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Thanks!

I agree! It's something I've been working on, and will definitely be mindful of going forward. Thanks for the kind words!

It was a moment of weakness...

Always good to have a fan! Please subscribe, and share with your friends.

I'm so glad it came at the right time for you! You got this!

Thanks for responding. Kindness isn't weakness. In fact, as the old song says, ya got to be cruel(tough) to be kind. Telling someone "No, you can't do that" or, more precisely questioning their motive for any action, is very much a kindness, in that it offers them the out of reconsideration. Further, offering the benefit of the doubt to those who courageously offer a contrary position give them the means to explain themselves, which, ironically, is a tough nut to crack for some, as they most likely don't have the experience or expertise to speak, even in the pressure cooker of RPG play. Don't mistake this, however, for railroading... at my table, it is the innovative and courageous that thrive. A player overcoming their own beliefs or externalized limitations is a win for every player at the table, and for the stories at large. BRAVO! Kindness and accountability together RULE the day! Thanks again for your point. It is well taken.

@@nycosrpg Well, I actually agree with everything you said. Thanks for the clarification!

Always glad to "sharpen iron" with a friend. Nice to make your acquaintance. Check out my GM Rants playlist for more ammunition and places where we can do this again, and subscribe to get alerts to all my new content. I usually post eight to ten times a week, so, there's a LOT to talk about...

@@nycosrpg Thanks, will do!

I TOTALLY agree. Please share this with as many folk as possible. If you have a local game store, let them know about it, and share far and wide. We are the only folk that can make these changes, because we have the floor, er, the Tabletop for expressing the sentiment.

One reaps what one sows. Enjoy!

Biggest problem, is we can"t know that. And that is a mercurial thing... the way one WANTS anything is capricious at best. Golden Rule or no. being introspective is essential.

All changes have the seeds of kindness, if one has the eyes to see them. The Benefit of the Doubt is an essential resource for being kind, and accepting differing opinions with grace is its inevitable conclusion. Thanks for watching!

I appreciate the sentiment, Horrible people shouldn't be horrible. But. as is attributed to Einstein, doing the same thing again and expecting difference is the way of insanity. Cutting off your arm because it hurts, rather than attending to it, protecting and caring for it until it heals is at best unhelpful. We are all people, after all, one species. A fox in a trap will chew off its own leg to get away, because it has no other tool, and because it fears the outcome of its inevitable capture. We don't always get retributive opportunities. But we can choose the path of the higher ground,. Thanks for bringing this subject to the fore... What we need, in the long term, is more of these conversations, and less mindless reactions.

I, for one, go beyond the "Golden Rule," preferring a pro-active approach to kindness. Enter, the Platinum Rule: “Treat others as they want to be treated.”

This is problematic, at best. What you would have done to you, you can determine instantly and positively. What another would want, you would need intimacy with that is not evidenced. Thus the concept, put in simpler terms perhaps may be, "Be kind to the best of one's ability"

Welcome! I'm glad you enjoyed the video, and that you've found a community where you can enjoy games. Cheers to your local game store!

Absolutely. Thanks for posting, and please share this far and wide, because it is probably the most important message going into the new year, for so many obvious reasons...

Thanks so much. Main computer just crashed yesterday, so I am running this on my laptop. Glad you enjoyed it!

I agree! Kindness is a great strength to foster and celebrate.I really appreciate you. We all need to consider WHAT we are doing, but just as importantly, WHY we do so.

@@Drudenfusz I appreciate your input. Thanks for watching and I hope that in the future there will be more videos that you and I can agree on. But it really doesn't matter, as long as we're having fun gaming, right?

'zactly!

I agree that NPCs are a vital part of any good RPG experience! Thanks for watching, and consider the Games Master Academy Playlist... choc fulla good GM resources.I will be updating them soon, and putting them in part behind a pay wall, so watch them NOW!

Thanks! I'm happy to help, and it looks like you have the right stuff! You'll want to start with the playlist that explains NycosRPG. The whole project is really a codification of all my "house rules" merged with a retrospective approach to RPGs overall Here is the link... th-cam.com/play/PLRjhZ1tWWVYF1MTqTB-aPjSBzUIOtrVP8.html

Absolutely. Using physical devices like initiative cards, or, as I mentioned, a "talking stick" seems to be particularly useful when dealing with folks whose communications etiquette has slipped from being in more argumentative or less disciplined environments. Younger folks seem to be the less disciplined, and less polite, only because they lack the experience with groups and such. But I totally get your point, and yes, being inclusive is ALWAYS the right choice, ensuring the quiet and the loud have equal input in the game sessions.Thanks for your input! Keep watching!

In general it is not a smart idea to give the overwhelming majority of tasks to the game master. And yet it is always the reflex to look at the game master and burden him with yet another task. The player play their characters and the game master does everything else around the table. It's how our forefathers did it, and how I started out in 92 into the hobby. But it is not smart. The far better approach is to solve everything you can without the game master, without the game master. Even with a good game master his (or her) ressources are limited. And every job he does not have to worry about, because his (or her) group can manage them self to some degree, enhances his ability to deal with the other tasks. Always make sure that you come well prepared and well behaved as a player and don't strain the game master too much on general discipline. Quiet players can try to talk more and the noisy ones can shut up on occasion, without the need for the game master to manage them. And here is a wild idea, if a player is too quiet for your taste, go talk to him or her by yourself. The expection should always be that all players can and will manage them self in the same way that a game master could manage them. You don't have to go medieval onto everybodies ass, who lost sight of this. But you should be very clear that your expectation is that the players should at least show a lot of effort to solve such problems by themselves, before bothering you. When I sign up to be a game master, I sign up for a lot of responsibilities. But I'm not going to be a pseudo-parent or teacher to my players. And I will make that very clear if anybody ever thinks that it is my role to educate players about correct social behaviour. I expect them to come pre-educated. And it takes no special role at the table to shut up if somebody else is having his spot light. You don't need to be the game master to do it. Everybody can do it. So why should it be on the long list of tasks for the game master?

Great response. I hold the role being a GM as being kind of the director, ensuring scenes flow properly. I also hold that players trying to shout down other recalcitrant players (or zealous fans of the scenes, not meaning to cast the loud one as being wrong, just being improperly selfish) actually foments disrespect and animosity. Giving the responsibility to the GM isn't saddling him with additional duties, but rather suggesting he actually perform what has been his duty all along. As to whether I am a pseudo-parent or teacher, many of my game sessions are with teens and a few pre-teens who bring their parents, or simply show up alone. It IS sort of my job, if only as an exemplar, on how to maintain coherency in a crazy, noisy, and chaotic place. And I am not even talking yet about the adventure. Not everybody does this. Not everyone can, But, for the sake of game play expanding into the next generation, in some cases, somebody has to. Great conversation. PM me through NycosRPG.com. Would love to continue this conversation.

@@nycosrpg We can discuss it here. I don't do DMs and it is better for your channel anyway to have more engagement here. "I hold the role being a GM as being kind of the director, ..." I gladly take this analogy. Do you think that the director does it all by himself? Or does he expect a minimum standard the actors bring to the table, and starts from there? "... ensuring scenes flow properly." I'm a elementary school teacher and introduced hundreds of people to roleplaying games in the last 32 years. The thing is that you can either be their director or their acting-101-teacher. You can either coach young unexperienced actors on their first steps to becoming good actors, or you can make a great movie. You can't do both things at the same time. And you can either run game sessions with the goal to have them flow properly ... or you can teach your players properly. And where those two things are at odds with each other, and they will be, you should go with teaching them properly. Your sessions with beginners will flow better if you manage them as if they were toddlers. But they will learn less from you. Of cause we ask ourself if the first session is the right moment for teaching, or if we just want them to have a great time to start out in the hobby. But they might very well never see an as experienced game master as you ever again. Would be nice to give them a head start, wouldn't it? A slightly less great experience, where you managed less, but where they learned more and felt more competent for their journey into the hobby. "Giving the responsibility to the GM isn't saddling him with additional duties, but rather suggesting he actually perform what has been his duty all along." That's an appeal to tradition fallacy. Don't do fallacies! It doesn't matter if it were the responsibilities of the game master all along. We are discussing if it is a sensible approach. Hint: It isn't. "It IS sort of my job, if only as an exemplar, on how to maintain coherency in a crazy, noisy, and chaotic place." But there are subtle differences here, between different positions on the matter, and they lead to very different outcomes. Especially when introducing new players. "I am the game master, this is my role and I accept it. It has always been like that. It's the path Gary Gygax choose for me, and I carry this burden with pride. So lay all your bullshit on me, I will manage it." "Listen up bitches! I will only say this once. You are at your best behaviour at my table. I can and will manage conflicts at my table. But I don't want to. If you burden me with your bullshit too often you can look for another game master. And if you bother me with your bullshit your attitude better be that you are sorry to bother me with things you should have learned in f-ing kindergarden." They are of cause both overexaggerations. And I had a little fun with the second one. But this make a lot of difference. And the best case is a more diplomatic variant of the second speech. The sentiment that it is a game masters job to manage these things is ultimately normalizing bad behaviour on part of the players. It generates and teaches the very culture you spoke up against in the video. If you as a game master TAKE the responsibility for this stuff, you TAKE IT partially away from the players. And it will show in their behaviour. Expectations matter. And the expectations should always be that the players behave awesome. And if they don't behave awesome they should be aware that they can and should improve. You don't have to berate them, but a slight tone of disappointment or an exhausted sigh go a long way. If you want the scene to flow smoothly when players behave badly, you are normalizing the bad behaviour instead of sacrificing the flow to teach a lesson. And you don't even have to sacrifice the flow much for a stern and disappointed stare. It's sadly enough the same as in elementary school. Adressing a student who is stepping out of line always costs time and takes everybody out of the flow. But if we don't stop to adress the issue, they would never learn and things would get out of hand very quickly. And the reason I spoke up against the notion that it is the game masters job to manage this things away in order to achieve a smooth running session is that it generally creates a bad culture in our hobby. And because I don't believe that roleplaying games are a revealed religion brought to us by Gary Gygax. And I know it's hard to question traditions. But the old definitions of game master took away a lot of agency from the players and gave too many responsibilities to the game master. This made perfect sense in an environment where no RPG culture existed, all the players were noobs and the game master was the only one who read the books. But times have changed. Todays (good) players can benefit the game greatly, if given more responsibility. And with new definitions of the roles more game masters might emerge, and the decades old game master crisis could finally end.

No, I get it, and appreciate the effort. But I do believe, and in 50 years behind the shield as it were ( I tore that barrier down a LONG time ago) I think my experience and that of other GMs I have mentored sort of proves that in the end, we are both right. We can be both director and guide, especially with younger, less sophisticated players. Yes, you don't remain so for very long, as the players learn to comply. But perhaps that transition period is more than just a period of chaos. As I mentioned in a recent video, people play RPGs for a ton of different reasons, and in a dozen different veins, so your method works if what you want are players that have already figured this out, or that your style aligns with. I, too, have taught a ton of people, and perhaps I merely have a wider toleration funnel. I don't mean to say I run a madhouse; players figure it out soon enough. The recommendations in this video are more about how to accomplish the transition in a short time, and how to deal with the chaos of that transition time. So the games continue. I have to do this week's News updates. Hope you join us soon for another installment.

Simply stated, situational scale's supported solely by initial sighting, so I'd suspect the sandbox situation's singularly sustainable by sussing out similar scaled resources.

Thanks for the input! I'm trying to learn new skills all the time, and you've made a great point. I will see what I can do. The ones I made for my channel before did not seem as effective, but I don't mind making the effort. Thanks again!

And it's viewers like you that keep us truckin' along, as my dear old dad used to say... thanks so much! You earned 1 BP for that, useful at my table any old game.

@nycosrpg thanks! Keep up the great work!

I couldn't stop if I tried!

@@garrickstangle5996 thanks so much. I am definitely working on improving my speaking patterns, trying to get rid of the double talk and random blather that I seem to add in

This is me ALL the time. My players give up recreational drugs 'cause my sessions are MORE of a trip than anything...

Yes, it is. The universe has a sense of humor sometimes. Please come back anytime for great stories, tips, and general fun, and share this story with others, to help me help more GMs Master their Game.

Yeah, the stuff they can buy can be limitlessly interesting, and the conversations and the tidbits they can discern and glean from the process can be immeasurably helpful. Drudgery becomes and adventure, when you add just a little imagination! Thanks for the input!

I am a quick study, and know, like Socrates, that the wisest know they know nothing... yet. Thanks for popping by. You'll be back, indeed.

I agree that shopping can be a time suck, but it can also be a great way to add depth and realism to a game. I'll be sure to keep your suggestions in mind! In candor, the real hidden gem of RP in the shopping experience, if done sparingly, is a broadening of the imagination, thinking about the sights, smells, and situations that might occur in a magic-laden realm where the thought experiment nears the realm of dreams.

I appreciate that! More videos to come!

Good point. Fantasy is certainly less expensive in the realm of an RPG. Really appreciate the input. May actually do another video on that side of the line. Thanks for watching!

I have never heard of that one, I'll give it a look! Who published it?

@@nycosrpg Oink Games.

Cool, thanks! I'll look it up!

I will definitely take that into consideration, thank you for the constructive feedback!

..or the New York Stock Exchange! I of course am speaking of RPGs, but the skills that are gleaned irt from the tabletop CAN sometimes translate. I see your point! Thanks for posting!

@@nycosrpg no worries, i meant as in gaming wise, and as skills that that can be used too. But, if you want to bring the real world into this you are more than welcome to travel to the middle east or South East Asia as haggling there is no comparison to the New York stock exchange.

No, I totally got you, and was just playin' along. And agreed, New Yorkers have no chance with a Pashtun with a pomegranate to sell.

Great idea, that's a great way to add to the character's progression! Check out this video th-cam.com/video/KJJGLWvDIAA/w-d-xo.html here to see how the use of a Community Identity Sheet can lead to the community itself 'leveling up" as it were, to accommodate the advances of the players all along the way, easier and simpler to handle.

The armor itself is fundamentally taking damage if it is hit, so its integrity may be affected concerning future hits as well. So determining whether the armor mitigated the damage or not may alter future combats as well. Thanks so much for your input!

@@nycosrpg Well, it depends on the level of simulation you're doing. That being said, within a single fight, it's rare that the armor is so damaged by attacks that it becomes useless, since fights tend to go by pretty quickly. Additionally, often the armor itself survives the fight even if the wearer does not. If you're keeping track of armor integrity status and materials, that's a whole can of worms many systems avoid entirely, understandably so.

Agreed. Even in the cases where armor or weapons are not destroyed, the maintenance and care of them is something we see in the non-combat sequences, and in their own way are instructive. Sure, a weapon is not destroyed by combat, especially a single engagement, but who hasn't seen the warrior sharpening his blade, or knocking the dents out of a pauldron? Having armor is a good thing, and at least in my campaigns, players strive to keep their gear in good working order, or even perhaps having them improved by those with such skills. I do want to thank you for this ongoing conversation. Most instructive and enlightening!

@@nycosrpg Yeah, I think that one good way to do it is not to load the armor damage calculations into the fighting itself, but instead give it a fixed "used" cost that has to be then repaired out of combat after enough time has passed. Like you said, same thing can be applied to weapons that need maintenance (sharpening, bolt tightening, greasing, rehilting, etc.) Just the general wear and tear is enough to warrant this kind of fixed cost, and you can just modify it if you got a crit or something super damaging that may need more attention later. Thanks as well for being so civil and polite, it's rare these days on the internet. I really appreciate it.

exactly. The armor calculations occur after the fight, and are generally nearly zero, as weapons and armor are not damaged by proper use, but only when their use fails, and only then by damage that is not mitigated otherwise. So , we are really on the same page here, just quibbling on the HOW. Thanks again, and please follow the channel, and subscribe so you get updates every time a new video becomes available.

Ah, yes, the hobby shop... the forerunner to the dedicated game store. Owning one is a labor of love, and your story is not unique, as many of them simply fade after their owners move on.

No. It is actually a free benefit from TH-cam, and arguably I don't take good photos, and would have to spend time finding a photo. Ironically, if this image is challenging to you. it is a challenge I also face. Choosing to use a free benefit from the site or not is merely one of convenience.

Thou hast been granted two Blessing Points (BPs) for use in any NycosRPG game you play! These points may be used to re-roll any dice roll required in one session, even those I roll, to potentially get a different roll. You may apply these two to any Persona you play in a live session, an online one, or the new Roleplay Roulette games I am running here on TH-cam!

Great point about reframing, it's important to remember that behaviors can change. Indeed, the reference to "problem children" actually suggests they will all improve over time, when they grow out of those behaviors. Thanks again for your input. Really helps!

I appreciate that! More videos to come.

Couldn't agree more. I do have players, too, that love this kind of details in their games... so they calculate, and figure, and build rafts of documents that outline how many grains of rice can be carried in a wick suit, drawing moisture from the body,etc... because to them, that IS the fantasy they love to dive into. DSSS -Don't Sweat the Small Stuff.. .but also YDYB - You Do YOU, Boo. Love the comment. Keep it coming!

I'm glad you liked it. Thanks for the good words, my friend.

Thank you! I'm working on getting that audio problem under control.

Totally concur. Most of the time encumbrance is not an issue, but it can be an interesting exercise if they have to figure out how to accomplish something with all their "stuff". I have been battling with audio problems for a while, so I will work to improve it even further. Thanks for your input, and "Welcome to Nycos!"

That's a neat system, and it sounds like it fits well within that style of game! Thanks for the comment, and I will look into that system. Thanks!

Yes! Thank you! Point of Blessing bestowed... may it serve you well...

It sounds like you had some good times. Some of the best ad-libbing comes from those who are willing to go into a session with no preparation.Still, linking what was, to what will be, well, that IS a kind of prep, isn't it? Keep on Rollin'.

Oh yeah, I'm a big proponent of keeping notes on index cards! I use stickers to mark them with a color, so I can sort them and access them quickly. Great Comment!