Social Contracts 2: Return of the Social Contract!

Hey guys,

After some comments from mrboffo over at The DM’s Blog regarding Social Contracts, I decided to go and ask a few members of my gaming group to give me their versions of the social contract from a player’s point of view. To remain impartial I didn’t tell them about this post, nor did I show them my own list. here’s a few that I got:

From Dulio12385:

“Assuming that the player is joining a new game where the GM and players all don’t know each other: A player must have mastery over the game’s Setting and Mechanics.

For an older group: A player must be able to fit in with the group’s chemistry.”

When I asked him to define further on “chemistry” as well as why it didn’t factor in a new game:

“New groups have a veneer of professional distance. While old groups have idiosyncrasies so its more important to make accommodations for one another.”

As for things that players should not do:

“Bending the rules for the sake of story. It shows a lack of mechanical aptitude. If you have a concept and can’t actualize it, its your fault for not being competent enough to do it.“

And for GMs:

“GM favoritism is a big ‘NO‘ for me. I can handle overpowered enemies.”

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From Silver Countess:

Do’s

“…try to keep in character. If your character says you’re an idiot savant, then make sure your character acts it. An idiot suddenly spouting Shakespeare is rather questionable.
…be consistent, in backstory, and character role playing. No one’s asking for a theater level roleplaying. Just make it consistent.
…be mindful that there are other people in the table whose sensibilities can be offended. A little PC wouldn’t hurt, particularly if you have females in the table with you.
…take it like a man, for every consequence that happens for your actions you do in game.
…help the GM run his plots. It’s nice to diverge but don’t do it completely to ruin it. The GMs usually have a plot, so at least try to run along with it.“

Don’ts

“…interrupt the game when the GM is narrating (particularly cut scenes or running for another player). No one likes a running commentary even if they think they’re as witty as the Mystery Theater. Half they time they aren’t.
…change your character sheet willy-nilly. Emailing changes to your GM and telling him this happened did not happen at all if they were done out of the table.
…tell other players how to run their characters, or make their characters.“

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I’ll probably add more as I get to interview the rest of my gaming group, but it seems that different players do have different priorities. Some individuals see the activity from a completely “game” standpoint while others recognize and acknowledge the relationship aspect of a gaming group over that of just a game of rolling dice.