what do I have to do to be interesting enough?

[orangetree]

So, I've been playing my very low level characters for a while now. DM interaction has been very limited, but the last one I feel I need to make a little comment on:

Basicly my character finds ogre tracks (kindly rolled by the DM as it would not likely have been something I did myself.) The end result? She flees, and that's the end of the DM event for me. My companion decided to press further, and was killed. Given he was level 1, it was a forgone conclusion. In essence I survived by not playing... this isn't exactly what I would consider fun. It also perpetuates the belief that I do not want to play. Of course I want to play, but this isn't the kind of event I -can- join, ICly it makes no sense. I could find an OOC excuse of course, one makes those judgements from time to time in the interest of fun... but there is no way two PCs under level 2 can take on ogres.

I like making interesting characters. Interesting tends to mean not powergamed. Not powergamed means less likely to survive- and given how harsh alfa has been of late, the only characters that can survive to have an interesting tale tend to be powergamed. This is a very difficult cycle to break. I don't find powergamed characters interesting, to play with or DM.

I can find little opportunity to do much in game. There are very few rumours to explore, and when I try to explore them there is generally no response or 'you find nothing' as a response. Simply because my character tends to roll low, or is so very unlucky?

Basicly, why is there no interest any more? What do I have to do, or where do I have to be, or who do I interact with to find... something to go on? To gain a little character development? To do something fun. Or are my characters just no longer interesting enough to be part of any event?

[Xanthea]

Are you sure it was supposed to be an event? That sounds more like a DM finding an IC way to warn you that there's ogre spawns ahead and that you should pick a different route.

Assuming it was an event, though, there being ogres there doesn't necessarily mean engaging them in glorious battle is the only thing you could do with the situation. You could try something like sneaking around spying on them and finding a clever solution or something else along those lines.

If you're asking for different kinds of events, well surely that comes down to what individual DMs find interesting to run.

[Twin Axes]

The only way I have found to truly enjoy Alfa is by finding regular campaigns to play in. I know it is hard to do and I consider myself lucky to have played with such fantastic dm's and players in the last year or two. I guess it is more hit and miss if one wants to play in a more frequent, one-off style. I always wind up frustrated and taking time off when I'm not in a campaign. Maybe it is harder to get good casual gaming with such a small player base as we have these days.

[orangetree]

Yes, it was an 'event' (Or more rather, a declined invitation to die again.)

You offer sneaking as an option. I will remind again, I was level 2 and my companion level 1 freshly rolled. There is zero chance of sneaking. Neither of us were rogues.

The DM events I've experienced so far have been about punishing the ignorant, often lethally. All I ask is a little care and to make events compatible for low level players. Otherwise all you're doing is alienating new characters. Also If you want people who lost their higher level chars to feel good about trying again, give them events that they can actually do something with instead of making them regret the loss by throwing things more suitable for said high levels.

[Adanu]

I've been waiting on ithildur and heegz to decide where to take the KD scheduling before committing to my lowbie campaign on WHL. Going with saturday is the best bet so far, and I'll let you know when I'm sure.

[orangetree]

The only way I have found to truly enjoy Alfa is by finding regular campaigns to play in. I know it is hard to do and I consider myself lucky to have played with such fantastic dm's and players in the last year or two. I guess it is more hit and miss if one wants to play in a more frequent, one-off style. I always wind up frustrated and taking time off when I'm not in a campaign. Maybe it is harder to get good casual gaming with such a small player base as we have these days.

With your character Golinar you have the freedom to explore solo, and have a high chance of getting involved in events because of your high level. You get the best of everything. You got all the high points in the events, an interesting story to tell too, and to be honest, I felt severely over shadowed when I was with you. My 'interesting thing' when I tried to branch out was just to die the most pointless death in fictional history. I don't resent you for it, you earned it all.. I just hoped I had earned it- or was going to.

So yes, you were lucky to be liked. I don't consider myself lucky, or fortunate at all. And starting over with a new character, I feel less liked and involved then ever.

apologies for being over dramatic and emotional about it, but its been stewing in me a while and the frustration of it all had to come out.

[Zelknolf]

Some context and perspective may be necessary for this-- you've gone from the most-DMed player in ALFA to just the average experience of an ALFAn. It's not that folk find you "uninteresting;" it's that dry spells and incompatible events are common.



Still, if you want to influence the trends of things away from the standard shallow episodic genre violence that we have, the best way to do that is to gather up like-minded people and play that way. It's how we got into it in the first place (right down to the equivocation fallacies on the pillars).

And if you think that a specific DM gives things of unreasonable CR, and it doesn't look like malice, just talking to said DM is probably going to be more productive.

[Xanthea]

It seems like it'd be helpful if you described what you want out of a DM plot.

[orangetree]

It seems like it'd be helpful if you described what you want out of a DM plot.

Fair question I suppose. I would say: Something to go on? Something to do? Something my char can 'actually' do? just 'something'. Is that really too much?

As an example, Golinar is probably the most developed story I am aware of (Sorry to use him it's just he is the only one I know) Artefact in hand, an interesting area to explore, massive character development, and a chance to do something in the server history.

I must protest saying I have been 'dmed most' in the past. It isn't true. I was a shadow of most events and tagged along. There is nothing my char has personally done, besides be introspective.

[kiyoti]

Hopefully Ravens involvement with the KD will help. While we do have group missions we also try to let each member explore their interests and shine when they are clearly the one that is the expert.

Boz has IC development purely because he is the oldest KD and has been around a while. Let HEEGZ, Ith and even Regas (Boz IC) know what and where your intrest lay.

[Xanthea]

As an example, Golinar is probably the most developed story I am aware of (Sorry to use him it's just he is the only one I know) Artefact in hand, an interesting area to explore, massive character development, and a chance to do something in the server history.

Okay, disclaimer. I don't know any of your characters very well, and I certainly don't know whatever bios you've written at all so this may be totally off the mark.

That said, most of the time interesting things to do and cool goals to pursue starts with the player writing a useful bio with plenty of plot hooks for a DM to seize on. A trap a lot of people seem to fall into is thinking that their bios should be an engaging backstory filled with rich character history and so on. Those generally aren't very useful. When I DM I want something concise that describes character goals and ambitions and provides easy to use hooks. If I get some rambling story I'm probably going to skim or skip it entirely. Again using Golinar as an example. "Dwarven archaeologist with an interest in pursuing dwarven history and relics." is an example of a very concise bio that still provides something for a DM to work with. I really don't care about involved descriptions of family members and character history, unless it's something that relates to a potential plot.

Be concise, provide easy to use hooks, include things like interesting goals you as a player could see your character wanting to pursue at some point. There's nothing wrong with being a "leaf on the wind" sort of PC, but DMs are probably going to put more energy into something that will give a better effort/return ratio on their work. You should have at least a basic idea of where you want to take the character before you even make it, and what sort of personal DM attention you're looking for. And don't be shy about putting that information out there.

All imho, of course.

[orangetree]

It is true, I put a lot of work into the bios trying to think up a credible history.

I'll.. try to make it more broad.

[Xanthea]

Really the thing to take away is that bios should basically be instructions to the DM about what sort of plots and goals you're interested in and why they'd be cool to run, in as easy to read a format as possible.

Save the storytelling about interesting character history for the library forum.

[Twin Axes]

The only way I have found to truly enjoy Alfa is by finding regular campaigns to play in. I know it is hard to do and I consider myself lucky to have played with such fantastic dm's and players in the last year or two. I guess it is more hit and miss if one wants to play in a more frequent, one-off style. I always wind up frustrated and taking time off when I'm not in a campaign. Maybe it is harder to get good casual gaming with such a small player base as we have these days.

With your character Golinar you have the freedom to explore solo, and have a high chance of getting involved in events because of your high level. You get the best of everything. You got all the high points in the events, an interesting story to tell too, and to be honest, I felt severely over shadowed when I was with you. My 'interesting thing' when I tried to branch out was just to die the most pointless death in fictional history. I don't resent you for it, you earned it all.. I just hoped I had earned it- or was going to.

So yes, you were lucky to be liked. I don't consider myself lucky, or fortunate at all. And starting over with a new character, I feel less liked and involved then ever.

apologies for being over dramatic and emotional about it, but its been stewing in me a while and the frustration of it all had to come out.

I am sorry to hear you felt overshadowed when playing with me. Su was one of the PCs I felt most connected with, and interaction with her was one of the things that made my PC feel more emotionally involved in the Alfaverse. Like you said at the time, Golinar was like a kind of father figure to her, and that whole thing made him seem more human (dwarfish I mean) to me, something more than a bundle of numbers. I was incredibly disappointed to hear Su died, I was seriously hoping to meet up with her again after my current campaign ends.

The challenge for me when it comes to enjoying Alfa is to find an ongoing meaningful context for my PCs to act in. Campaigns are the surest way to that goal. Long term relationships with other PCs are another. I miss Su but I understand why you had to let her go. I think she was a very original and consistent PC and an achievement. I hope your new PC finds a group to build a history with. Starting a new PC is hard, just think of all the time invested it takes for a PC concept to become three dimensional.

As regards Golinar, if I want to explore solo I play some other game offline. Alfa is about trying to relive my tabletop days of old, it is entirely a social activity, and for me there's nothing as lonely or pointless as soloing. It's all about the campaign. Find one, make it work for your PC, that's the only advice I could give anyone.

[Ronan]

Making a random PC and hoping for random DM attention is no longer terribly viable, if it ever was. Would you show up at a PnP session with a pre-made character sheet and always expect to be included? Sure you might be, but you also might not.

To have the best chance to be included in something fun, make a PC to fit in with an established group of players (or establish a group yourself). You don't need to be PGed for combat effectiveness but it does help to be useful. Sometimes this is just a rogue with a bunch of social skills, a wizard with a ton of knowledge ranks, or an expert tracker, locksmith and trapspringer.