. If they are, check out how it works for a few more sessions.

Inviting them to a game you run to demonstrate what you mean could also be helpful.

[Tiralee]

Poster here:)

0: Had already offered to run Shadowrun & Pathfinder for them, seem that he'd too many dickhead players that didn't read the RAW and ran rampant over him in the past, so it was "my way or no". But we tried.

1: I let them know (after the lovely and I kicked around the good and bad of the night) the things that we had trouble with. They responded, equally politely.

2: I politely let them know that we weren't returning to their table (In a polite way, we had a good night, but I'd end up biting someone's throat out if "told to roleplay that way") but they were a good GM and a good table.

And that's the thing that is irritating, they are a good GM, and the table was shaping up well, it's just a shame that our expectations and theirs didn't mesh.

Still, all the more power to them,

-Tir.

[bannockburn]

Too bad, but at least it wasn't a teenage meltdown (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)
Good luck finding a new game!