A Bone From The Pile

A quick intro, I'm Kincaide, (name changed to protect the guilty:) a veteran player of many campaigns including the one Gnome mentioned in his last post. (It flopped, and the DM was NOT the issue) I have also DMed a great many campaigns (DnD 1st-3.5ed, d20 modern, Vampire, Hackmaster, Shadowrun 3-4, and Alternity) online and in real life, and one thing I can't help but notice, being the Greybeard that I am, is this:

People nowadays can't seem to commit to ANYTHING.

The following is a rant comprised of observations of gaming culture that will probably cause the people I have played with lately to hate me, but does Kincaide CARE? Nope!

Gone are the days of setting a time (and place if in real-life) a day of the week, and sticking with it, regardless of what comes up. "I have a prior commitment" is a perfectly acceptable response to "Hey, come do THIS [insert gaming time/day here]!" Instead, I find my gaming tables sparsely populated by the one or two diehards like myself.

Am I saying a man should ignore his family member's birthday, or his own Wedding?(Contrary to the sad popular belief that gamers don't have social lives, there ARE married gamers out there, I promise, I AM one.) No! Gaming is not LIFE! (though for some of us it IS a major part of it) That being said, not showing up, particularly without prior notice just causes a group to fall apart... No one likes to come to game and find they were the only one who cared enough to show. It is awful when they realize that THEY turned down something to be there for the other members of the group- the same group of people who didn't have the common courtesy to return the favor.

I can't help but notice this is even more prevalent in online play, when the players have the benefit of a certain amount of anonymity and protection granted by not having to face those they have wronged.

"Those they have wronged..." that seems a very harsh wording, but when you really think about it, that is what it is... not caring enough for your fellow human beings to return the common courtesy that they give to you.

Online, I am forever encountering people who swear they can't find people to DM for them, and considering the discouraging results I have had with attendance, I can't blame those who hesitate to do so. Who wants to waste all their time preparing for a campaign when some "players" are unwilling to even give up enough of their time to show up to play.

I am aware that some of you out there are YOUNG gamers (like 12-17), and that parents can be a pain in the behind when it comes to YOUR schedule vs theirs... for you, all I can say is don't give your parents lip, it'll only result in you being kept from gaming longer (I'd know), make sure your party members know that your parents are the issue, and have a contingency plan (such as someone to play for you when you are gone).

I'll get off my soapbox now, for my anger has been given voice, but check in another day, this is just the FIRST bone I reached for in the pile, this dragon has many more bones I have yet to pick.

----DM_Kincaide