Pet Peeves and What You Want
2November 30, 2010 by Jeff
The month of November asked what your biggest player pet peeve is and I was not too surprised by the results. At the same time, I think it also tells me a bit about the sort of players we have reading the site. Ultimately, I think the summary is, the cool kind, because you guys have similar tastes to myself.
Top choices for this poll were “taking too much time to make choices” and “showing up late/not showing up”, followed by “Off topic conversation”. I think we can summarize these results by saying that we don’t like it when other people waste our time. Playing poorly, advancing the story but focusing it on yourself or betraying the party. These seem to be things we’re more willing to accept than sitting around for 5 minutes knowing that your turn is coming up and then not knowing what you’re going to do when your turn does come.
I know the powergamers are often annoyed by the bad tactics issue, and it makes sense. 4e is a very party focused game and tactics aren’t just about you, me, or whoever, it’s about what the party does as a whole. So bad tactics screw everyone over, more often than not, and more so than previous versions of D&D.
Maybe this tells me that we should do a few articles about how to not be THAT player. How to make your choices quickly, how to be a team player, and discussing some basic table etiquette.
In fact, the next Poll of the Month, for December, is going to be all about the sort of things you’d like to see on this site. We’ve done a lot of design stuff lately with new rules, crunch, races, etc. Do we like that? Do we want something else? Let me know. Below you’ll find the break down of the results of November’s poll followed by a chance to vote in December’s poll.
Thanks for being awesome guys!
What is your biggest pet peeve?
Players taking too much time to make choices – 39 (32%)
Players showing up late/not showing – 37 (30%)
Off topic conversation – 22 (18%)
Betrayal by another PC – 11 (9%)
Players who hog the spotlight – 8 (7%)
Players using bad tactics – 4 (3%)
Other (see below) – 2 (2%)
Other Answers
Failining to remember what the to the attack means and how to apply it. – 1
Players not engaged/not paying attention to the game. – 1
What do you want to see more of on the site?
In our groups, we use a small 60-second hourglass if someone is taking too long. It feels like a punishment, but it does help to speed things up and encourages the players to be on task when it’s their turn. We also have the initiative on cue cards across the table so everyone can see when they are “up” next. As DM, I read the upcoming turns like a batting order in baseball, “The dire wolves are up next, followed by Jor-Dal, Kizzen, and Gordon Thumpfoot.”
Another idea I’ve used is to reward players for good behaviors with a +1 token to use on any future roll. If you want to encourage fast play, give a +1 token to anyone that completes their actions quickly. Your group will catch on quick, and their thirst for +1 tokens will drive the game forward. You can even roleplay that dynamic with something like:
“The swiftness of your actions fuels your momentum in battle and further hones your senses.”
[...] is the first of a new series of articles that I came up with due to feedback from the December 2010 Poll of the Month where people requested more role-playing advice. Here is how this series of articles is going to [...]