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.
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How to kill a PC without hard feelings?
Reading this question, the accepted advice for killing a player is to talk to them first.
My campaign is run in a Game of Thrones style setting; the good and honorable die doing what is right, and ...
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How to handle skill checks between players?
We have a party of several players and there are some things that are not clear from the rules. Can you guys help?
Do other party members always know if one of them steals an object from an NPC, or ...
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What describes the portion of the social contract that describes explicitly-permitted controversial themes?
I am working on drafting the table culture guidelines for an upcoming game, and I plan to use the lines and veils methodology to lay out content boundaries. Lines and veils are a subtractive element: ...
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How to make the GMs job easier? [closed]
As a player how can I make things easier for the GM? I ask because I've never actually played before.
e.g. How much research should I do on the specific game we'll be playing, is there a point where ...
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What etiquette should a new player observe at the gaming table?
I have never played an RPG and I'm not sure if I'm supposed to do anything special or not when playing.
This post tells me what I should bring but what on earth do I do when I get there? I'm that ...
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One of my players is too passive and uninterested
Game is DnD 3.5, not that it matters.
So, yeah, she is playing an Elf Rogue and she is like a ghost during the game.
In the last session, the party was searching for a guy and some Halfling told ...
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Recommended protocol for effective communication using a Virtual Table Top (VTT)
I'm a player in a group that meets weekly. We use FantasyGround+Teamspeak combo and it seems to work for the most part. Or, should I say, it's better than not meeting at all. ;-)
One consistent ...
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Did I overstep my power as DM?
While playing a game with a previous group, in the middle of a combat, I had an enemy caster hidden from general combat, but still casting different spells like heal and other non-damage spells to ...
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Can a PC use his Charisma to influence other PCs?
Checking the D&D 3.5 Player's Handbook rules, the rules are explicit that the Diplomacy skill cannot be used to influence other PCs, only NPCs.
But I see no such restrictions for Intimidate or ...
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What do the terms "lines" and "veils" mean?
I have seen the terms "lines" and "veils" used on this SE (including on the chat) a number of times, especially in terms of social contracts between players.
What do these terms mean?
What is ...
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What are the essential features of a successful evil campaign?
Until this point, I have demanded that my players not build characters with evil alignments, as I am familiar with how to design campaigns and adventures around "good" or "redemption" themes. However,...
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How can I check whether an extremely adult/mature plot idea would be accepted by players without revealing any details of the idea itself?
I am running a post-apocalyptic zombie game with a dark and mature story, exploring a number of adult themes. I have complete buy-in from the players; some of them have stated it is their favourite ...
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Resolving confusion & conflict re: group's relationship with system rules
RPG groups have a unique relationship to rules: we have total control over them. Sure, we choose a ruleset and study it, but it's up to us how much of the rules we ignore or modify, and we can add ...
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Is there a limit to Rule 0?
Rule Zero: All other rules can be changed by the GM.
I appreciate that there is a massive amount of work that goes into being a GM and the last thing that any GM wants or deserves is to have his ...
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What's a Dominate Person between allies?
In a recent game of 10th level characters, we had a small issue in the group. To set the scene, my character was a serpentfolk witch, specializing in enchantment and specifically mind-magic. We had a ...
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