RE: [DL] Reluctant Player Member

["Jeffery Yates" <jyates@qlinktech.com>]

As a marshal, my response to "My character has no reason to go" is to say
"Then throw that character away and make one with a reason."  Constant
hinderances to group fun are not allowed.

But that's me, in my game, as a marshal.  As a player, you can try saying
such things, but it's the marshal that has to enforce it.

If the guy does eventually go, but after everyone else has left, then he
should be treated to all the same fun that the split off loner gets in any
rpg.  Big scary monsters, and no backup.  After a few slaughtered
characters, he might start saying "My character has no reason to go, except
for the safety in numbers!"  As a player, you can't do this, it's up to your
marshal.  But if you feel comfortable with the marshal, talk to him (her?
rare but there are some) about the whole thing, and brainstorm some
solutions on together.  Then inflict the solutions on the reluctant player.

OK, so maybe I'm harsh -- but I have a very low PC body count in my games
and feel I can be harsh once in a while ;-)  Just wish my players would stop
blowing up their characters on their own, so I could get a few kills in...

Jeff Y.
Marshal for the Dynamite Gang


> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-deadlands@gamerz.net [mailto:owner-deadlands@gamerz.net]On
> Behalf Of matt ryan
> Sent: Monday, April 02, 2001 8:41 AM
> To: deadlands@gamerz.net
> Subject: [DL] Reluctant Player Member
>
>
> Good Morning Everyone,
>
> I've been playing Deadlands for five weeks now, loving every Guts
> check  and Scrutinize roll along the way. Lsst night I ran into a problem
> that I haven't seen since my D&D days back in the '80's. (It's
> true, I'm an
> 'older gamer'.)
>
> We've got a reluctant player in our group. Each time adventure awaits, he
> doesn't want to go. "My character would have no reason to go," he quips.
> Okay. I buy that, I guess. I wish I could ask him why he's playing. Last
> night we players spent nearly an hour trying to urge this player's
> character to come along with us.
>
> Thinking I was helping the Marshall, I had my character make a Persuasion
> roll to persuade the reluctant cowboy to come along. The Marshall
> said this
> was okay. I spent a Fate Chip and with a good roll got a 22 for my
> Persuasion roll. I thought it was in the bag. Our Marshall directed the
> other player to make a Scrutinize roll. The Reluctant One rolled
> a measly 4
> on his Scrutinize roll. So, I thought it was settled.
>
> As we headed out the other player still refused to go. Now the
> real dilemma
> began. The question: is the persuasion/scrutinize test sufficient
> to change
> a players mind or do we have to do this through role playing. One member
> argued that Persuasion ought only be used on NPC's and not other
> PC's. One
> player thought that I still had to verbally persuade old
> reluctant to come
> along. We spent an hour, seriously, debating this. We eventually settled
> with me NOT being able to Persuade another player character with a die
> roll. I got my Fate Chip back. Then, after all that, he decides to come
> along anyway.
>
> How do other people handle this? How do other players handle
> this? What can
> I, as a player, do to move things along. When this player stays behind he
> isn't content to just sit there; he has to take the Marshall's time doing
> things. So, the Marshall ends up running a split story, guiding 5
> of us on
> one path and then guiding reluctant along the same path, behind us. It's
> frustrating.
>
> Matt
>
>
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