Setting Characters against each other?

Rexer

I have played and Game mastered a lot of games. It seems some people like to have the playing characters against each other. I find that the games are a lot more fun if everyone works together as a team. Which way do you prefer? Do you like to play against other characters or do you like to play with other characters?
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Loc Taal · Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2003 12:44 pm Post subject:

I definitely like the players working as a team. If they are playing against each other, it's too difficult for the GM to run the game. One group just sits while the GM works with the other group. Then they have to play as if their character doesn't know what they just heard the GM tell the other player goup. It just seems to work better for me with the player characters working as a team.
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Crell Damar · Line Captain Joined: 31 Jul 2003 Posts: 845

I think it depends on the story for whether or not the players work together or against one another, besides, even without the game master's knowledge one player could just be using another player to further their own goals. i've seen it happen so many times.

Rexer · Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2003 11:39 pm Post subject:

I agree that it does depend on the players own personal agenda. I just hated the games though were you couldn't trust the players you were with and never really knew what everyone was up to.
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Crell Damar · Line Captain Joined: 31 Jul 2003 Posts: 845

yeah... but the mystery and the wondering i think makes the game much more fun too at the same time

Rexer · Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2003 8:55 am Post subject:

It can be fun as long as players don't take it personally. I was in a situation that one character tried to cheat and left for dead another character. Then whenever the cheated character would play a new character, that character would automatically hate the other guy. I know this is the player's fault for not being "big enough" to get past it but, for some time it was just players killing each other off for revenge. To get past me saying that they didn't know about the killing, the players would put in their history that they were partners with their old character. It became a mess for a few months. I forced everyone to make new characters and start over with a clean slate.
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Crell Damar · Line Captain Joined: 31 Jul 2003 Posts: 845

that's terrible... even when my character cheated the others and got a few of them killed (consumed by the darkside right after) nobody in my group held a grudge against me, although we all were a little discouraged when we kept having to fight him... horrible...

Rexer · Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2003 3:59 pm Post subject:

yeah, that is why I said it is up to the players. My group at the time was not real mature (not that any really is). That is funny you had to fight your own character. That happened to us in another game. Loc's character ended up going bad and was a pain in our side for quite some time. Rolling Eyes

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Volar the Healer · Jedi Joined: 04 Aug 2003 Posts: 664 Location: Arizona, USA

We had a character who sometimes entered a buying frenzy. Along with saving the galaxy, she was also interested in making a profit. In one mission the guys gave her a bad time by eating/drinking part of her goods she was shipping - to maintain our cover as merchants and make a personal profit. She was really upset by this. They acted like thieves so she stunned 'em. When they revived in their cabins, still in hyperspace, they should have let it go. Instead, they stunned her, and cut up her ID and credit cards. None of this had anything to do with the game - They were just "having fun". When the ship arrived at their destination, they went about their mission until the whole team was captured by the Empire in a lightning raid. They were too busy "having fun" to notice they were being followed.

Mad

Enter The Director's Twist:

The merchant girl was able to slip away from the trap. Before the team was transported to the orbiting star destroyer for a one way trip to ISB headquarters, the merchant girl attempted to contact the local Rebel cell. The director pointed out she couldn't do that since she had no ID card (needed to place a phone call). She tried to come up with a one woman plan to blast them out of the holding cell before they were transfered to the shuttle. The director pointed out she couldn't do that since she had no credit card with which to purchase the required supplies. You get the idea.

As she loyally came up with idea after idea, the director shot them all down because of the actions of the "having fun" crowd. The game ended with the whole team (minus the merchant girl) in the star destroyer's holding cells as it transitioned to hyperspace.

For the next week the players whined but I let them stew. Yes, I had an escape scenario planned, but they didn't know that. They know I'm happly to allow them to get themselves killed or captured. Two of the guys showed up at the next game with new characters. The rest of the team got the message.

Remember, the director only writes half of the story. The players write the other half. I think a team can have competition within it (I got more stormtroopers than you did!), but not conflict that interferes with the game.
After all, they're supposed to be heroes! Let the Imperials and bounty hunters bicker among themselves in a self defeating way.
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Loc Taal · Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2003 7:45 pm Post subject:

Rexer · Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2003 10:09 pm Post subject:

i must admit I am surprised by the results of the vote so far. But, looking at who has posted under this thread I would expect nothing less. Seems like we have a good group going here of the "regular" posters.

I just thought that there would have been one person out there who likes playing the shadow character with their own agenda.
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Crell Damar · Line Captain Joined: 31 Jul 2003 Posts: 845

playing shadow characters are kinda fun... but eventually when word gets out about one character that you had that was a shadow... every character that follows ends up hating you...

Rexer · Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2003 1:35 pm Post subject:

yeah, unfortunately it is sad how players hold grudges against other players. I think it is funny how some players get stuck with a reputation for one character they played and then all following characters are doomed to that reputation.
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Crell Damar · Line Captain Joined: 31 Jul 2003 Posts: 845

yeah, i try to play each new character as if i'm just brand new to the story. I right now am on my 8th character in this one story, where the other 2 players have only had 1...

cause usually i either play a character that's way too moral or one that's not moral enough. Trying to find the exact balance between the two can be tough, but once you find it, it's great Very Happy

Rexer · Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2003 10:21 pm Post subject:

New characters can be fun because you can try to find that balance. A lot of times it depends on the group you are with and the GM. We had a group of rogue bounty hunters one time and there was a jedi tossed into the mix. That one was a little difficult but we managed.
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