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pyatPyat’s Non-Universal Rules of Gaming*
*Note: I believe these behaviours arose out of a sort of grim dynamic that existed between my high-school gaming buddies and a particularly misanthropic GM. For good or ill, the guidelines below have remained with me and largely shape my habits in most games. I make no guarantees about how welcome the application of these rules will be in any given player group.
Rule One: “Shake the Pillars of Heaven”
The goal of your character should not be comfort and security, nor wealth, nor admiration, but rather to have his or her name written in letters of fire across the pages of history. It is not important if you are remembered as a hero or a fool – it is enough to be remembered.
Rule Two: “Chaos is a friend of mine.”
When your party can’t directly take control of a situation, it is sometimes possible to remove control from the opponent via an unexpected action. Smash the Dragon Orb! Jump into a garbage compactor! Initiate the Corbomite Maneuver! And do it NOW. Like the man said, “Better to act quickly and err than to hesitate until the time of action is past.”
Rule Three: “He can never know that he is dead."
Your character, that is. Don’t treat your character as disposable, don’t be suicidal – but also remember that you are in the game to help tell an interesting story. All interesting stories have an end, preferably one involving a tremendous explosion.
Rule Four: “Try not to die like a dog.”
If you think you are going to die, don’t spend your last combat round looking for a healing potion or medpak. Take off your hat and face the Infinite with a sneer, a smile, a leer, a wink, or a snarl – whatever works best for your character.
*Note: I believe these behaviours arose out of a sort of grim dynamic that existed between my high-school gaming buddies and a particularly misanthropic GM. For good or ill, the guidelines below have remained with me and largely shape my habits in most games. I make no guarantees about how welcome the application of these rules will be in any given player group.
Rule One: “Shake the Pillars of Heaven”
The goal of your character should not be comfort and security, nor wealth, nor admiration, but rather to have his or her name written in letters of fire across the pages of history. It is not important if you are remembered as a hero or a fool – it is enough to be remembered.
Rule Two: “Chaos is a friend of mine.”
When your party can’t directly take control of a situation, it is sometimes possible to remove control from the opponent via an unexpected action. Smash the Dragon Orb! Jump into a garbage compactor! Initiate the Corbomite Maneuver! And do it NOW. Like the man said, “Better to act quickly and err than to hesitate until the time of action is past.”
Rule Three: “He can never know that he is dead."
Your character, that is. Don’t treat your character as disposable, don’t be suicidal – but also remember that you are in the game to help tell an interesting story. All interesting stories have an end, preferably one involving a tremendous explosion.
Rule Four: “Try not to die like a dog.”
If you think you are going to die, don’t spend your last combat round looking for a healing potion or medpak. Take off your hat and face the Infinite with a sneer, a smile, a leer, a wink, or a snarl – whatever works best for your character.
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no subject
Date: 2007-07-25 06:27 am (UTC)The best was my cleric, who was struggling to remain upright and in the back so the damage dealers could keep doing damage against the slimes and jellies that beset us on all sides. I kept buffing and healing them, not paying attention to what was going on around me. The GM had me take a spot check, and I failed miserably. A jelly fell from the ceiling and onto my poor cleric, crushing her and dissolving her into a pile of dead meat and juice in one round of direct contact. The other characters didn't even notice the spat and sizzle, they noticed when the healing spells stopping coming.
They took her arm, the most recognizable part of her left, and got her raised later. That in itself is a great story.
no subject
Date: 2007-07-25 12:10 pm (UTC)And if it was Faran, death by jelly is oddly appropriate.
no subject
Date: 2007-07-25 12:57 pm (UTC)It's always sad when a character dies, but that made me angry, first time I've ever walked away from a game.
I've had a few good heroic ones. Like a Star Wars character that flushed herself and some deadly item out into space rather than risk her brother and the rest of the crew getting blown to smithereens. She was one of my faves, too, but I let her go for the right reasons (and she probably would've died anyway in a non-heroic way).