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I recently started listing to the Happy Jacks RPG Podcast. It took me a bit to get used to the occasional belching. Does it have to be into the microphone? Anyway, one of the guys, Stu, also runs the Douchey DM blog, and there he wrote about using Obsidian Portal to keep his notes. He also notes that his players did not seem to interested in actually reading the stuff he writes on the wiki. In fact, one of his commenters writes the following:
I feel your pain about players not paying attention sometimes. I’ve emailed them pdf’s of campaign notes and all that good stuff. Then about a quarter of the way into the first session, I start getting some blank looks. “You didn’t read any of the stuff I emailed you, right?”
“No.”
I recognize the situation. Here’s what helped me cope:
#RPG #Keep It Short
(Please contact me if you want to remove your comment.)
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I really want to reiterate your first point. Whenever I wrote session reports for our Shackled City campaign, I wrote it mainly for my personal enjoyment. If anyone read it and commented on it, then that was just gravy.
– Adrian 2011-06-16 21:12 UTC
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Another aspect of writing for yourself: Claudia writes copious notes while playing. Once the game is over, however, she just can’t find the time to transcribe her notes onto the wiki. She’d love to, but it just doesn’t happen. At the same time, she really loves checking *my* session report for omissions using her notes, and she really likes summarizing recent events for the other players at the beginning of the next session. She likes it this way, and that’s fine. There’s no point in me trying to push her towards the wiki.
– Alex Schroeder 2011-06-16 21:40 UTC
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Oh, what I wouldn’t do for a one-time read! Great advice here, and spot on, in my opinion. Players come to the table for many reasons. Most GMs come to the table as storytellers. Few players seem to share that focus (else they’re GMs themselves.)
I’ve started to regard the Obsidian Portal wiki as an in-game tool more than a player resource.
– Anarkeith 2011-06-16 22:42 UTC
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I’d like to add a “me too!” to this. Multiple members of our group take turns as GM. One of them lamented that he didn’t know what to put on the wiki that would make the players read it/add to it. I gave him this very advice: do only what you want, and what you enjoy. Anyone else’s use of the wiki is gravy. That’s how I approach my Obsidian Portal wiki – it’s great if the players read it or contribute to it, but in the end, I do it for myself.
– Bevin Flannery 2011-06-17 01:26 UTC
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I usually read session reports twice: once when they’re posted, once before the follow-up session. That’s an upper limit.
– Harald 2011-06-17 05:46 UTC
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I also have read that some GM’s are annoyed about the fact that players don’t learn rules themselves. But there is similar point, some players want to sit down, have their few hours fun and get back to their life. They want to enjoy the game, not do homework.
And I love the picture! It’s always interesting to see other fellow GMs’ personal notes on paper.
– Thaumiel Nerub 2011-06-17 06:44 UTC
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The Obsidian Portal guys say the same thing. http://www.jennisodes.com/podcasts/obsidian-portal/
http://www.jennisodes.com/podcasts/obsidian-portal/
– Alex Schroeder 2011-06-21 14:14 UTC
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All great pieces of advice, Alex. I am not sure why, but it is nigh impossible getting players to even read my blog. Even when I was posting the house rules we would be using for the game at that time. I have even tried offering extra experience points to anyone who would take the time during the week to stop by and take a look around at my recent posts. I have yet to give out any extra XPs to any of them... :-P
– Shane Mangus 2011-07-15 02:22 UTC
