Hey there Robert! interesting subject. Nice to see that someone is raising the level of discussion beyond the scope of dice-tossing.
Ive been hosting sessions for a somewhat consistent group of players through the past 15 years or so. Once in a while we get some new blood, and indeed they often start out as one of the stereotypes you flesh out here. I'll give an example. We had a new fella joining us, who had just turned 16. His prior experiences with role playing, or fantasy as a whole, came from Neverwinter nights, dragon age and World of Warcraft. Suffice to say he like tossing dices and often burst out stuff like "when are we going to kill something!" or "who cares how it looks, can i throw a fireball at it!". Being a man of strong convictions (or whatever) i kept telling him off, giving him the same perspective that you seem to advocate. That roleplaying does something that computer games does not. He is still in our group and he has generally changed his perspective on the whole roleplaying genre. Obviously this is seven years ago, and he has had time to grow personally, but i believe that if a DM is determined and absolutely certain what he wants with the game he is running, without being condescending, he can positively affect his players perspectives on roleplaying. The boy i mention is now one of my most valued and engaged players. So it does not necessarily have to be about compatibility. Sometimes players can adjust and even grow.
Hey there Robert! interesting subject. Nice to see that someone is raising the level of discussion beyond the scope of dice-tossing.
ReplyDeleteIve been hosting sessions for a somewhat consistent group of players through the past 15 years or so. Once in a while we get some new blood, and indeed they often start out as one of the stereotypes you flesh out here.
I'll give an example. We had a new fella joining us, who had just turned 16. His prior experiences with role playing, or fantasy as a whole, came from Neverwinter nights, dragon age and World of Warcraft. Suffice to say he like tossing dices and often burst out stuff like "when are we going to kill something!" or "who cares how it looks, can i throw a fireball at it!". Being a man of strong convictions (or whatever) i kept telling him off, giving him the same perspective that you seem to advocate. That roleplaying does something that computer games does not. He is still in our group and he has generally changed his perspective on the whole roleplaying genre. Obviously this is seven years ago, and he has had time to grow personally, but i believe that if a DM is determined and absolutely certain what he wants with the game he is running, without being condescending, he can positively affect his players perspectives on roleplaying. The boy i mention is now one of my most valued and engaged players. So it does not necessarily have to be about compatibility. Sometimes players can adjust and even grow.
Keep up the good work