A work meeting ahead of a proposed three years industrial project: "Can you guarantee that your team will stay the same until the end of the project and people will not leave?"

Which kind of question is this?!? There is no more serfdom! If you want people to stay with a specific job for three years there is only one thing you can do: pay them significantly more than their market value!
Are you prepared to fund an overpriced project for next three years? No? So you have the answer to your question, you fool!
By the way, can you guarantee that you will be still there for the next three years?

In reply to Yaztromo (msg # 1905):

Sounds like something I would read in a Dilbert cartoon, companies have gone insane. Too many people in charge who went to school for business (read as: maximize profit to the detriment of workers, customers and everyone else) and no longer actually get in to management because they know how to do the job.

So glad I am retired, I sadly witnessed the decline of the American business model, and the last few years were much like your example. Disgusting.

In reply to Piestar (msg # 1906):

Not all the companies are like that, of course, but some of them for sure... They think that paying (little) money allows them to ask for anything.

So why is it that when you have to tell players where their characters are and what they are doing there.  You try to keep threads down so you have two cave chambers in one cave thread, you are leaving PMs for players to get them to post and tell them again there exactly what their character is needed and where and what thread that it is YOUR fault they can't post, don't know where their character is, are gone for over a week or more sometimes and its your fault they don't know where to come back to.... All the negativity just hits at one time and that brings me down, totally, and I am a long standing GM but it does not keep hateful PMs from hurting when you are doing your best and other players and their characters are spot on!

Off my soap box now, I just am blown away, these were long standing friends.  Was there a full moon that I missed or something for all this to hit at once....

Sorry, just down and frustrated from trying so hard to please everyone.

In reply to ladysharlyne (msg # 1908):

Can't please everyone.
It is just as far from them to you as it is from you to them.

In reply to ladysharlyne (msg # 1908):

*hugs*

If people can't keep track of their characters, that's their own fault. Often, it's usually their fault if they can't keep track of anything else, too, because most GMs either A) lay details out clearly to begin with, or B) are perfectly willing to answer a clarification question.

If it's written (or in a picture), pay attention to it. Heck, it's RPoL! You can scroll back and check what's there at any time!
If you don't know, ASK.

You wouldn't think that would be so difficult, but it is.

Thanks guys.  Yeah ask, mainly scroll back to the last time you posted.  But yeah just ask, in a nice way. but when it is laid out all over the place. Oh well, I have been at this a long long time, its just that these were two trusted and loved players so it rocked me.  After over 16 years, I usually roll with the punches and then keep going.  But thanks again guys for your input. It helps xx

Bottom Line   Lady S..you'er the DM/GM..you lay things out for them, you can't hand hold their hands, or  you may as well  write  a solo story?

 You've been around long enough that your games have a following..use  OOC to  give a run down, and the rest is up to the player.

Bottom line players have to take responsibilities as well?

Trying to please everyone.... but yourself.
In a game, everybody have to have fun. Including the GM.
Of course.

In reply to ladysharlyne (msg # 1908):

It is extra work, but I go the extra mile to not only have separate threads, but to hide the threads from characters shouldn't know about, It is frustrating, but some people simply need the extra effort. Even with that I have characters who don't even notice major events they do see, like a player character dying, or the locations of the monsters clearly shown on the map.

Very frustrating.

It has always felt like it rolls low - but I am in a new game and I am now tracking my d20 rolls:

To date: 39 rolls, 14 are 11 or higher, average of all rolls is 8.8 perhaps it will move to the mean of 10.5, over time, but I'm not expecting it.

And, of course, the one 20 rolled was for an ability check, not an attack!

 in my own system i use, the mods  can be added to, or subtracted from, what you need tyo  roll, and  a randomize whether the rolls need to be high or low.


 :;chuckles:: sadly..i have  had  people  roll a '1' or '100' when it was the worst time to do so!

I am consciously aware that the dieroller probably really does roll across the spread in an even fashion, and most of the time it seems to just be indifferent towards my characters - as I'd like a non-sentient bit of programming to be!

...except for my poor 3.5 fighter. The dieroller /hates/ him. In six or so years of play, I don't think he's successfully landed an attack more times than I could count on one hand. It's not because his bonus is bad, or even because the enemies are /that/ hard to hit (I cannot even reliably hit when all I need to roll is a 5 or 6), and everyone else in the party will be merrily tearing through them without effort while my poor fighter stands around being a useless meatshield.

Stupid dieroller. =(
This message was last updated by the user at 02:22, Mon 09 Aug 2021.

I ran a solo game a little while ago where the player ran an entire party of adventurers, and the die roller hated them. I think I could count the number of successful skill rolls over the course of the multiple-adventure life of the game without having to take off my shoes.

Got to remember, all automated dice rollers are run by demons and gremlins. Its why its impossible to get good rolls.

It really is hard not to feel persecuted by the dice roller when it can be so darn specific. In one game, I was a thief character, and the roller seemed on the negative side, but I never, EVER successfully backstabbed anything. Dozens of attempts over six or seven levels.

I am in a game now when the GM occasionally gives me a chance to roll a skill bump, and it scroodly doodles me every time there too, like it knows. Not bad rolls most of the time, but when it's something really beneficial, nope, do not pass go, do not collect $200.00.
This message was last edited by the user at 12:26, Sun 19 Sept 2021.

ARGH! Spent an hour of downtime at work getting maintenance to get the machine to cut things properly one way, only to discover that it now wasn't cutting the product right another way. When I let the supervisor know, via phone, while I am (in rapid succession) trying to talk to the local maintenance message service, the maintenance supervisor, and the responsible operator, all the supervisor wants to know is why we haven't logged our downtime correctly.  As he is asking/complaining about that, the machine jams up again, throws another three faults, and the local maintenance guy arrives to ask what he's supposed to look at now.

I could not give a flying FIG about how accurate the downtime log is!  Would you like the product run tonight, or do you want paperwork done?  Because at this rate, you are going to have to choose one or the other!

GM's who never respond to a RTJ. <grshl grmbl krzzl>

Nothing like applying to a game and when I check back the players wanted flag is off and the cast list if full but no response to my RTJ. How do I know if you even got my RTJ? If I didn't make the cut that's fine, I'm a big boy, I can handle it. But please, just let me know. It only takes a minute to say 'Sorry not looking for players right now' or 'You didn't make it in.' (Or two minutes if you have to copy/paste it to the 10 people you didn't choose.)

I think some GMs get so many RTJs that they just don't feel they have the time to respond to everyone.  That being sid, I've had a number who let me know and offered to keep me in mind should they lise a player.  I've actually gotten into a few of games that way.

In my opinion, every Gm Should answer all RTJs with at least a friendly acknowledgment.  Yes, even if it stops taking new players.  No one knows what the future of a game is going to be and when you might want another player.  If a player’s RTJ is ignored or forgotten about that is not good for new to RPol players or just new to game players discouraging them when we should all be encouraging these players.  Remember I said in my opinion!

Maybe you were lucky and the ignored player’s RTJ was a Red Flag.
Yeah, they should have responded with _something_ but maybe they are just not a responsive GM.
Maybe they have enough people to watch them unfold their "Amazing Story".

In reply to ladysharlyne (msg # 1924):

I am not disagreeing with you.  But some games get a large volume of RTJs.  5th Edition D&D, for one.  Rifts, probably, for another.  There may be so many that the GM feels overwhelmed just looking through them all, let alone responding to them.

In reply to Namedancer (msg # 1922):

That can be irritating. I have learned over time to end my requests with a brief request to be notified.

I tend to give them a week, then drop them a note letting them know I retracted my request.

Humorously enough, some get upset at that, being apparently of the opinion that the GM deserves more in the way of respect and courtesy than the players do.

That said, I appreciated a GM who acknowledges the request in a timely fashion, even if they are as yet unsure if the are going to choose me or not. Treat me like a human being at least.

In reply to phoenix9lives (msg # 1926):

I have to disagree. Even if there are a hundred RTJs and the DM only accepts five characters, the time to paste a stock rejection and click submit is not onerous and it is courteous.

If the GM isn't intending to drop a note to everyone, he should post in his WP something like 'only successful applicants will be notified', similar to what businesses do.