|
Post by Falconer on Feb 15, 2008 15:25:59 GMT -6
I’ve never refereed a game in which there was NOT a Caller. “In Character,” it seems natural to me that the characters would follow a leader rather than all making their own calls on everything. Indeed, when I have played as a player in games when there was no Caller, it was always too chaotic, and the players tended to not get along as well, because everyone had their own opinion on what to do. And if the referee has to resolve their disputes and decide things for the players, it pulls everything “Out of Character.” I’d rather just look at the Caller and get a straight answer to “what are you doing?” I have never heard a complaint from my players about the idea of having a Caller, though sometimes they will vote to change who it is.
Now, there are many aspects of our game that people “out there” view as astonishingly archaic, but the concept of the Caller seems to take the cake for them. Why is that? Regards.
|
|
|
Post by Falconer on Feb 15, 2008 15:29:58 GMT -6
Of course, I don’t mean that the other players sit mum the whole game. Of course they “call” their own combat actions, spells, what have you. The Caller is the one I turn to when “you come to a crossroads, which way do you turn.” He also makes the call whether to retreat, heads interactions with NPCs, settles disputes between players, etc. He should ideally be the character with highest Charisma. Regards.
|
|
|
Post by Zulgyan on Feb 15, 2008 15:39:43 GMT -6
We Argentinians are noisy, rioting, unruly, messy kind of people in general. Think of us as Italians, maybe worser ;D. I never had a single "de-jure" caller in my 10 years of gaming. Most of the time, the party agrees on what to do on a case-by-case basis as we are also friendly folk. Anyway, natural leaders always arise among the players with a stronger personality. But they are always "de facto" callers, not really appointed by a formal procedure.
Yes. It is certainly chaotic at times. Or most of the time. As a DM I would really like to have things more in order. I'm more structured and order-some than the average Argentinian. Anyway, if they get really noisy, I immediately roll for random encounters. That puts order back to the table.
If think the Caller concept is something that can be accepted more by all types of gamers because it's really so universal. Whether you are in the military, at work, at family, there is usually a Caller of what should be done. It's quite a natural aspect of life and society.
|
|
Stonegiant
Level 5 Thaumaturgist
100% in Liar
Posts: 240
|
Post by Stonegiant on Feb 15, 2008 20:29:15 GMT -6
I have to say that the first time I played with a caller was here in Calithena's play by post game here on this board. Otherwise my situation and experience has always been very much like what Zulgyan has described.
|
|
|
Post by foster1941 on Feb 15, 2008 20:55:40 GMT -6
In both the section on dungeon adventuring and the sample of play I wrote for OSRIC v2.0 I included the Caller. Stuart (aka Papers&Paychecks, OSRIC editor) softened by recommendation, labeling it "optional" and changing the tone from "you should do this" to more "it might be helpful to consider this" (I'm guessing because he himself probably doesn't have a Caller in his games). If you've got only 1 or 2 (or possibly 3, if they're all well-behaved) players, you don't need a Caller. But if you've got 4 or more and don't want the game to descend into chaos of the extrovert players trying to one-up each other and monopolize the DM's attention while the introvert players sit back and get lost in the shuffle completely, a Caller is almost mandatory.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 15, 2008 21:51:48 GMT -6
I've never had the pleasure of playing in a game that utilized a caller, but for my campaign, I ensure that the party chooses one. IMO, it just saves time, & makes the game flow smoother--I swear by them. As an aside, I also encourage the party to choose a "mapper" (probably #2 on the "out-there" list)...
|
|
|
Post by Finarvyn on Feb 16, 2008 8:48:35 GMT -6
My early days gaming started out with a DM and 1-2 players. It didn't make sense to appoint a Caller with only 2 players, so from the onset we adopted the "each says his part" thing and players discussed what their characters would do. As our group grew to more players at a time, we just continued that tradition. We've never used a Caller.
|
|
|
Post by Rhuvein on Feb 16, 2008 20:52:21 GMT -6
We didn't use "caller" back in the day, but we only had 3 or 4 players. And since we were learning as we went, there was a tendency to stop and discuss, discuss in and out of game and then proceed. Eventually, it flowed pretty well with everyone having a voice, as it were.
In my group now, since they were new to RPG'ing when we started I didn't use this at all, since I was teaching them. They now have a pretty good understanding and approach.
But, I did have some "school of hard knocks"/"taking too much time talking" situations that helped them learn to proceed.
Meaning, that at a dungeon intersections when the player's would start to babble about which way to go and take too much time talking - monsters would approach or I would roll dice behind the screen to get their attention.
;D
|
|
|
Post by coffee on Feb 16, 2008 21:28:45 GMT -6
Rolling dice and then smiling is the best way to get the party's attention...
|
|
|
Post by ffilz on Feb 17, 2008 0:48:41 GMT -6
I never liked the caller idea, especially as the examples suggested the caller even told the GM who was attacking who and all. It sounded like a two player game with a few people sitting around watching and rolling dice occaisionally.
That said, most groups do wind up with someone who tends to direct things and keep things from getting to out of hand.
And when the players start taking too long discussing things in the dungeon... As mentioned above, wandering monster time. Or the monster decides to open the door and take care of these annoying noismakers who disturbed his sleep...
Frank
|
|
|
Post by coffee on Feb 17, 2008 1:42:14 GMT -6
I didn't use a caller in my game today. Frankly, the guy with the highest charisma didn't seem up to it, and there were only five of them at the time, so I let it slide.
But when the fight broke out, and it was time to roll initiative, I asked who the party leader was.
Four fingers pointed at one guy. He was as surprised as I was, but he went ahead and rolled, and everything worked out okay.
So, yeah, I can attest that a natural leader will come up, even in a brand new group.
|
|
|
Post by Mordorandor on Oct 17, 2022 11:31:27 GMT -6
.... Indeed, when I have played as a player in games when there was no Caller, it was always too chaotic, and the players tended to not get along as well, because everyone had their own opinion on what to do. And if the referee has to resolve their disputes and decide things for the players, it pulls everything “Out of Character.” .... And adding in some simulation, I note "if you talk or argue at the table, you are talking or arguing in the dungeon. This means not surprising many monsters and increasing the chance of wandering (non-treasure carrying) monsters." This leads to callers, and the good one's know how to balance getting the party through the dungeon and stopping to get the players to collaborate. Another thing: I run blind declaration, simultaneous combat rounds. All players must quickly send me their intended action for the round. I then adjudicate and watch the chaos ensue. If they want to simulate a well-honed, integrated combat machine, they can have the caller make the call on what the players do, high-level. Like, "the two warriors close the front rank with melee weapons and the mage uses her spells." Then each player will decide how that looks. Otherwise, you might get "I charge with my spear!" "I throw my hand axe and dodge into the nearby niche." "I take my wizard hat in hand and run like hell away from the Beholder." and all the players are like, "what the hell!"
|
|
|
Post by dicebro on Oct 18, 2022 8:57:37 GMT -6
If everyone is talking, then wandering monsters are attracted and traps get missed. It’s their funeral.
|
|