GM Styles, Player Styles, and the Catwalk

[Hotfoot]

How do you run, how do you play? Simple questions, but I'd imagine they have very complicated responses.

As a GM, I tend to be fairly spontaneous. I make a general outline of the session, what the hook is, what the problem is, what the twist is, and possible solutions. I don't expect my players to follow any specific path, and so I tend to keep things open for whatever they try to do. Sometimes I have to put my foot down and tell them they have their heads in the clouds, and they should stop wasting time with something that won't work. I also don't like to make the players scrape for equipment or money, I tend to be quite generous in that regard, though I am rather strict in what they can reasonably carry at any given time.

I've grown to enjoy law enforcement styled campaigns, because they give the players an easy hook, offer a fair number of different archetypes and concepts to play with, and have a remarkable number of violent and non-violent adventure points. It also gives the players a limit to what they can and can't get away with. They can get away with gunning down a bad guy who is threatening civilians, but they can't get away with walking around town in full body armor and milspec weapons in broad daylight.


As a player, I tend to enjoy playing a wide range of characters, though I commonly work some sort of subtlety and stealth into the mix, with a healthy dose of social skills worked in. Of course, I haven't been a real player in a long-running tabletop game with a character of my own choice for a long time.

[LadyTevar]

Characters: Sex is often involved... especially with anyone Nitram's RPing.

[Cynical Cat]

It appears I'm very similar to Hotfoot in how I run things. I'm the biggest bastard, as a GM, in Star Wars games because my players occassionally get lost debating (and naysaying, Umbras's worst fucking habit) perfectly reasonable plans. Since that ruins the whole atmosphere of Star Wars game, I give them a gentle nudge with the understanding I will inflict some kind of calamity unless they get moving.

As a player, I tend towards mages but I do play other types. I just don't get to play very often, so I'm usually jonesing to play a spell tosser.

[Dark Silver]

As a GM, I play loose and fast with the rules. I enjoy sometimes making things a little harder than they should be for the players, but if they've been doing especially well, you know, they play REAL good, don't go overboard, and generally have a entertaining night, I may take things easier on them. If I have a problem player, they don't stay problems for long...

Scott can attest to my patience with players at times, and my...creative ways of dealing with them. My favored compaign settings tend to have something epic occuring in the background, something the players eventually have to get involved (like my former URP threads: "The Glitch").

As a player, it depends heavily on the setting. I'll admit, I am spoiled on one character, who I played for over 5 years, before finally retiring him. It just really depends on what the setting of the game is, as I like to think I'm somewhat flexible on my ability to RP.

[Hotfoot]

I do have bastardly qualities, but they often come up in the twists that get revealed as the players stumble their way through the game.

Generally speaking, my player recognize that wasted time means less game time, and that's punishment enough.

As far as combat goes, well, I have a range. Players like to feel like gods of combat, but it's a fine line between letting them win and letting them win but feel like they nearly bought it back there. What I've done is graded combat by the tactics used by the bad guys. If they're not too bright, and I need to make it tougher, I add in more. Eventually they'll get a shot in. If they're using good tactics and weapons, I don't need as many to make things hard. I also tend to play modern games more than fantasy, and I've found that extending ranges tends to help make things harder. Increased ranges mean additional negatives, and the players need to work harder to get to short ranges where lethal shots are a much more sure thing.

So long as the players aren't being stupid, I tend to be merciful in combat. However, if someone is going to walk out into an area that is under saturation fire and take a headshot at the bad guy shooting, he's going to die a messy death. Unless the game is highly cinematic, but that's another story entirely. Fortunately, most of my players have quickly learned what is stupid and to avoid it (the first time one of them attempted a hostage trade was the last).

[B4UTRUST]

*coughs remembering* Yes, Ferran wasn't too appreciative of your handling of his character.

Err, I don't generally have a style for GMing I don't think. I have a story in mind and I generally play it as it comes. In some cases I have a scene in mind and a general ending and try to influence it towards that end but it's seldom that.

As for playing... technophiles. Virtual Adepts, riggers, hackers, techno-wizards, etc.

[Cynical Cat]

My players are rather variable in combat performance. Often they are on the ball and are beautiful machine of death that splatters NPCs all over the place. Sometimes they are not. They have been painfully inept on several occassions, which can make some fights much more deadily than I anticipated.

[Shark Bait]

lots of story, elaborate worlds and a good bit of flexability.

NO SEX, but cannabalim is not only allowed it is encouraged.

[SirNitram]

Generally, I form an arc quickly that will dominate the campaign. It ranges from minor(The success or failure of one character's business venture in Sigil), to cataclysmic(The current one, where a cult is trying to ressurect Karsus The Mad).

My rule on PC death is: When dramatically appropriate, or when the player is dumb. Very quickly after this rule is made apparent, players learn 'Acting like the DM won't kill me' counts as 'dumb'.

[LadyTevar]

Well... let's see... I've played AD&D Rangers, Thieves, Divine and Arcane casters. (see Kaeryn in Cat's stories for a DivineArcane mix)

I've played WOD Vampires: Gangrel, Caitiff (see Jasmina in "Certain Point of View) and a Ventrue's Ghoul Guardian. I've far more enjoyed playing Lupus Werewolves, Galliard or Ahroun, even was told I was the 'best lupus they've seen'. Mostly Fianna, for some reason Played Pooka or Satyrs in Changling.

I've played an Irish Bard who became a witch and wed her soulmate (see 'how I met Nitram'.)

I've played an earth-witch elf of draconic heritage, who could shapechange to a Pegasus and counter nearly anyspell, as well as support her companions with ranged attacks and healing spells. (Dragonstorm RPG)

EDIT: Forgot the Ananasi!!!

[SirNitram]

What I've played... Man, I forgot that. It's been a while.

D&D, virtually all paladins. The rare foray into other classes is fun for a concept, but I always return.

Changeling, I'm the Troll who has a weird relationship with nobility(Either being newly Chrys'd and thus not sure what to make of this feudal crap, or being a veteran of Accordance, and still viewing the Sidhe as Enemy), or a Seelie Redcap, easily the most interesting conundrum I've had to play.

Werewolf sees me as a bizarre Glasswalker(Usually Metis), or a Suchid Mokole. It's so nice to just stretch out on a rock and bask when you're a Nile Croc, eh?

In Mage, I'm the Son of Ether(EGADS!) or the Virtual Adept.

In a SWRPG, I'll be the guy with guns instead of sabers. This includes when being a Force Adept.

I tend to love the flawed hero concept; never fitting in, but trying his damndest.

[Dark Silver]

Characters...this will be fun....

D&D: Wizards/Mages, almost always, with the rare foray into Fighter/Wizard or Cleic.

Vampire: Tzimisce, Lasombra, or Brujah (old style Brujah)

Mage: Order of Hermes (like you didn't see that one coming?) or Euthanatos, sometimes I'll be weird and play a Void Engineer....

Werewolf: Nagah, all the way. I love the big snakes....

Changling: Unseelie Sidhe of House Balor (fear Zedden Zorrander!) or a Seelie Troll.

In Free Forms, I tend to go off towards the spell tossers, if the option is available. Or the guy with the big whomping sword....gotta love the feel of a big hard steel..

[B4UTRUST]

Lets see here:
D&D/fantasy campaigns: 9 times out of 10 I'm usually a mage of some sort. Though there was that one time where I played a lawful good paladin on a bet to see if I could make the lawful good paladin more evil then the chaotic evil necromancer while still remaining in alignment... Best $20 I ever made...

Shadowrun: Rigger/Decker and on occasion a phys ad.

Superhero: Tarot, my temporal manipulator. Love him!

WoD: Vamp is usually Malk, Brujah or True Brujah, though I've delved into Tremere on occassion.
Never personally cared much for Were so I don't have a personal favorite so to speak
Mage: Virtual Adepts all the way baby! Reality Hackers for Life(4, corospondence 4, prime 3...)

Rifts: Crazy, Tai Duster, or Triax EIC Overkill cyborg

Star Wars: smuggler. Even beat Han Solo on the Kessel run!

Call of Cthulhu: Archologist of course! (there's other character classes in CoC?)

[Stofsk]

Lets see here:
D&D/fantasy campaigns: 9 times out of 10 I'm usually a mage of some sort. Though there was that one time where I played a lawful good paladin on a bet to see if I could make the lawful good paladin more evil then the chaotic evil necromancer while still remaining in alignment... Best $20 I ever made...

How did you manage that?

Star Wars: smuggler. Even beat Han Solo on the Kessel run!

That's not true. That's imposssible!

[Narsil]

Playing: Half of the time I'm a mage, the other half of the time I'm a Monk or Fighter of some kind... most interestingly was the Chaotic Evil and Pretty Much Insane Ranger who claimed to serve Mielikki. And yes, I know his spells would have been taken away; if he'd had the Wisdom required to cast any of them

GMing: The main factor here is that I don't actually punish people for making overpowered characters; as much as actually scaling the encounters against them. If one dragon isn't quite enough to keep them on their toes; two dragons might be.

[Stofsk]

Dungeons and Dragons: I think I've played nothing but a Monk. There was a brief flirtation with a Dwarf Fighter, and my first ever character was a rogue (who then morphed into a Monk).

My first Monk character was basically acting like a bodyguard for one of the other PC's who happened to be an Elven Mage. Since that PC was a friend of mine at the time and his brother was the GM it worked because out of everyone we were the most regular players (he lived with his brother and they were both in walking distance to where I used to live). So whenever there was a game I would be there protecting the Elf witch with my kung fu.

My second Monk character had one of those 'chosen by the Monastery to save the world' deals. He had more of a no-nonsense attitude and his shining moment was charging at an army of demons singlehandedly, screaming a war cry. (he did have an army behind him of course)

Star Wars: I've never actually played it, can you believe it? If I did play it'd be a Jedi who'll probably end up with too many Dark Side points.

Traveller: I played what was essentially a Psi cop working in the Imperium against those pesky rogue teeps... except the game wasn't about that, in fact I don't know what it was about. It didn't seem to have direction. Which is a shame.

I was going to play a Vargr Scout in another game but that fell through when I went 'away' for my 6 month state-funded 'holiday'.

As a GM: I haven't had much experience as a GM. One of the most important things I need is a sense of scale for the world. If it's a fantasy game I need a map like Tolkien's, so I know where the Forbidden Forest is next to Widow's Peak, the winding river, landmarks like the Tower of Doom etc. If it's something like Traveller I need a starmap to show me where the capital is, where the frontier is, what planets are nice versus which planets are shit etc.

[Stofsk]

I'm not sure if this fits into its own thread or not but I'll put it here for you all to chew on.

As GM's do you make do with multimedia enhancements to your game sessions? Sounds high tech but what I mean is, do you have music playing in the background to settle for mood, do you have pictures of stuff in the game to give your players an idea of what they're facing - "But I don't know what a Gelatinous Cube looks like or why I should be frightened"?

What other preparations do you do for your players? What kind of preparations do you expect your players to do to make things run smoothly?

Obviously this presupposes that you will actually prepare stuff for your game sessions. I know some GM's don't.

I have been fooling around with my KOTOR files and I got both game's music to work, and I realise that some of these can make good atmospheric additions. I also like to do stuff like have a map or deckplans or sketches etc.

[Narsil]

There's always a suitable image in the Monster Manual... and I'm always playing eery and atmospheric music personally. It's a habit which is hard to break.

[Comrade Tortoise]

As a player, I prefer to play spell-casters. it simply appeals to me on a nerdy power-trip level. THis pretty much goes for any game I am in. I like having control over elements.

As far as games are concerned. I share the same style as SB (I almost have to, he is my GM more than half the time) lots of story. Relatively flexible on the rules, but not the mechanic itself. If something is not expressely allowed in the rules, but if you have a combination of feats or some such that give you the basic principles to do something, you can go ahead and try. (sort of like math. if you know the rules, you can work through just about any problem, even if you dont expressely know how to do it)

I am the same way as a GM, though I am not a particularly good off the cuff story teller. I can write good ones, but I am not very good at working through a scenario with actual people.

[The Necrontyr Messenger]

GM style: Lazy. Christ I've gotta do something for the 41K RPG.

[SirNitram]

GM style: Lazy. Christ I've gotta do something for the 41K RPG.

I'd complain, but everyone else seems to have toddled off, and I'd be grandstanding a bit going for a second Lictor.

[Hotfoot]

I like to prepare images beforehand if I can manage it, otherwise, I just make quick sketches on a dry-erase board. Other than that, the only props I regularly use are 40K/Necromunda minis for combat.

I have used music in the past, but it has to be pretty low, because conversation needs to be heard above it. Also, I've found that my players find it very distracting from the game, so I don't use it that often even if I have the option.

As far as characters, well, he's a quick rundown:

AD&D: Fighter, Cleric, Bard
D&D3/3.5: Fighter, Rogue, Bard, Cleric
Cyberpunk: Covert Ops, Prowler, Rockerboy

[White Haven]

My GMing style depends largely on the players. If the players (not characters) are being decent, I'm fairly laid-back, but if they start being either morons or jackasses I tend to be something of a bitch. A little incident of a Marine using a light grenade launcher against a raider about to execute some hostages comes to mind.

As a player, it depends on the setting. In a fantasy world, I lean very heavily towards casters, although I've got a superflaboyant fencer waiting in the wings that I dearly want to toy with. In a technological setting, I've run a wide variety of things...definitely have a soft-spot for the starship captain though. Rather fond of air-breather pilots as well.

[Masterharper]

Here we go!
As a GM, at least when I get to (Our gaming collective's stupendously varied work schedule makes for some interesting scheduling connundrums...which also results in several simultaneous games coming together depending on who we have available) I feel I probably tend to run a mixture of Heroic/Horror setting. The encounters are hard, the situation is often grim, and the heroes are usually kind of mangled. I don't do so well with pure horror...though I love to play in it. So it tends to be a mix. The setting I'm running generally works rather well too. I usually run in the same custom world, or somewhere in the Realms. Depending. The former results in a military based campaign, usually. That, of course, depends on which faction the PCs decide they wish to be a part of. The latter is battle-horror type. Heroes of Horroresque, but Lords of Madness is a MUCH better supplement, from the bits I've read of both.

Then there's the comedy campaign. No, not the half-orc wizard comedy. I enjoy running Slayers D20 for a laugh. My players seem to love getting into the hapless misadventures that follow, be they the shrill sorceress, the witless fighter-type, or the overdramatic Bounty-Hunter ("Whats the bounty on this one...Timmy the Toddler....") Ends up being a hoot.

And then there's our most favorite consistent game, which I have the pleasure, honor, and sacred duty of running: World's Largest Dungeon. It's currently a fight for survival. First session was: Flee! Flee for your pitiful lives, the demon rats will destroy us all! Proceding to: Avenge our fallen brethren! And flee some more after that!
And now, every unfortunate dire rat that crosses the path of the party dies with dismal terror, as the slavering adventurers scream "Dinner! Kill it! Get it!" (not all the time, but this has definately happened on more than one occasion.)

As far as play: I take what I can get, wherever I can get it, and roll with it from there. (Or Role with it. Whatever the style happens to be )

[Pcm979]

GMing: I've guest GMed successfully once, and for that one I kept the situation fairly fluid and essentially allowed the other players to walk into dangerous situations themselves.

Playing: I'm far, far less experienced at this than anyone else I know, so I try to make my characters distinctive, usually by initially painting them in broad, archetype-related brushstrokes, giving them a facet of my personality, and letting the details grow organically. It seems to have worked so far.

In general, my characters tend towards being a bit naive and liable to shoot off at the mouth, but that's me leaking through, not anything intentional.