Emotions at the gaming table.

[Scarlet-Devil]

I'm curious about how different groups handle emotions during gaming sessions; during roleplaying, do (have) you or one of your companions gotten so in-character that they laughed boisterously, shouted angrily, or even shed tears in their character's grief? Is this normal/acceptable at your gaming table, or do you prefer to play more stone-faced?

There was a boy in my very first group who acted extremely passionately during D&D, both in and out of character, often disrupting the game significantly. He would cry when his characters died and yell at the DM; he was very fun to play with, but his wild emotions also made for an uncomfortable atmosphere and often brought games to a halt.

[hobbitkniver]

I do notice that I worry for the chrarcters mine has befriended and I also act disfavorably towards npcs i don't like. I don't think I actually yell or cry, but my gamenight is always full of laughs.

[Demonweave]

I have been in games where people will laugh hysterically when their character does, and be very riled up when they Character is angry.

Never had anyone cry because of a PC death though.

[Pentachoron]

My table tends to try to separate player and character emotion, while still placing an emphasis on role playing. It just (personally) feels awkward when a player goes to that extreme.

[Vknight]

My players laugh & intermingle both in & out of character telling jokes & stories. In character when threatened they respond how they feel in character.
Once in a Star Wars campaign the Gungan Jedi failed pretty badly at an attack so I jokingly said he deactivates his light-saber. The Gungan's player became depressed at this both in & out of character. We ended earlier because he ruined the mood because he is so 'sensitive'.

The romance building between 2character lead to romance between the players forcing me to throw one of them out. Mainly because he thought I was making moves on her because I take her home. She lives 1block away from me.

I need new players. That or booze.

[Pink]

There are definitely emotions at the tables I game at.

This does not necessarily have anything to do with their characters though.

If I had players that would express emotions, even to a stronger degree, that were what their characters were experiencing, I wouldn't mind that as long as that deep role-playing experience is what they come to the table for. I know that when I roleplay, experiencing the emotions and thoughts of another person is part of the fun for me, though admittedly I've never been in a serious enough game that I can get as deep into character as I'd like sometimes. Which is fine too, that's not the only reason I come to the game table.

Edit: Of course maybe I should mention here, that at the end of the game, the players should be able to separate themselves from their characters.

It's the players that have their characters express the player's own emotions, or get upset over their character that I have trouble with. While I can understand a bit of disappointment and concern over the well-being of your character, crying if your character dies or getting really upset definitely feels disruptive to the game, if not disruptive to the gaming group dynamic, or feeling remnant of a certain black leaf character.

TL;DR, Being moved emotionally by the story of the game is good. This is like crying at a movie. Being moved emotionally in a metagame matter of the game is not good. This is like watching a movie in a theatre and shouting at the screen every time something happens you don't like. Hopefully that makes sense.

[Thiyr]

Well, there was this one time where I killed myself and got depressed over it.

wait, that sounds terrible. My character's cohort got confused by an umber hulk, and killed his lifetime best friend (trope warning) (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HeterosexualLifePartners), it didn't end so well. Grieving ogre was so emotionally charged that I admit that I was actually somewhat depressed that night (despite knowing that the character was going to be getting raised quite quickly. Good ol' Ptolus). But as far as I know, it wasn't disruptive, and it doesn't happen often, and the other players/DM actually quite enjoyed it.

Though strangely, in the middle of that, in-character rage got translated to ooc rage at another player for mocking said ogre. I'd not have minded if that weren't due to other issues with the player, but that's a whole different issue.

[DisgruntledDM]

In my experience, I've never seen someone get in character like that. I occasionally give NPCs a voice of their own, and sometimes have actually stood up to act out a mannerism or something, but never to the "method acting" stage.

[Demonweave]

Being moved emotionally by the story of the game is good. This is like crying at a movie. Being moved emotionally in a metagame matter of the game is not good. This is like watching a movie in a theatre and shouting at the screen every time something happens you don't like. Hopefully that makes sense.

I couldn't agree more, I see DMing a game as telling an interactive story, strong reactions (within reason) are a good sign you're doing something right.

[Vknight]

As Pink said & I agree with Demonweave.
Gaming should be fun with players getting into it but staying themselves.

[gbprime]

I couldn't agree more, I see DMing a game as telling an interactive story, strong reactions (within reason) are a good sign you're doing something right.

Exactly. Thi high points of games I've run include the players being totally creeped out by plot twists, being genuinely angry at NPC betrayals, and actually tearing up from time to time. It's hard work to get them that into the story that they react instead of just saying that their PC reacts... but its worth it.

When the player can't sleep for 2 nights after the game session and they THANK you for it the next week... well, we call that a Rein-Hagen moment. :smallsmile:

[Greenish]

Emotions are suboptimal. In gaming table, there's only mathematics and cold hard logic. ;)

[gbprime]

Emotions are suboptimal. In gaming table, there's only mathematics and cold hard logic. ;)

That's what wargaming is for. Nobody cares what personality quirks a squad of space marines has. But role playing is all about those personality quirks.

[Sipex]

I believe I have semi-emotional players. They do tend to get angry and the enemies and happy when they've done good. No tearing up though, can't seem to make them sad really.

I did get the usual "Awwwww :(" when the players found out a boy's father died though, that's about the closest I've gotten to sad.

Also, my players all have phobias (except one) so I have a really hard time finding stuff that doesn't creep them out.

[The Glyphstone]

That's what wargaming is for. Nobody cares what personality quirks a squad of space marines has. But role playing is all about those personality quirks.

Wait, you don't roleplay your (individually named) space marines as they follow your orders on the tabletop, or give them funerals when they die?:smallconfused:

[gbprime]

Wait, you don't roleplay your (individually named) space marines as they follow your orders on the tabletop, or give them funerals when they die?:smallconfused:

Of course not. You buy NEW space marines and paint them up with damaged armor and bionics! <twitch, twitch>

Yes, i have a sad habit of effectively tithing to Games Workshop. :smallfrown:

[Kaww]

A very good explanation of how it goes.

I agree.

I made player's cry, got them REALLY scared, made them laugh until they started hyperventilating...

It's a rewarding experience being a DM. :smallcool:

[EccentricCircle]

one of my favourite moments from a game was when the party were exploring a creepy haunted hosue in a pseudo-ravenloft kind of setting.
we had a lot of very good roleplayers who get really into their characters heads in that group and so were all whispering and gesturing and talking in hushed voices.
one player said something along the lines of "hey, why are you actually whispering. to which we turned around and replied
"in case they hear us! sshh!"

I always tend towards well thought out and carefully characterised PC's as I feel that if you are going to spend that long pretending to be someone you really have to try to get into their head and start thinking how they would think. (even if you don't neccersarly agree with them) a character has to be more than just a set of numbers. i'm always happy as a DM when my players stop saying "my Dwarf checks the box" and start saying "I check the box" as they don't realise they've done it, but they just started engaging with the game on a different level.
the best games are the ones where you are actually on the edge of your seat feeling genuine fear as the world hurtles towards destruction around you.

can players get carried away? sometimes. but so long as everyone can seperate reality from the game at the end of the day and no one gets to involved and starts larping then things are going ok. (i've only known someone to jump up and rugby tackle one of the other players once. and in fiarness he was about to get away...)

[Pink]

one of my favourite moments from a game was when the party were exploring a creepy haunted hosue in a pseudo-ravenloft kind of setting.
we had a lot of very good roleplayers who get really into their characters heads in that group and so were all whispering and gesturing and talking in hushed voices.
one player said something along the lines of "hey, why are you actually whispering. to which we turned around and replied
"in case they hear us! sshh!"

Pretty sure I once participated in this exact conversation in a game I played. Just totally keeping the voice low and whispering and one of the other players was like, "Dude, why are you whispering?"

[The Watchman]

I'm curious about how different groups handle emotions during gaming sessions; during roleplaying, do (have) you or one of your companions gotten so in-character that they laughed boisterously, shouted angrily, or even shed tears in their character's grief? Is this normal/acceptable at your gaming table, or do you prefer to play more stone-faced?

Most of the games I run are played with a minimal amount of shared emotion between the players and their characters. The players will get ticked when an NPC they trusted turns out to be a villain or something like that, but it's very rare that it goes beyond that.

However, the times when it does go beyond that are the most memorable playing sessions. As a GM, I see it as my job to make the game so immersive that it gets to that point. It's rare that I pull it off - even for an experienced GM, getting the players that involved is difficult - but when I do, it always ends up as one of the best gaming sessions we've played.

When the players shared in their characters' guilt over (accidentally) dooming an entire town of people, that was a good session. When my players rejoiced at having managed to save a small child from demonic possession, that was a good session. When my players actually came to hate, actually hate the villain in one of my campaigns... well, they made me promise that he would never appear again, that he was actually dead for ever and for always, but it was one of the best campaigns I've ever run.

...I hated the guy, too, but man he was a cool villain.

[grimbold]

I do notice that I worry for the chrarcters mine has befriended and I also act disfavorably towards npcs i don't like. I don't think I actually yell or cry, but my gamenight is always full of laughs.
my sessions are similar
you have to monitoryour emotion

[Demonweave]

I do love the odd occasion when the players do truely get immersed.

Not so long ago my players were given a big moral deciscion (basically save one guy they liked who should be valuable later, or a bunch of people they didnt know) They all had different opinions and all argued for almost the whole session until they were blue in the face. Not one of them came out of character for the whole night, and that was fantastic. I really love those kind of sessions.

Plus by the time they decided, their buddy was dead and the so were half of the group of civilians. :smallamused:

DMing a good campaign is real work, but sometimes it is a real pleasure. Haha