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Questions tagged [social-contract]

For questions about the "social contract"; in relation to RPGs, this refers to an informal agreement among players about the framework for gameplay, primarily covering social factors such as what to do when a player can't attend a session, how to vet potential new players, what sorts of behavior are unacceptable at the game table, and so on.

53 votes
5 answers
15k views

How should I handle players who ignore the session zero agreement?

My D&D group is currently playing a campaign. It went smoothly for the first half. And then, by request, I allowed two of the current players' friends to join the campaign, all of whom have no ...
Yoko Msps's user avatar
  • 513
4 votes
1 answer
1k views

What type of rule is the Red Rule, and where does it come from?

Exalted has, in its third iteration, "the Red Rule". The Red Rule In almost all aspects, Exalted doesn’t mechanically distinguish between Storyteller characters and those the players ...
Trish's user avatar
  • 45.1k
3 votes
3 answers
820 views

When a player has drama and won't communicate

Right now, a player seems to be upset with events of a session he missed and hasn't responded to my messages. Background About a month or two ago, a player began to be dissatisfied with how I ran the ...
MrBeefCakes's user avatar
12 votes
1 answer
462 views

Where was the first Social Contract proposed in a rule book?

We have questions delving on the social contract themselves and what it is (like What is a social contract?), and there is also explained where the word comes from. We know very well that most RPGs ...
Trish's user avatar
  • 45.1k
5 votes
1 answer
3k views

Should I tell this player her character cannot be resurrected? [closed]

I'm in a bit of a quandary as to what to do with a player. We're going through Curse of Strahd and I am DMing. Her Cleric got killed towards the beginning of the game and cannot be resurrected as ...
George's user avatar
  • 51
54 votes
11 answers
15k views

How to handle loot disputes as the DM?

Context Most of the time, Loot distribution is Players' and PCs' problem. From my point of view, I'm responsible for putting the chest with X loot in the dungeon. The PCs being able to find it and how ...
HellSaint's user avatar
  • 37.1k
5 votes
1 answer
586 views

What to do with a fellow player who tries to control NPCs I introduce?

I'm doing a text-based freeform roleplay with just one other person right now and there's couple of things that they do that bothers me. They started controlling an NPC I introduced without even ...
Mosaic's user avatar
  • 59
7 votes
2 answers
894 views

Player having their decisions called out as bad ideas too frequently for their liking

In our group, there is a player whose decisions are more frequently called out as bad ideas compared to the others. Objectively speaking, by consensus with the GM and other players, these particular ...
Kommissar's user avatar
  • 4,115
9 votes
0 answers
743 views

I miss social cues when roleplaying. How can I get better at not missing them? [closed]

I know, and have been told, that I miss social cues when roleplaying. This isn't a terribly huge deal when the social contract is well-set and explicitly communicated or the gameplay doesn't rely ...
Shalvenay's user avatar
  • 11.1k
3 votes
1 answer
1k views

Problem with DM and bodyswitching death [closed]

While the party's cleric and I were mid-bodyswap my level 3 warlock got killed by a green gelatinous cube. The player and I are not on very good terms (he hates me) and my character died because of ...
Rachel's user avatar
  • 31
34 votes
2 answers
5k views

How do I find a friendly, inclusive roleplay group online?

One of my queer friends is interested in joining a campaign online, and is looking for an inclusive, friendly group of players. She asked me how she'd find such a group. I'd love to answer her, but ...
Selekate's user avatar
  • 1,702
18 votes
5 answers
2k views

My players insist that I use “rule zero” for their benefit. How do I get them to accept that I don't want easier house rules?

I would like to know, why it makes practical sense to have rule zero. I'm not an experienced RPG player, but we play a lot of board games with friends, and what I noticed, is that players often want ...
Andrew Savinykh's user avatar
25 votes
5 answers
18k views

How do I deal with a member of my party who attacks me whenever I cast a spell?

I'm new to D&D and so are the friends I play it with. My character is a Chaotic Evil Pact of the Tome Warlock. One of my party members is a Lawful Neutral Warrior, and in his backstory he ...
Potato's user avatar
  • 271
47 votes
12 answers
20k views

Is the DM Always Right?

I recently got into a disagreement with my DM for a D&D 5E game regarding a use of Prestidigitation. The argument was that since it could create a Non-Magical Trinket, and Music Boxes are ...
Cody Beaner's user avatar
  • 1,438
8 votes
4 answers
410 views

How to assign PCs differing goals without breaking up the group?

In this question I describe my intention of running a courtly intrigue game where player characters have different goals: To keep the group coherent, I would like to give them two sets of goals - ...
eimyr's user avatar
  • 17.2k

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