So last night, after a little discussion with a player, I decided to download the errata for Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition PHB just for the hell of it and see what I was missing in these little corrections/adjustments that were overlooked when it was printed. I glanced through the errata and there were a slew of tiny changes; telling what to omit and what to pencil into the rule book. And, I could understand why my player wanted me to download the errata for a rule on a specific subject. I, as a GM, went with my gut. I wasn’t going to pause a game just to check an errata and that’s why I waited til the session was over before doing research on the ‘net.

And that’s why the Gods invented house rules; since the rules are just guidelines to follow and what didn’t make sense or seemed omitted was improvised. I really don’t mind improvising and what not since the best part of gaming is the storytelling; opening up the theatre of the mind and drawing the players into the realm. I presume it’s just one of the reasons why 3.5 was released which corrected and tidied up some, though I didn’t purchased it when it did.

I explained before I was fine and happy with AD&D though my players had wanted to take that step up in the 3E and had pooled together and bought the three core rulebooks for me. God bless ‘em.

So, last night characters were generated for the 3E system; players decided what race they wanted to play and picked a template and away we went.

I have a player who I think has a disorder of some kind since if I mention that I am going to run a game. He goes online and downloads every freakin’ thing about the game, sourcebooks, modules and articles and then he studies the rules like a text book. He knows what skills he wants and what skills affect abilities, so he can max out the character potentials.

During the game he rattles on and on and on about the game mechanics, and everything else that involves with the system. He doesn’t role play but roll plays. This takes the air out of the tires for the other players around the table who do not care about what game systems are, mechanics and what dice to use because for them it’s a learn as you go process.

It’s irksome to me.

I awoke this morning from a rather strange dream, a dream involved monsters, hovercrafts and a future forgotten bright pastel colours. I guess that’s what I get when I go to bed watching CSI: Miami episodes.

I’ve also been thinking of my Dark Conspiracy scenario that I have plan to run at this years Cangames. Maybe that’s what my dream was incorporating as well, I am thinking of changing up the scenario a little to give it that Miami brightness style and flair to the adventure and I think I know how I’m going to do it.

And it’s all thanks to the dream.

I have one player in my group that has to study the rulebooks, read through all the source books and memorize every freakin’ thing that will min/max his player to the fullest extent. He doesn’t believe in role playing, but roll playing and throws a monkey wrench into the party, simply because he wants to do everything “by the book”.

The current Cyberpunk game is a good example.

The girls at the table just want to game, they create a character they want to play and don’t worry much about stats, feats or skills. Sure they are playing a solo but only using edged weapons and he argues with them that solos are good with guns and should have guns!

“What good about playing a Solo if you don’t have any guns with smart links and cybernetic arm,” he states. He tells them they are doing it wrong and tries to get me to agree and I tell them that it’s there character and they can do what they please.

It seems like when a game is going good that the monkey wrench of rules lawyering is thrown in and derails the girls train of thought on the style of play.

In another forum, someone had put forth the subject of troubled gamers and it got me thinking of those who had come and gone from my table. There were minor incidents amongst players butting heads and alpha male attitudes when it comes to noobs, but they were just trivial in nature compared to one incident that I recall.

In a very intense combat moment, I had a player who storm out of my house, after he tore up his character sheet tossing it in the air, he let out one hell of a blood curdling scream as he threw a d20 across the room because it rolled a 1 when all he needed to roll was a 5+ to survive. The fellow was cursing like a elementary school kid that’s for sure as he grabbed the rest of his dice and left. The other players sat momentarily stunned by this display; and one of the other players stated that he was going to use his scroll of resurrection if the character had died.

It had upset my wife, who is not a gamer, since the d20 he threw bunched off the wall and onto the shelf and knocking over a picture of one the kids. She told me NOT to invite him back around the table. When said player called back a day or two to apologize for his actions and before I can tell him the bad news he said he needed a break from gaming.

Seriously thinking of doing different with Cyberpunk this evening. I’ve hunted around for a few hero clix that I had for a while and never used, they were giving to me and I just stored them away. I just figured I might want to do something different this evening.

It will come to a shock to some of the players since I never us miniatures as placements on the table. hat the players think since I have never used miniatures or tokens/pogs before. Normally, just a graph paper, pencil and character initials marked on the sheet to show where they are.

I’ve got a soundtrack selected for tonight’s session: The Crystal Method, The Chemical Brothers, The Prodigy, Fat Boy Slim, The Dead Can’t Dance and a slew of other tracks to play in the background. And, I’m pumped to see what the session will bring.