The first rule of Shadowrun RPoL games is....

RTJ while you can, because 24 people will express interest in 24 hours, and the game will stop accepting new members before you even have your concept fleshed out.

What other rules for games have you discovered?

(Edited to improve thread on pfarland's suggestion)
This message was last edited by the user at 01:01, Wed 01 Oct 2014.

Good idea for a thread but I suggest to call it: "The first rule for _____ RPoL games"

Oooh good call, thank you. I don't want to discourage people from popping in with observations on other games.

How about do not write up rtjs when sleepy? I know this one from personal experience >.<

...is you do not talk about RPoL games!

lol

For real though, it seems like on a lot of games you gotta know a secret code and bribe the bouncer. There's just some games that no matter how solid of a character you have in mind, the ST wants a 15 chapter novel that details everything of your character from birth to now, plus a 100 question psyche test to determine personality, and that's just the RTJ. That doesn't even guarantee entry.

But anyway. lol

I think people forget the real #1 rule of any game, and that's to have fun. Way too many people here are too uptight about their games.

The first rule of Pathfinder RPoL games is....


...don't apply with a Spiked Chain welder. Even Leo Tolstoy doesn't have the writing skills to make this cheesy concept more believable.

Spiked chains are over exaggerated. They're not that good a build; unless you really focus. Even then, they're no better than hundreds of others.

I didn't know you could weld in fantasy games.

In reply to PsychoJester (msg # 5):

It's important to not let yourself get discouraged if you don't get accepted into a game.  No matter how solid your character concept may be, if someone else RTJs with a character that is more in line with what the GM had in mind for the game, the GM would be foolish not to take the more natural fit.

After all, for a lot of GMs, the RTJ process is as much about learning whether or not they can work with the prospective players as it is about figuring out who the characters are going to be.  And if someone comes along at the same time who just 'clicks' with the GM, it's only reasonable to expect the GM would want that player in the game.

Not all GMs work that way...I've worked with a few GMs who will accept anyone into the game who is willing to put in the legwork to create a character.  Those games also seem to have a core group of four or five characters and a hefty amount of turnover in the others (because the players don't 'gel' with the GM and it causes a lot of grief all around.)  Some people may be able to do that...I know I couldn't.  I'm very much a believer in the importance of chemistry between everyone involved.

So, when my RTJ gets rejected, I just shrug and figure it wasn't a good fit, for whatever reason, and go look for another game where I'm a better fit.

So, I guess that would be my first rule...don't take rejection personally.

And there are some games like mine that are exclusive for a reason.  I try to weed out the people who don't know enough about the military to play a believable character.  I'm trying to have, as close to reality as possible, realistic Special Operations soldiers.  Not everyone knows how to play a soldier right in my experience.  One player trying to play Rambo would ruin the whole feel of the campaign.

I don't like telling people no, but I have to for the game itself.

It's a double whip made of metal. I doubt plausibility was ever the highest priority. It just looks awesome.

Set expectations on posting frequency and schedule.  It's now my first question when applying to a game.  I work for a living and there have been a few cases where I've posted at midnight, come home and logged in at 6 pm and the GM introduced some NPC in the morning.  Two or three players have conversed with the NPC and the adventure has moved on, shutting out the other players.

 I feel like the first rule of any PbP game should be, know how and enjoy reading and writing. What are you doing here if you don't like to read or write?

The RTJ should be explicit.

The players should have the ability to play on an equal footing.

These are both faults/mistakes of an inexperienced GM.

Speaking of that, of all the GMs I've had, 3/4 of them were not very good/experienced. They usually feel as though they were pushed into being a GM rather then actually wanting to be one, or they want to tell a specific story, and the players are simply along for the ride.

Perhaps someone should make a "How to GM" guidebook. RTJs can have their own section.

Anyone want to help?

Oh, and the first rule is, "Don't take it personally, unless they explicitly say it is personal."

You have not yet encountered the rare and powerful Wand of Acetylene.  (I think Acetylene was an Elf, from the sound of it.)  It is an item so powerful that it can blind the user, unless he/she is protected by the Mask of Don't Blind Me While I'm Using The Wand of Acetylene.

If you give one to a Gnome... well, consider yourself warned.  And consider anyone wearing plate armor to be wearing a large "prank me" sign.

In reply to Eur512 (msg # 16):

This almost makes me want to play a D&D game with a welding weapon, lol.  AWESOME reply!!!

Even with an explicit RTJ, I expect a GM to naturally gravitate towards players whose initial concept and personal chemistry seem to be a good fit for the game.  Yes, if you need players and the only person who's applying needs to be coached a little bit to get the game concept straight, then work with that person...but if you've got five slots, and fifteen RTJs, I expect--as a player--that the five best-matching concepts will wind up being chosen, regardless of what order they were received in.

Being rejected because someone's a better fit has nothing to do with how explicit the RTJ is, and equally little to do with GM experience.  It's just basic human nature...we like to work with people whose vision either jives with ours, or they bring something further to the situation that we feel will enhance what we're trying to do.  Personally, if I'm the square peg, I'd really prefer someone not try and force me through the round hole, no matter how well-intentioned their efforts may be.

While it is nice to have players read one's mind when they send in character concepts, as a GM I like to read coherent sentences, see correct spelling and punctuation, and other such niceties.

Make a theme of it. A group of NPCs from a modern tech world found themselves in a D&D world and made a settlement before dying offscreen. Locals find the settlement and marveled at the strange weapons. The perfect excuse for a chainsaw... or welding gear.

If you have a chainsaw, you have to have a Boomstick.