No one bats 1000. I literally have a following at cons I run games at, players that buy early access badges to get into the games I run, but that doesn't mean some of them still don't end up "meh."
Origins Experiences
- Thread starter Celebrim
- Start date
Celebrim
Legend
The had the GM for two sessions and the first session no one seemed to have fun but I put that down to maybe just this particularly story being a dud. I probably should have looked for an open table for the second session, but didn't have time for that because of some other commitments. And the second session was slightly better done although really redundant if you'd seen the style before and led to the above rant. But the thing is, half of the people at that second session were actually fans, two of which had sought out this experience again after having the GM in prior years, and those people really honestly had a good time as far as I can tell.
Which, again, art is really subjective. There is scarcely a movie so bad that it isn't someone's favorite movie, and it's always interesting to learn why the person likes what you consider trash. In this case, as I said, the GM does have some positive qualities and so I'm not flabbergasted that anyone enjoys the GM's game.
Which probably should more inform some of the discussions we have on EnWorld about how to GM properly. Advice has to be matched to the actual aesthetics of the group. In my opinion, this table was governed largely by "Sensation" as an aesthetic. The people that enjoyed the table were the people who could enjoy the GM going off on a ten-minute well-rehearsed monologue. They also had lots of props and pictures to go along with their narration. This was sort of the Disney Jungle Cruise of RPG sessions. Me, I get bored watching Matt Mercer run a session.
Eyes of Nine
Everything's Fine
Ooof, friends with the Battlestations creator/owner. Sorry to hear you had a bad time.
I wonder if he was there at table; or it was some of his friends/staffers helping out
aramis erak
Legend
Any such endorsement brings a liability factor...
... and given the subjective nature of what good GMing is...
... any such endorsement has a potential to be a trigger for litigation.
Not so much for "Why did A get theirs?" but "Why didn't I get mine?" by those not endorsed.
No idea, but it was a mess. I think I like the game. I wish I did not have to spend $80 to find out. I mean, that's why I signed up for the con event.
Osgood
Hero
Im sorry to hear about that experience, but I can’t say I’m surprised. I’ve generally found the quality of con GMs to range from terrible to poor with the occasional bright spot.
Of the six games I played at Garycon this year, two were hall of shame bad GMs (one muttering as he read not only boxed text but also the rest like about secret doors and traps and getting pissed when we “found” them, the other kept inserting “superior” 3e rules in a 5e game and then belittling younger players who questioned rulings that invalidated their class features), two were simply bad, and two were pleasantly meh.
I only played three games at Origins this year, and while the Star Wars GM was pretty poor, both D&D DMs were actually good, one bordering on excellent. I’ve literally never experienced anything like it before (I asked my buddy if it actually happened or if I’d had a stroke).
Of the six games I played at Garycon this year, two were hall of shame bad GMs (one muttering as he read not only boxed text but also the rest like about secret doors and traps and getting pissed when we “found” them, the other kept inserting “superior” 3e rules in a 5e game and then belittling younger players who questioned rulings that invalidated their class features), two were simply bad, and two were pleasantly meh.
I only played three games at Origins this year, and while the Star Wars GM was pretty poor, both D&D DMs were actually good, one bordering on excellent. I’ve literally never experienced anything like it before (I asked my buddy if it actually happened or if I’d had a stroke).
Eyes of Nine
Everything's Fine
Never been to Origins, didn't realize one had to pay real money to play games. That's crazy
Some games you do, some you don't. If you wanted to play at a Greenwood/Gygax/Baker table, it was real money, otherwise it's between $0-$12 for a 3-4 hour slot, depending on who put on the event.
I didn't pay for any of my traditional roleplaying or board games. The only thing I paid for was a painting workshop that included a mini and watching a live play.
Any game that charges money is a drastic exception and likely has a special arrangement.
I think origins allowed anyone to upcharge. It looked like from the catalog it was mostly one host group, a pro-GM co-op sort of thing, and their additional fees varied wildly from $6 to $24.
