Okay, so, last session left me with a really bad taste in my mouth. I don't know what is going on but the motivation factor seemed to have hit a new low, and mine in turn. As it stands I've tried to reduce the time consuming rolls and generally increased the stuff I take on as GM off camera in order to speed things up in game, as well as to present the needed information and set the proper mood. As GM's we put a lot of time into the game, it's setting, it's story and it's administration.
Those are the GM's role. The players role is to be attentive, and alert. It is not fair to the players if a GM is neither of those things and it's not fair to the GM if the players are likewise neither. Let me make this issue perfectly clear, Real Life trumps everything, we all know this, and that has not changed. However, be responsible, if real life is throwing you a loop and you know ahead of time that you are going to be absent or pulled away for a large portion of the game, just cancel on me, it's better to have a player down then to have everyone waiting for a post that not going to come. Same goes for me, if I know that I'm going to be slow on the draw then I'll call the game, and I have. We already agreed that we prefer the more dynamic 'live' aspect of role playing that OpenRPG provides. As it stands now, some sessions have felt as if we are playing by post.
If you are AFK, post it in room so we know. We can bypass and get back to you when you have returned. If there is no call for AFK I can only conclude that you are board, asleep, or are otherwise disengaged from the game. If boredom is the issue, well, then that means I've not been doing my job properly, so it is your duty to send me a side bar and inform me. I have restructured the game a few times already in order to quicken the pace and eliminate as much as I can of 'upkeep within game'. The game can always be tweaked further. If you identify a problem, let me know, but before you do, at least have a solution in mind. That's all I ask in that regard.
There are times when you get stuck in the game, especially when presented with things your character would be more then able to deal with but the player character is not. That is why we have skills. If you are stuck, roll the dice, but please, don't roll them blindly, have something in mind for me to impart to you. Going forward if there is not at least some basic over arching question attached to your skill roll, I'm going to assume your finger slipped and ignore it. Skill are there to help you get unstuck, they are not there to take the place of role playing. If I wanted to do that I'd have you roll each skill ten times on Saturday and then use them to write a novella for you to read on Sunday. Not going to happen.
I don't know what more I can say on this. If you feel that anything mentioned is disingenuous, unfair, or just plain wrong, let me know. I'm doing my level best here, but when it feels as if the players are unmotivated, that begs the question, why? If it's something on my end, let me know, with suggested solution so it can be fixed. If it isn't well, it makes me wonder if my commitment isn't better placed elsewhere.
