So, my home
campaign has been having some scheduling issues. Nothing that doesn't
happen to everyone else, I imagine. We're all adults and have lives and fitting our habit into those lives can be complicated to say the least.
On the one hand, I very strongly believe that joining a gaming group is much like joining any other team. Because everyone else's ability to enjoy the game is contingent on all (or at least most) people being there, dedication is required above and beyond just showing up to do something like go to movies or dinner with friends. Obviously, there's nothing enforceable like a contract here. But the concept of the non-binding but seriously entered-into covenant does come to mind. So, I think that it's important that everyone be there because everyone else's enjoyment is, to some degree, contingent on the presence of everyone else.
On the other hand, I believe that because commitments to a group are something so important, it is important that they be spelled out pretty clearly from the beginning. By constraining the bounds of the commitment, everyone who has committed can take extra care to meet it within its pre-arranged constraints. It's essential not only that everyone gets on the same page, but that everyone is clear on what the page is form the outset. And, from the beginning one of the things that we said we were going to do was leave our weekend evenings free.
Funnily enough, as I was listening to some Know Direction footage from Paizo seminars at GenCon on my way home from school tonight, their Ask the Paizo GMs seminar dealt with just this issue. So, here's their wisdom on the topic. (I'll switch it over to their YouTube channel once they put up the video). I think that they hit some very good points (several of which diverge from some of my earlier thoughts on scheduling via email that are excerpted above).
But, I also want to share a message from our GM that I believe gets the point across far better than I ever could:
On the one hand, I very strongly believe that joining a gaming group is much like joining any other team. Because everyone else's ability to enjoy the game is contingent on all (or at least most) people being there, dedication is required above and beyond just showing up to do something like go to movies or dinner with friends. Obviously, there's nothing enforceable like a contract here. But the concept of the non-binding but seriously entered-into covenant does come to mind. So, I think that it's important that everyone be there because everyone else's enjoyment is, to some degree, contingent on the presence of everyone else.
On the other hand, I believe that because commitments to a group are something so important, it is important that they be spelled out pretty clearly from the beginning. By constraining the bounds of the commitment, everyone who has committed can take extra care to meet it within its pre-arranged constraints. It's essential not only that everyone gets on the same page, but that everyone is clear on what the page is form the outset. And, from the beginning one of the things that we said we were going to do was leave our weekend evenings free.
Funnily enough, as I was listening to some Know Direction footage from Paizo seminars at GenCon on my way home from school tonight, their Ask the Paizo GMs seminar dealt with just this issue. So, here's their wisdom on the topic. (I'll switch it over to their YouTube channel once they put up the video). I think that they hit some very good points (several of which diverge from some of my earlier thoughts on scheduling via email that are excerpted above).
But, I also want to share a message from our GM that I believe gets the point across far better than I ever could:
Hope you enjoyed
it. Posts coming at least daily
now. After our next session, I’ll be
back with further details about our four mismatched adventurers' life with the
TREKkies.[1]
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