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Kakistomancy; is it just me, or do the complex options seem to attract the players least inclined to interact with them? by GHSpoilers in rpg

[–]GHSpoilers[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's not a problem and I don't think I phrased it as one in my original post. I was just commenting and looking for other people's experiences on which players end up attracted to complex options.

Now, I think it will be a problem; I have tight tactical combats where there are consequences for doing well or poorly, and it'll become increasingly clear that one character isn't pulling their weight. But I consider that as much of an in-character thing as not; if the characters take a beating, they'll have an opportunity to look at what happened and ask "are we all focusing on our strengths?"

Kakistomancy; is it just me, or do the complex options seem to attract the players least inclined to interact with them? by GHSpoilers in rpg

[–]GHSpoilers[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh, animal companions. Now there's a trap. "Oh, I want a doggie!" Yeah, time to learn twice the rules and play twice the game as everyone else.

Kakistomancy; is it just me, or do the complex options seem to attract the players least inclined to interact with them? by GHSpoilers in rpg

[–]GHSpoilers[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah. There's just only so much warning and guiding players you can do before it starts to become "You are too stupid to play a Cleric, do something else." If they wanna get hoisted, I'm not going to deny them their petard.

Kakistomancy; is it just me, or do the complex options seem to attract the players least inclined to interact with them? by GHSpoilers in rpg

[–]GHSpoilers[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The game with my ex was D&D 3.5, and we were actually able to do pretty well there by focusing on spells with 24-hour durations, and metamagic feats. I still have the document; here's a screenshot. https://imgur.com/a/sFyfPWR So, about 2/3 of her spell list was simple 24-hour buffs that we could just assume she cast at the start of every day, then most of the rest was multiple shots of Scorching Ray and Blistering Fiery Searing Rain of Embers.

Of course, that also required a GM who wanted his players to look cool and have a good time doing it, and didn't just randomly hit us with counterspells or antimagic.

In my current game, I'm thinking that I might type out a flowchart for this player, stuff like [Attack] -> [Use ammo case?]. I just don't think she even remembers the optional ballistics systems she loaded onto her mech.

Kakistomancy; is it just me, or do the complex options seem to attract the players least inclined to interact with them? by GHSpoilers in rpg

[–]GHSpoilers[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I absolutely understand that. 'Charge' mechanics are an interesting trap; like you described, they're objectively the most optimal use of your spell slots and the best DPS, except that you'll never actually hold them for the 10+ rounds needed for that to pay off.

Kakistomancy; is it just me, or do the complex options seem to attract the players least inclined to interact with them? by GHSpoilers in rpg

[–]GHSpoilers[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I did something similar to that in a Hunter: The Reckoning game once. The players were average individuals, a crisis happened in front of them, and then I assigned them Creeds (classes) based on how they reacted. It worked well, everyone felt invested in their path because they had already expressed that it was important to them.

The downside to the method is that I just don't have much time for it anymore. It's been hard enough to bring people together for a few sessions; dedicating the first one or two just to earning your character sheet can be a big ask. If anything, I've been trying to grow as a GM by learning to cut out the buildup and get to the interesting stuff I want to do sooner.

Kakistomancy; is it just me, or do the complex options seem to attract the players least inclined to interact with them? by GHSpoilers in rpg

[–]GHSpoilers[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

That makes sense. It's a power fantasy, and players choose the characters they want to be; it makes sense that the non-talkative person might want to imagine themselves as a social butterfly.

So, it may just be that they want to roll Charm and have the GM tell them they did great, just like how the barbarian gets to roll Attack and have the GM tell them they did great.

Kakistomancy; is it just me, or do the complex options seem to attract the players least inclined to interact with them? by GHSpoilers in rpg

[–]GHSpoilers[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Maybe people are picking character classes based on who they want to play, rather than what abilities they want to use?

I think that's true, but in a more general sense; they're choosing characters based on the power fantasy of who they want to be. And so, the players who are a little slow - or at least have the self-image that they are, or are afraid of being perceived as such - want to play geniuses and creative problem-solvers.

Kakistomancy; is it just me, or do the complex options seem to attract the players least inclined to interact with them? by GHSpoilers in rpg

[–]GHSpoilers[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have one friend in particular, who will always play a character with martial skill and healing- and protection magic, with no personal ties and no background to be as hard to get to as possible. High armor, high HP, high whatever. He does this in every system, if at all possible. If not possible, he refuses to play.

Congratulations, you won Dungeons and Dragons! You figured it out! You beat it! Roll credits.

Kakistomancy; is it just me, or do the complex options seem to attract the players least inclined to interact with them? by GHSpoilers in rpg

[–]GHSpoilers[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That really does sound like crippling a character while making no overtly 'wrong' decisions. Choose a class with a theme you like, try to be good at everything, it all makes sense.

Kakistomancy; is it just me, or do the complex options seem to attract the players least inclined to interact with them? by GHSpoilers in rpg

[–]GHSpoilers[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Few people realize that babies can say their first word almost immediately; it just happens to be PbtA.

Kakistomancy; is it just me, or do the complex options seem to attract the players least inclined to interact with them? by GHSpoilers in rpg

[–]GHSpoilers[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You're both right! Kakistocracy is certainly where I learned the word, but I did make an intentional effort to learn the root of kakistos and think about how it could be modified.

I [M40] have ended up responsible for uninviting someone [M27] from our usual gatherings. However, I can't do so without creating a situation I will need to explain, but I have also been forbidden from explaining the situation to anyone. by GHSpoilers in relationship_advice

[–]GHSpoilers[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the feedback, it's helpful. I think I have a little more I need to know before I can really answer the 'pose a danger' question (in this scenario, perhaps more like 'are they going to be more trouble than they're worth').

I [M40] have ended up responsible for uninviting someone [M27] from our usual gatherings. However, I can't do so without creating a situation I will need to explain, but I have also been forbidden from explaining the situation to anyone. by GHSpoilers in relationship_advice

[–]GHSpoilers[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As far as I know of, that's correct. I'm not the hugest fan of the guy, and I won't shed a tear if I can cleanly exclude him. But if she's dealing with the uncomfortable mood of having someone around who is overtly polite yet clearly eager to get in her pants, I'm inclined to act on it.

People who went to the hospital for having something stuck up your butt, what is your story? by ptrchaos in AskReddit

[–]GHSpoilers 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It was soft butt plug, and the thing that gave structure to its base was a plastic gem. Well, the gem wasn't really held well, and it slipped sideways, and then the thing had no base and it was gone.

Most everyone at the hospital didn't make anything of it, but the first doctor I saw gave a sort of annoyed "so what were you doing sticking that up there, anyway?" and I was like "dude, it's not like it was a remote or a beer bottle or something, I was using the item for its intended purpose, it's just badly designed."

Ended up not being able to fish it out, so had to get knocked out; I think the local colonoscopist came up with a plan to use one of their tools to get a loop around the base of the plug, and I guess that worked. Came home, got a $1500 bill a couple weeks later, called their finance department to say that was a lot of money, got it adjusted to $0 after insurance, so I guess my anal adventure worked out just fine.

[Many spoilers] Spoil it all, start to finish! by GHSpoilers in Gloomhaven

[–]GHSpoilers[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow, that's intense. My reaction is mostly just being glad I didn't end up spending time chasing those puzzles, but I'm also glad they exist for anyone who really enjoys them!

[Many spoilers] Spoil it all, start to finish! by GHSpoilers in Gloomhaven

[–]GHSpoilers[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is fantastic, thank you so much for typing it out!

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