Re: [HOE] On Spoilers

[<dl@fomalhaut.mmcc.monash.edu.au>]

On Tue, 29 May 2001 Dusarat@aol.com wrote:

> People do seem to worry a lot about spoilers on this list,
>
Yes they do. This is a mailing list for a game with an awful lot of
background that is initially, either GM only, or limited to certain
character types. This is compounded by the fact that there are a fair few
players that are subscribed to the list.
However I think the reason this thread has gone on so long was that
people stood up to defend the initial posting, otherwise it would have
been one or two posts of slappage and an apology and things would have
been back to normal.


>     The Marshall/player division only exists for the purposes of the game.

Whilst this is true, this list is related to the game, and so the
marshall/player division continues to apply.

> The best games rotate Marshalls, and the more people try to separate things
> the more screwed up things get.

I disagree. The best roleplaying game I have been involved in was a 2 and
a bit year long Delta-Green game, in which we, the players, knew nothing
about the background setting. If I had known the major secrets of the
setting the game would have been far less enjoyable. Discovering what is
really going on in the world your character inhabits can be an immense
amount of fun.
Whenever I run a group through DG or deadlands I try to restrict what
they know about the setting to the information their characters discover
during play. I remember my days as DG player fondly and I hope to be able
to pass on a similar experience to my players in my games.

> I think more Marshalls SHOULD discuss gaming
> ideas with their players, it's a team sport, why does the Marshall get to
> have exclusivbe rights to the playbook?

Yes, Marshalls should discuss some things with their players, but not
others, for the reasons I outlined above.

> For too long we have had things
> setup where the 'Alpha male' Mershalls the game and it becomes a sort of
> empire.
>     After all, if it wasn't for this list, I wouldn't have known anything.
> My Marshall was the one who, after telling us how much he wanted to run 'The
> Boise Horror' for months, finally ran it, but judiciously edited the Horror
> out.  Evidently he couldn't get it past the network censors.
>
>     So relax, speak freely, and let others listen freely.
>
Er, sorry, no. From the above I can only assume that your Marshall is some
sort of powergamer come GM, but because you have a situation in which your
GM is witholding information past the point that he should, doesn't mean
that this is everyone else's situation as well.
I'm sure that most deadlands players out there don't want the big secrets
spoiled for them. It's fairly easy to put a spoiler warning in the subject
line, or in the first 10 or so lines of the body of the message and in
doing so respect their wishes not to have their game spoiled.
If there are players on here who have GMs like yours, or who are here to
find out all the big secrets behind their GMs backs, they are free to read
past the spoiler space.

-- Tim