Author: Steve D (---.com.au)
Date: 08-10-2000 16:53
Another great column from Erich, and an important issue. Although, without amusing miscommunications, gaming would not be nearly as much fun!
Also, I worry about being so tough on that one player. Maybe he has a low attention span. Maybe he's slightly deaf, as one player was in my old group, so he only catches a percentage of what is said. Maybe he's really tired that night, or has a lot on his mind.
What I'm saying is, sometimes mistakes are made. Sure, improving detail is a great idea, and double ditto for improving listening. But people are here to game and have fun. You have to watch that concentrating on the former doesn't override concentrating on the latter. We aren't here to study, so do cut some slack sometimes. Heck, if I didn't, the deaf guy would have killed the party a million times already. What? You lob the grenade into the room thru the window? You do know the rest of your party is already inside don't you? Don't you?
Ah, such fun memories...
Oh, and Erich you missed the biggest problem of all - not miscommunication, but faulty assumptions. The classic gazebo story is so important not just because it is funny, but because that sort of thing happens all the time - the GM assumes the players know what he's talking about - but they don't.
Reminds me of the time I decided to beach a boat - thinking that you could run a pirate ship up a beach like you can a canoe. Next thing I know, the GM says we're buckled and sinking. And he's looking at me as if *I'm* the idiot here (in fact, since he's a prick, he's actually calling me an idiot, many times). And I'm like - you expect me (as opposed to my character) to know anything about boats? I could list a million more times where GMs have assumed I was as knowledgeable as them, and pissed me off because of it. And hey, I've done it too on occasion.
So my rule is never assume your players know anything more than this: gravity goes downwards, beer tastes good and swords are those sharp pointy things you stick in people.
Cheers,
Steve
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