[HoE] Re: Balence of Power

["Ronnie Gustaveson" <gus_bus@hotmail.com>]

Okay Steve, let's have a cyber jousting match.
Gus' disagreeable opinions:
1. Penalizing characters is the same as penalizing players, because that's 
the only real power the GMs have. Unless you're really big, and can threaten 
to beat them up, (which is hell on your living room carpet.)

2. As far as what players and characters know, I take it one step further, 
if a character doesn't know something, neither do the players.  I do this 
through an intricate system of BRIEF note passing, and occasionally taking 
player aside to prevent individual information from becoming group 
knowledge.

3. Pizza thing what can I say, I was always better with my money than my 
friends.  Maybe I'm just too nice, but I don't think so (he said with a 
sinister laugh.) :-0

4. If you (the Marshal,) hear "but the book says..." more than 3 times in an 
session, ya might as well quit.  They is no point in telling a story that 
the listers thinks they know better than you do.
Now I'm not justifying ignorance of the rules.  There is no excuse for a GM 
that "really" doesn't know what she are doing.  But even the names "Marshal, 
Master or Keeper" denotes a certain amount of authority.  These are people 
that have worked hard, normally spent a lot money, and pulled together a 
group - and for what, so someone else can tell them how stupid they are.
I've gamed for over 15 years, and been GMing nearly 9 of those.  In all that 
time, I've only come across a group like that once.  Just the same, let me 
tell you something, it can get real nasty, really quick. And even though we 
tell ourselves that these are just games, like any other kind of 
competition, they can bring out the worst in people, and they can destroy 
friendships.
A good rule of thumb: "The Marshal's word is law."  DO NOT ABUSE THIS RULE, 
BUT MAKE SURE IT IS UNDERSTOOD.
-Gus


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