We’re talking about trust at the game table.  How much do you need trust your fellow players? Does the game you’re playing change how much trust you need? What games address trust around the table?

Hosts: Sean Nittner and Justin Evans

Length: 23:04

Show Notes

[00:28] Introduction to the show.  Continuing a conversation from Josh Rensch’s blog gmwithadd.com
[00:45] Woops. This was supposed to be episode 35.
[01:24] Sorry Josh, this impersonation was made before we met. 
[01:37] Amorphous Blobcast Promo
[02:26] Josh Rensch is a cool dude.  He sent me stuff.
[03:00] He’s continuing the conversation on his blog… and hey, so are we in Season 2.
[03:56] Josh’s conversation with Fear the Boot.
[04:18] An excerpt from his post.  Done in my best “badass” voice.
[05:18] A little present for BG_Meg
[06:12] My first impression of Trust – Cheating in the game.  It doesn’t bother me.
[06:54] It is more nuanced that just cheating on dice rolls though.
[07:20] John Wick talks about why we shouldn’t need rules to handle cheaters in games on his LJ.
[08:06] A situation where you can’t control who you are gaming with: A convention game.
[08:36] Suspend expectations of the players until you’ve played with them for a while.  Escalate your presence in the game as you see your players commitment to the game.
[09:32] Cheating is just one issue of trust.  What about players trusting each other to all have the groups best interest in mind.
[10:37] The type of story you’re going to tell and how you have fun playing may be very different between players.
[11:11] Justin starts faulting himself.  I’d edit it out but it’s so rare that he admits fault, I had to make it public.  Allowing one player to take fun away from the other players.
[12:35] What did Justin do?  Players admitting that they aren’t having fun.  Justin’s reaction.  Taking time out.
[14:22] I’ve seen games where conflicts roll up from the characters right to the players and people leave with hurt feelings.
[14:51] Sean’s experience feeling frustrated and tired at the end of a game.  My reaction… this is not a therapy session.
[17:05] How do specific games handle this.  Many games talk about “in game” trust.
[17:20] Paranoia puts it up front that your characters are disposable, don’t take it personally.
[17:34] Any time you need to collaborate more at the table, you need to trust each other more.
[17:45] Montsegur 1244 is a tragedy, which is an extra effort to play and requires more trust to tell this game.
[18:32] Accidental plug or intentional pimp?
[18:47] When I trust another player, I’m willing to be hopeful even in a tragedy.  I know we’re watching out for each other.
[19:49] What sort of play experience we all want is something to establish early on, preferably before the game starts.
[20:07] Polaris also requires a lot of trust in the players around you.  The ritual protects you to some degree, but also allows the “mistaken” to intentionally deplete your character by offering undesirable twists.

Direct Download: NC_Episode_038.mp3

Yes, how players are going to use knowledge they have but the characters don't is really important. Done well, meta-gaming means the players are always driving their characters to actions which will be exciting for the whole group. For example, knowing there is a dragon behind that door, of course the character will burst into it.

Done without the groups enjoyment in mind (and frankly without trusting the GM and the other players to watch out for you) meta gaming results in ridiculous risk aversion and the destruction of any semblance of plot.

Josh,

Thanks for your comments. I can appreciate you not wanting the pressure of people putting their faith in you to provide them a good time, however, I disagree that there is a significant difference between the suggestions you made and the ideas we talked about in the podcast.

1) Honest is a synonym for trustworthy. Open discussion is something we encourage. For example, if someone responds "nah, I don't feel like a love triangle, it's not something I want to explore" they have demonistrated a boundary and others will gain or lose their trust by respecting it. I do encourage everyone to talk about what kind of game experience they are looking for, specifically at 14:51 in the discussion of talking with another player who wasn't on the same wavelength as me and later at 19:49 when we encourage and open (and presumably honest) discourse about what kind of game you are looking for. Open and Honest discourse is in the realm of trust. It's one of the lego pieces that goes on the bottom level as supports.

2) We brought up managing expectactions as well when talking about games with people you don't know (08:06) and specifically when playing Montsegur 1244 (at 17:45). I think managing expectations is critical for enjoying a game. When I first sit down I don't know how people will respond to my emotional investment. They may engage me and share something of them self, or they might mock me to make themselves feel more comfortable and lighten the mood. That is something you have to gage over time playing with someone and watching how they respond to certain situations. Luckily the GM's story is a pretty good gage for that. If the GM brings a tragedy to the table and the players start mocking it, chances are the won't be particularly sympathetic to your tragedy either.