So, I have some questions...

Just thinking about the game a bit, and I came up with some questions to help me run the game a bit better:

What kinds of Dnd (read: Dnd/Pathfinder/Retrohack/whatever) games have you been a part of in the past? What stuck out about them? What did you or didn't you like?

What sticks out the most in fantasy or adventure movies?

I can give you examples of my current games pretty easily, because I record and transcribe them here:

dragonoflife.dreamwidth.org/tag/game report

Generally speaking, gamewise I like interesting encounter design, the chance for heroic action, and humor. I don't like when the 'right' choice turns out to be the wrong choice in small, petty ways. For example, I played in a game once where the heroes rescued a girl from an arranged marriage she didn't want, but the resulting journey with her was described with excruciating detail about how miserable and spoiled she was, and how she didn't really want to avoid the marriage after all... it was painful and not very fun. That isn't to say that 'heroic naivete' doesn't have its part, just that the emphasis should be on fixing the mistake, not belaboring how the heroes screwed up.

I hope that made some semblance of sense.

Otherwise, game-ruiners for me have historically been due to incredibly bad gamemastering, which I don't think will be a problem here.

Hmm, to me the main thing that stands out about a campaign isn't necessarily exactly what happened, but the fun and camaraderie that surrounded it.

I do like games that are somewhat free, so there's room for development and different choices, and where the characters grow and change as people, not just > go in dungeon > get stuff > go in new dungeon > get stuff. But I don't really think a game can be so open ended that we all just stumble around doing things randomly. I think some kind of plotline is good.

I find actual combat encounters to be pretty boring most of the time (though of course they are necessary in any campaign), and I prefer situations where the characters are able to sometimes use creativity and cunning to find different solutions to problems rather than kill all the things.

A related thought:

The best things you could do as players to make the game the best it can be:

Ask questions!!!!! I will never be able to describe everything there is to know about anywhere you go, ever. So ask plenty of questions and you will literally help flesh out the setting.

Don't get overly butthurt if you have a character die. Especially at low levels. I am well aware of how much having a character that you've put a lot of work into kick the bucket, but these things happen, and they happen pretty easily at low levels, what with most traps and such having an average damage of over your hit point total.

Hmm, I can say that the games that have stood out for me have been games that, like said above, showed a lot of freedom, fun and camaraderie. It's fun when you get a good group where things just click you know? Even rivalries, bickering and general non-getting-along can be hella fun when done right and it isn't taken OOCly.

One thing that I never felt comfortable with though is when people get super nitpicky about every single detail. I mean, getting things straight is one thing, but when people don't know every single rule there is or haven't memorized all 300something pages of this book and that book, it kind of makes things awkward, let alone uncomfortable.

Umm I guess I'll add more when I can think of it! \o/

Oh, I should add that I personally enjoy combat, though admittedly that's in an actual TT situation with dice and minis right there.

I forget. What is that website you recommended for die rolls? Wanna post to the current activity but cannot remember.

www.invisiblecastle.com

The original link for this is in the General Rules/Posting Guidelines thread.

For future reference, I'd recommend posting questions like this in a new thread rather than tacking it on to an unrelated one. My response times will be much faster that way. I took my time checking your response because I assumed it was a reply to my original question here.

Also, if you need an answer RIGHT NOW, feel free to email or text me directly.