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View Full Version : Player Help Help with a disorganized metagame



zuzak
2014-07-19, 01:35 PM
I've been playing in a (3.5) campaign with some of my friends for over a year now, and while its been fun, I've been getting increasingly frustrated by how unfocused the group is. If we set a start time of 6:00, we usually don't actually play until 8:00 or even 9:00. About half of the players don't seem to actively participate unless something directly involves their character, and there's a lot of OOC joking and internet references that don't relate to anything. Now, IC humor is present and a pretty big part of the game and I don't have a problem with that, but when we stop the game so we can watch a youtube video... that's where I take issue.

As a player, what can I do to keep people on task without being too much of a jerk about it?

Airk
2014-07-19, 01:52 PM
You can't. Not by yourself. If you want to TRY To fix this, the first step is to sit down and talk to everyone and see if they WANT to change the situation. If they are all happy with the way things are now, there is exactly bupkus you can do.

On the other hand, if the consensus is that they'd like to try to focus better, just lay down some rules. Game starts at 6. And that means that the game STARTS AT 6. GM sits down. Says "Okay, guys, settle down, we're getting started." Maybe play a musical track to get people to STFU and focus. Light a candle. Whatever. Something 'ritual' that says "Now we are gaming." You might want to include regular pauses (once an hour is good) so people can get up, stretch, use the restroom, get a drink, or whatever.

Jokes, you will find, are mostly easily addressed once people agree that they're something you're not supposed to do. If someone makes a joke and there's no reason they shouldn't, you're a jerk if you try to get them to stop. If someone makes a joke and the agreement is that people won't, then a "Remember, no OOC jokes at the table.' should be enough to get a "Right, sorry." and get the game back on track.

zuzak
2014-07-19, 03:28 PM
I've suggested new rules about start times and OOC conversations on the group's Facebook page, and so far it seems like people are in agreement! Thanks for the advice, I was a little unsure of how to approach the subject without coming off as a buzzkill.