Vault of Deknar: Part Thirty-Five
Every once in a while someone will tell me that this group of gamers are “far too reasonable” at times. Whenever I read that comment (or something close to it) I think about it for a little while, but I always remember that this group of friends and gamers are based experiences from my life. I do not mean that in a 100-percent-literal sense but sure, some of the characters and moments are based on real-life experiences. For the most part, these characters and their time around the table are based on the feeling I have when I sit at the table. I have experienced sessions with jerks and people who I did not completely jell, leading to a less-than-great-experience (let’s call one of those people… Walt) but I have been lucky enough to play with a long list of wonderful people. For me, this group represents what I want to see in the world of gaming. Sure, there will be times when characters disagree. There will be times when they get annoyed with each other. There will be Brett. Despite these moments, everyone at this table respects each other and I think that is what matters the most. Characters can disagree. Players can disagree. At the end of it, when the session is over, you are packing up your dice, and discussing the game over the last pieces of pizza, respect and friendship keep groups together.
So if this group of friends seem too reasonable at times for your taste, understand that I choose the quality over quantity approach and that with these characters I am presenting the world I want to see. Games make us happy and bring people together. That is the world I want to present to you.
i love this group and i love the way you tell the story. every day i read your comic is another day i feel happy. you the best.
That has never happened to me at a game, I mean, pizza left after the game?
Most people I play with would be considered reasonable. I’ve been very fortunate to have not run into many jerk while gaming.
You get my Vote!
This seems like a group of friends that has already been through the crap and the jerk players. They’ve become solid comrades who know how to “shut up and roll some damn dice” and have each other’s backs. They are the ideal group because they’ve stuck it out past the crappy groups, and come out stronger.
Thank you for the awesome comic, and for giving everyone a good example of the ideal party!
I love the way you frame your stories and your games; though it makes me sad that my players aren’t as involved in the game as yours are… I’ve got killerhobo as player, but I do try to rehabilitate them 🙂
Every time I’ve had to call for a vote it’s had disastrous results.
I wish them the best of luck.
Brian, how dare you have characters that get along and don’t spend entire storylines arguing about the best way to solve a puzzle!
Sarcasm, of course. Just keep doing what you want to do, man.
I absolutely agree with your decision, and I think people who find these folks unrealistic *really* need to look harder at their friends, not at the comic.
Do your thing, you’re awesome and you and your characters represent the best of tabletop gaming.
Or maybe look at themselves? They may be their group’s “squeaky wheel”
No, actually; I’ve been in roleplaying for nearly 10 years now but most of them have been with the same people, and with veeeery long time between session. My point is, despite a decent theorical experience, I still feel I’m barely out of the amateur phase, and comics like yours allow me to see how “veterans” play. It, s very instructive.
I love the composition on this page.
I don’t play “pickup” games often–one member of my group GMs adventurer’s league and other event scenarios, and he’s the one with the most “crazy gamer” stories. My group has “crazy thing” stories. Thermal smoke has created its own catalog of in-jokes, as has the word “unexpected.” We’ve played a lot of Shadowrun and had plenty of arguments about plans, but they usually result in pretty good plans rather than bitterness. Other times, we inadvertently unleash a horde of shedim on Seattle, so…win some, lose some. Reasonably.
Nobody gets along 100% of the time, in life as in dice. But at the end of the day, while you might be playing a set module, you are still living a life through that character sheet, through those dice, and through your character. Ultimately, you are playing as you, or an aspect of you. And if you do not get along with the people around you, and the goes beyond the table top, then it will quickly fall apart.
These guys know each other well. They know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and while they do not always agree on the scenario in play, they at least respect each other’s decision to discuss how it goes down.
The experiences these players have mirror mine in a lot of ways. I’ve been lucky enough to game with friends for 90% of the time I’ve been roleplaying and I’ve rarely been part of or seen massive disagreements at the table. If this is a “be the change you want to see” type thing for gaming, I’m all in.
Given the hover text, if the party votes to continue on, the next hover text will be “Party on, dudes!”
I’ve been in a Pathfinders campaign for about a year now, with some not-super-close-but-still-cool-dudes friends. Nobody has been an outright jerk, but one of our players has this habit of roleplaying a really friendly, optimistic, “faith in the best of everyone” type character that’s gotten us into more trouble than was probably necessary on one or two occasions.
Before that, I was in a D&D campaign with the opposite problem – after a 9-month hiatus, one of our players decided during the first session that the sensible thing to do would be to kick down a random stranger’s door at an inn, chase the stranger when he fled, and kill him even after he gave fairly reasonable answers to our questions.
Please understand, I’m being 100% serious when I say I would kill to have a group this reasonable.
There is a fine line between “getting the party in trouble” and “priming the pump for adventure”. And where that line falls varies considerably from person to person (and, hence, group to group). I’m betting the “faith in the best of everyone” player honestly thinks that he/she is helping drive the action forward, and keeping things lively.
That’s the sort of thing that can often be corrected by honest, open communication. Pull the player aside and saying something like “I respect your dedication to character, but your choices are kind of ruining my fun. Can we figure out a compromise here?” For a lot of players, that can really open up an opportunity to change up the script and add a new layer to the character. Because one-note characters get really boring really fast.
I mean, he DOES keep things lively, and we still get out of the encounters without any severe amount of trouble. He’s just the kind of player/character that makes you shake your head and groan, but you’re still smiling through it all.
And he’s been doing it less often recently, now that I think about it.
I’ve found it useful to pick a couple of (relatively non-core) player traits and exaggerate them considerably. Not to the point of obsession but if there’s in-game reason for the character to have become fascinated with statuary, there turn out to be lots of opportunities to add that element in non-disruptively but entertainingly. Or the character who loves the opera and has found ways to use it in battle.
Our group’s main problem is a player who is on the spectrum and/or has massive OCD. He is terrified of actually role-playing and wants to do nothing but maps, numbers, dice, and endless inappropriate Star Wars references, with exactly the same “character” in every campaign down to his name. We’re at the stage where half of the rest of us strongly want this person gone, and the other half wish the problem would just go away magically without any interpersonal conflict. Frustrating but until the numbers shift, it is what it is.
So, giving a (supposed) pseudonym to “that player”, but then not saying anything about him or what warranted such a mention? That’s a tease, man.
Someday. Someday…
I was looking at the about page and noticed how you draw Sam and how you draw yourself are nearly identical, except you have a beard. Are you Sam’s evil alternate-universe counterpart?
I love this group. I am not super experienced, but I was lucky to be in a good mix like this once and am always looking to get back to that.
I have to say, in my opinion, *this* is how a gaming comic should be. We have the `normal’ human player story, but the game(s) get equal attention. No two or three page `adventures’ before we’re back in the `real’ world hijinks. We get actual gaming *adventures* with plot and backstory and honest-to-goodness roleplaying! Seriously, whenever someone asks about PnP RPGs, I direct them here for an archive dive because if they don’t get old-school gaming from this comic, they’re better off saving their money and time for the next pretty videogame. Even though I stopped playing D&D as 3rd Edition was being introduced, I still remember how awesome it was to play with a good solid group. Memories that last a lifetime, and this comic brings it all back…
question: vote as players or vote as characters?
Characters, naturally. Deyla wants out, Calvis probably couldn’t walk away if he wanted to, Annabelle is probably going to back up Deyla, and Brett’s character will back up Calvis. Which leaves the mage as the swing vote.
For Calvis it depends on the nature of the wish, I suppose. Would he be compelled to grab the hand, keep looking for the rug, or say “we couldn’t find it, peace out”?
“Party on, dude.”