Ravings of a Textual Deviant

Ginger asks us

What do you think the value of contributions to a game is? Do you think it?s fair for the GM to give out experience or character points for contributions? If so, what qualifies? What about the informal value of contributions? Do they balance or unbalance a game?

I suppose it depends on how you define “contributions.” I am going to assume that we’re talking about somehting beyond showing up and pulling you weight–which I think is the minimum contribution required of any player. Extracurricular writing is one obvious contribution, and one I’ve talked about before. In fact, writing can encompass a lot of what I think of as really good contributions, like advancing the plot or giving it a good, hard twist, coming up with a really cool NPC, inventions, or just having an amazingly good idea at the right time. Gaming is so situational that it’s hard to decide what qualifies…but I know it when I see it.

As for what it’s worth–I’ve been known to hand out XP or other in-game goodies to players who go above and beyond in a variety of situations, so obviously I think it’s fair…within reason. I don’t like to give out huge amounts of XP that would put a single player so far ahead of a group that others begin to feel inadequate. Furthermore, a good idea is often its own reward. If someone does something truly outstanding, recognition is deserved, but there are many ways to reward players besides XP. In my mind, the important thing to to keep the party sufficiently well-balanced that any character can make a meaningful contribution. So, I suppose the answer to the last question is, it can unbalance a game if the GM allows it, but it can also be a great way to encourage players to stretch.

And finally, the informal value of contributions, in my mind, is priceless. It’s a sign that players are really getting into the game. Contributions move the plot along, challenge the GM to work new ideas into the story, and generally make the game world richer and deeper. Can you put a price on that? ‘Cause I can’t.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 1st, 2004 at 5:43 pm and is filed under Games & Gaming, Gaming Memes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.