Re: [DL] Reluctant Player Member

[toadpooka@juno.com]

The first rule I've got for players in my posse with regard to character
creation is: Be an F'ing hero!  Your character can have his own opinions,
whatever.  But you've got to be one of teh good guys.  One of the good
guys who will come to the help of people in danger.  A lot of times, bad
players will make characters who just don't care...usually, they think
this is proof that the GM is bad, he couldn't come up with an adventure
hook that would get the whole group interested.  Well, there aren't an
unlimited number of hooks that can involve six different people on
completely personal grounds.  Ideally, after a few sessions, this
character should go along because he's worried about the rest of the
group; these should be his friends after ahile, shouldn't they?
The mean way to fix it is to say, "OK, you stay home.  Run the session
with the characters that go on the adventure, and occasionally check back
with the homebody.  He'll say, "I eat," or "I go drinkin'" or, "I'm gonna
go buy some bullets."  Then cut back to the real posse.  If the lazy guy
intrjects in the middle, interrupt him and say, "you're not here."  If he
complains, explain the situation: you're here to make the group have fun.
 If one person holds the group back, you've got to cut him off.
Of course, I don't know your game.  It is possible that this guy is
right, and maybe you're bad at thinking of adventure hooks.  Besides the
"innocents in distress" element, try to play up one or two things that
the character might be personally interested in.  If he's a Huckster,
have an evil Huckster with a nice edition of Hoyle's be the bad guy.  If
he's an embittered Southern vet, have the bad guy be a menacing Northern
general.  Encourage this player to take Hindrances like Enemy; they'll
give you plenty of hooks to hang him by.
Also, sometimes it helps to have the adventure happen TO the posse. 
Rather than going out to help the villagers, the characters are being
hunted by something horrible.  If he's not interested, it's time for
those 12 special cards...

From Whom It May Concern,
Rich Ranallo

"There will be no Year 2000.  At least, not as we know it."
-Hunter S. Thompson

________________________________________________________________
GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO!
Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less!
Join Juno today!  For your FREE software, visit:
http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.