Hi Dark, Definitely agree with that. A human gm, if he or she is good, will adapt the plot to fit the situation far more than any computer can. Often times battles is simply trying to out think the gamemaster who is playing the villains and you the heroes.
For example, I remember one summer where some friends and I were playing the Marvel Super Heroes game. I decided for whatever reason to be Captain America. Since I didn't know his character well I made lots of mistakes the gamemaster caught and managed to work into the storyline on the spot. Well, as most Captain America fans remember when he throws his shield it will hit an enemy etc and then will come back like a boomerang.I knew this from the comics but often kept forgetting this fact while playing because I was trying to think of some strategy or other to block or evade the enemies attack. So, anyway,here I am locked in battle with several enemy villains. I decided to throw my shield and knock out one of the enemies. I roll the dice and I missed. the gamemaster comes back and the enemy attacks me. Like a dummy I decide to jump out of the way. My skill check succeeds, I evade, and then the gm says, "your shield tries to return to you, flies over your head, and lands on the ground 10 feet away." That was obviously a mistake on my part. In hindsight what I should have done is try to catch the returning shield, block the attack, and since I know the skill check succeeded I would have gotten my shield and blocked the attack in a single turn.Instead I chose to evade the attack, and had to spend the next few turns trying to get back to my shield which some villain picks up and I had to go kick his butt for it. My point being is the gm picked up on my mistake, worked it into the storyline, and then made me fight for that shield if I wanted it back. In short, the gm out thought me making it more and more difficult to win based on my mistakes. A computer game just isn't that flexible or smart, because every single possibility has to be coded into its A.I. which isn't possible. Cheers! On 6/16/12, dark <d...@xgam.org> wrote: > Hi Paul. > > Well not everything! is decided by dice, indeed the better games I've played > > are the ones were dice are a guide rather than being the strict rules. It's > > odd though, I don't enjoy in character rp in online games, but I love doing > > it off line with a human gm. > > I think it's because a human gm is as adaptable as you are, and can run a > plot with your characters at the center. > > for instance, each week I play a game of Mutants and masterminds, a > superhero themed game. my character uses a battle suit similar to Iron man, > > but has the distadvantage of not knowing anything about it, ---- indeed he's > > a professional pianist. So there is repeated bickering betwene him and the > suit's ai (played by the gm), with the gm occasionally doing things > including developing powers that are quite unexpected. > > This is something that just wouldn't be possible online, but off line works > > great, especially as the plot has involved my character finding out more and > > more about his suit. > > What's also fun, is the plot is adaptive. For instance, we went to the > alternative evil dimention and fought off our evil duplicate selves. Sinse > however for various confusing reasons my character is the only true and > natural born human, mine was the only evil duplicate not to be banished, > sent to hell or otherwise got rid off, sinse once out of his suit he was > pretty easy to deal with. > > This back fired though sinse he's now come to normal earth, stolen a spare > copy of a suit in the same series to mine, and is threatening to enact a > ritual to make himself into a god. > > fights are also great fun, sinse it's not just a matter of swing and hit, > but often a matter of how much we can literally out think our opponents. > > For example, on one occasion we were fighting enemies who protected > themselves with a large domed force field. At first, we started firing > lasers through the field, but then they modified it to be impervious to > energy as well as physical attacks. so, my character flew into the air on > his jets and slammed into the ground, coming up under the bottom of the > domed field, ---- where I proceeded to use my explosive weapon (the field > also limited the blast). > > that's the sort of thingI find fun in an rp fight, thinking adaptively, and > > something which you really couldn't do without an actual human gm playing > the enemies. > > Of course, rp is like antyhing else, and really good when done well, but not > > so great when done badly, and played by a rules lawyer or someone who has no > > sense of plot or drama. > > But, i do appreciate it when it's done properly, and would highly recommend > > finding a group and giving it a go, ---- not the least because all you need > > is something to write your character sheet on, some way of rolling dice, (I > > use a laptop, ms word and the gma dice program), and your imagination, and > optionally a copy of the rules, though I've certainly played games where I > found the rules from other players as I went along, rather than knowing them > > before hand, because when done well in rp the rules and the dice should > serve the plot, not be the be all and end all of the game. > > Beware the grue! > > Dark. --- Gamers mailing list __ Gamers@audyssey.org If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to gamers-unsubscr...@audyssey.org. 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