cheetoism http://cheetoism.pbwiki.com/ RecentChanges for cheetoism en http://cheetoism.pbwiki.com/feedlogo.gif PBwiki http://pbwiki.com/ PBwiki 3.7 support@pbwiki.com Player Preferences Questionnaire http://cheetoism.pbwiki.com/Player+Preferences+Questionnaire no.email.given@example.com (Anonymous) Anonymous edited Player Preferences Questionnaire Rate each of these three pairs according to which side you'd like the campaign to swing most towards. You get 4 points to put into each pair. Rate it like "Cinematic (1), Realistic (3)", which would mean "mostly realistic."
Cinematic vs Realistic "Cinematic" is not just whether characters can die, but whether what they do is governed by laws of physics and common sense. Hong Kong Action Theatre is cinematic; Millenium's End is realistic.
traits, etc. etc. Hack is for external conflicts, and thesp for internal conflicts.
Schtick vs Drama This is laughs vs tears, fooling around vs taking things seriously. Paranoia is schticky, Pendragon is dramatic.
What happens
]]> Thu, 01 May 2008 11:13:53 +0000 mod FrontPage http://cheetoism.pbwiki.com/FrontPage email.hidden@example.com (Anonymous) Anonymous edited FrontPage In any game, it's part social, part game. For most gamers, it's social first, game second. Game first, social second - that's for people who get paid to do it. Mike Jordan never said to his coach, "but it's just a game, who cares about the rules"; he took it seriously, because of money. Well, give me ten million bucks a year to roleplay, and I'll take it seriously, too. Until then, I am a Cheetoist. That's it.
My purpose with this wiki is to provide practical advice to roleplaying gamers in support of the Cheetoist philosophy. If you game purely for the game itself, for competition, as group therapy, or education, then you are a crazy person and should go elsewhere.
far wrong. wrong. The reason is that roleplaying is a social creative hobby . The "social" part is the prerequisite]]> Wed, 11 Apr 2007 14:48:31 +0000 mod Introduction http://cheetoism.pbwiki.com/Introduction email.hidden@example.com (Anonymous) Anonymous edited Introduction]]> Wed, 11 Apr 2007 14:46:18 +0000 mod Introduction http://cheetoism.pbwiki.com/Introduction email.hidden@example.com (Anonymous) Anonymous edited Introduction Something you knew already, but you didn't know it until it was put into words for you.
This book aims to tell you mostly the last two things. It is not revolutionary, and contains no great and innovative and profound insight into human nature. It just takes normal observations of an experienced roleplayer and puts them all together in a more or less organised form. A bunch of obvious things, if put together well, can together give you better understanding than all those things spread all over the place.
The basic idea of it is that roleplaying is a social creative hobby . The "social" part is the prerequisite for the "creative" part; a good game group can make even a crap game fun, but a bad game group cannot make even a good game fun. So Cheetoism deals mainly with the "social" aspect of gaming.
Some of the following text first appeared in d4-d4 Main Book. I don't mean to repeat myself, it's just that I got it right the first time. Why change it? Just build]]> Wed, 11 Apr 2007 14:38:48 +0000 mod Stages of Group Development http://cheetoism.pbwiki.com/Stages+of+Group+Development email.hidden@example.com (Anonymous) Anonymous edited Stages of Group Development Adjournment - purpose about to be achieved, group sees end coming, feels regret and nostalgia
Stagnation - loses direction, but is so set in its ways it can't change easily.
their troubles. troubles. Roleplaying is a social creative hobby, and in the beginning, things are entirely social, by the time the group's reached the Performing stage, the creative aspect has become important, too.
You should keep in mind that these stages aren't inevitable, from one to the other. Groups can move through to Norming, then some new member comes in and stirs things up and they're back to Storming, and so on. There are many ways back and forth and round.
]]> Wed, 11 Apr 2007 14:35:45 +0000 mod FrontPage http://cheetoism.pbwiki.com/FrontPage email.hidden@example.com (Anonymous) Anonymous edited FrontPage Rpg books are just a bunch of guidelines for how to tell your tall stories, and give you a fair excuse to roll lots of dice and eat cheetos. To make your games more fun, talk to your group.
In any game, it's part social, part game. For most gamers, it's social first, game second. Game first, social second - that's for people who get paid to do it. Mike Jordan never said to his coach, "but it's just a game, who cares about the rules"; he took it seriously, because of money. Well, give me ten million bucks a year to roleplay, and I'll take it seriously, too. Until then, I am a Cheetoist. That's it.
TheMy purpose of with this wiki is to provide practical advice to roleplaying gamers in support of the Cheetoist philosophy. If you game purely for the game itself, for competition, as group therapy, or education, then you are a crazy person and should go elsewhere.
The heart of the site is Why Game Groups Fuck Up, an e-book describing all the things whic]]> Fri, 16 Mar 2007 15:11:23 +0000 mod The Game Table and Quiet Players http://cheetoism.pbwiki.com/The+Game+Table+and+Quiet+Players email.hidden@example.com (Anonymous) Anonymous added The Game Table and Quiet Players Sometimes, it seems like some players are just quiet, or shy, or have no roleplaying skills - aren\'t able to describe vividly their character\'s responses to things. It\'s not true. A surrising amount of it comes down to **seating arrangements**.

The thing is that this is not absolute, a person\'s game play style, their interactions with other people. Sometimes, geeks \'\'are\'\' just shy and reserved, esecially in a game group in the [Forming] stage. I think it\'s the GM\'s job to bring these players out a bit, help them gain confidence in their roleplaying ability. Let\'s have another look at Clash Bowley\'s comment about roleplaying,

\'\'\"My personal theory is that people are natural roleplayers. Give a little kid a doll or action figure, and in seconds you\'ll see roleplaying.[...]They forget that they used to roleplay, and are embarassed whenever it is brought up. [...] I have re-introduced dozens of people to roleplaying, and geekiness is not a requirement. The only thing you need is the desire]]> Fri, 12 Jan 2007 10:47:11 +0000 add SideBar http://cheetoism.pbwiki.com/SideBar email.hidden@example.com (Anonymous) Anonymous edited SideBar
** [Food]

** [Books and all that]

** [Game session space]

** [The Game Table and Quiet Players]

** [Session organisation]

* [Stages of Group Development]

** [Forming]

]]> Fri, 12 Jan 2007 10:35:56 +0000 mod Stagnation http://cheetoism.pbwiki.com/Stagnation email.hidden@example.com (Anonymous) Anonymous edited Stagnation
A group is Stagnating when people aren't interested anymore. A player comes in, lies down on the couch and says, "wake me when it's time to roll for combat." Another player reads a comic. Yet another simply doesn't show up often, or "forgets" where the session was going to be this week.

Most game groups will fizzle out at this point. A work or study group rarely stagnates because there's a boss or teacher outside it who keeps it focused on its goals, and achieving those goals is compulsory. But a roleplaying group is a voluntary social activity, and attempts by someone (say the GM) to impose goals on it will usually result in Most game groups will fizzle out at this point. A work or study group rarely stagnates because there's a boss or teacher outside it who keeps it focused on its goals, and achieving those goals is compulsory. But a roleplaying group is a voluntary social activity, and attempts by someone (say the GM) to impose goals on it will usua]]> Thu, 28 Dec 2006 21:58:39 +0000 mod Stagnation http://cheetoism.pbwiki.com/Stagnation email.hidden@example.com (Anonymous) Anonymous edited Stagnation
Most game groups will fizzle out at this point. A work or study group rarely stagnates because there's a boss or teacher outside it who keeps it focused on its goals, and achieving those goals is compulsory. But a roleplaying group is a voluntary social activity, and attempts by someone (say the GM) to impose goals on it will usually result in the group going back to the [Storming] stage.

Many players unconsciously try to bring the group back to [Storming] if it's been Stagnating; their aim is obviously to make it storm again, so they can go on to [Norming] and [Performing] once more. It's a bit like when you've gone the wrong way on a long journey and reached a dead end, you have to go back to go forwards once more. They introduce new game systems or settings, get someone else to GM, bring in new players, and so on. And in truth, a fresh Storm is the only hope for a Stagnating group. That does not mean that players should deliberately create conflicts ]]> Thu, 28 Dec 2006 21:54:01 +0000 mod Annoying Gamers http://cheetoism.pbwiki.com/Annoying+Gamers email.hidden@example.com (Anonymous) Anonymous edited Annoying Gamers
Obviously, the Attention Junkie's very disruptive. Either the GM and group gives him the attention, in which case one of the other players or the GM get annoyed and leave; or the AJ doesn't get the attention they want, in which case they either leave the group, or, worse, hang around and do their level best to derail the plot by starting pointless combats, and so on.

There are a zillion ways for players and GMs to annoy each-other. Many of them are simply clashes of game style, the sorts of things discussed by the [[Player Preferences Questionnaire]]. That's easily dealt with, and rarely breaks up the group. But some players are just annoying people, and these clashes are what really kill groups. S]. That's easily dealt with, and rarely breaks up the group. But some players are just annoying people, and these clashes are what really kill groups. Some players take malicious delight in annoying other players. They think it's ]]> Thu, 28 Dec 2006 03:03:29 +0000 mod Annoying Gamers http://cheetoism.pbwiki.com/Annoying+Gamers email.hidden@example.com (Anonymous) Anonymous edited Annoying Gamers
Obviously, the Attention Junkie's very disruptive. Either the GM and group gives him the attention, in which case one of the other players or the GM get annoyed and leave; or the AJ doesn't get the attention they want, in which case they either leave the group, or, worse, hang around and do their level best to derail the plot by starting pointless combats, and so on.

There are a zillion ways for players and GMs to annoy each-other. Most of them are simply clashes of game style, as noted above. That's easily dealt with. But some players are just annoying people
any of them are simply clashes of game style, the sorts of things discussed by the [[Player Preferences Questionnaire]]. That's easily dealt with, and rarely breaks up the group. But some players are just annoying people, and these clashes are what really kill groups. Some players take malicious delight in annoying other players. They think it's hilarious. They f]]> Thu, 28 Dec 2006 03:02:25 +0000 mod Stagnation http://cheetoism.pbwiki.com/Stagnation email.hidden@example.com (Anonymous) Anonymous edited Stagnation
Many players unconsciously try to bring the group back to [Storming] if it's been Stagnating. They introduce new game systems or settings, get someone else to GM, bring in new players, and so on. And in truth, a fresh Storm is the only hope for a Stagnating group. That does not mean that players should deliberately create conflicts with one another; but they should try to freshen things up.

Commonly, groups Stagnate socially, when one person has been GMing the same campaign at the same time and same place with the same group each session for years. The group simply doesn't know what to do with someone else as GM. The regular GM also doesn't know what to do, and is uncomfortable in their new role as player, and, consciously or subconsciously, sabotages the game. The group has in effect returned to [Storming], but these are difficult conflicts to resolve - the regular GM wants to return to GMing, others in the group want to stop Stagnation, they cannot me]]> Thu, 28 Dec 2006 02:57:01 +0000 mod FrontPage http://cheetoism.pbwiki.com/FrontPage email.hidden@example.com (Anonymous) Anonymous edited FrontPage
<center> **We game for the snacks. And also the dice. But mostly, just to hang out with friends and tell tall stories.** </center> <br>

Rpg books are just a bunch of guidelines for how to tell your tall stories, and give you a fair excuse to roll lots of dice and eat cheetos. To make your games more fun, talk to your group. <br>

In any game, it's part social, part game. For most gamers, it's social first, game second. Game first, social second - that's for people who get paid to do it. Mike Jordan never said to his coach, "but it's just a game, who cares about the rules"; he took it seriously, because of money. Well, give me ten million bucks a year to roleplay, and I'll take it seriously, too. Until then, I am a Cheetoist. That's it.<br>

The purpose of this wiki is to provide practical advice to roleplaying gamers in support of the Cheetoist philosophy. If you game for the ga
]]> Thu, 28 Dec 2006 02:21:51 +0000 mod FrontPage http://cheetoism.pbwiki.com/FrontPage email.hidden@example.com (Anonymous) Anonymous edited FrontPage
For reasons they like to keep to themselves, people have come to look at this page <views> times.

<br>

<br>

<br>

If you want to help this wiki project become a real printed book, then use the paypal donation button below.

<form action="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr" method="post">

<input type="hidden" name="cmd" value="_s-xclick">

<input type="image" src="https://www.paypal.com/en_US/i/btn/x-click-butcc-donate.gif" border="0" name="submit">

<img alt="" border="0" src="https://www.paypal.com/en_AU/i/scr/pixel.gif" width="1" height="1">

<input type="hidden" name="encrypted" value="-----BEGIN PKCS7-----MIIHPwYJKoZIhvcNAQcEoIIHMDCCBywCAQExggEwMIIBLAIBADCBlDCBjjELMAkGA1UEBhMCVVMxCzAJBgNVBAgTAk
]]> Thu, 28 Dec 2006 02:10:14 +0000 mod Getting a Game Group http://cheetoism.pbwiki.com/Getting+a+Game+Group email.hidden@example.com (Anonymous) Anonymous edited Getting a Game Group
!!Geeksign

How do you spot a fellow geek? Well, as noted above, gamer geeks often have related interests - scifi stories, wargaming, etc. Not everyone who likes ''Buffy'' is a gamer geek, but if in their home they have every episode, a couple of posters up, little action figurines, and a Behind the Scenes book, then there's a damned good chance they're a gamer geek, too.

That's Geeksign - over-enthusiasm. If you're at a party and there's a person there who'll talk to anyone, and speaks enthusiastically, maybe a little bit longer than the other guy is interested in hearing about the toppic, they're either drunk or a geek. Overenthusiasm - that's Geeksign. When you see that, ask them about their hobbies, and reveal your own of gaming. If they're not a gamer geek already, they might be willing to become one.
!!Keep Up the Effort

]]> Thu, 07 Dec 2006 13:20:09 +0000 mod Getting a Game Group http://cheetoism.pbwiki.com/Getting+a+Game+Group email.hidden@example.com (Anonymous) Anonymous edited Getting a Game Group !!Finding a Game Group
Let's be honest. The main problem for any player or GM is not which game system to buy, or which setting to play in, or the Gamist/Narrativist/Simulationist preferences of their group – it's finding a bunch of people to play with, and keeping that group together. This article was originally part of ''d4-d4'', and it supposes that you don't bother with a [Game Circle], but want to go the old route of getting a group, and then deciding which game to run, rather than deciding on the game, then recruiting the group to fit it. Every nerd and his dog will advise you to advertise on boards in game stores. That rarely works. Nerds are shy. And they're lazy. They have to make the effort to write your number or email down, and then they have to screw up the courage to contact a strange person to talk to them about their nerdy hobbies.

What does work is two things: the internet, and making new gamers.

Thu, 07 Dec 2006 13:17:18 +0000 mod Stages of Group Development http://cheetoism.pbwiki.com/Stages+of+Group+Development email.hidden@example.com (Anonymous) Anonymous edited Stages of Group Development
* [Stagnation] - loses direction, but is so set in its ways it can't change easily.

In voluntary social groups, it's very common for groups to break apart in the "Storming" stage. An understanding of the natural development of groups can help them through their troubles.

You should keep in mind that these stages aren't inevitable, from one to the other. Groups can move through to [Norming], then some new member comes in and stirs things up and they're back to [Storming], and so on. There are many ways back and forth and round.

]]> Wed, 06 Dec 2006 11:08:56 +0000 mod Norming http://cheetoism.pbwiki.com/Norming email.hidden@example.com (Anonymous) Anonymous edited Norming
The group is getting along well, and taking account of one another's sensitivities and needs, but things move slowly and not much gets done, and the game really has got no zing. They have Normed. </blockquote>

Many game groups are quite content to remain in this stage forever. Unfortunately, it can lead to [Stagnation], and not much will get achieved in the game session. A group of Casual Gamers will be especially happy in this stage. They're not actually there to game, gaming is just the excuse to get together with people they like. So whether the party slays the dragon, is slain by the dragon, just sits in the inn for a week, or characters have deep relationships or get bigger swords, nobody really cares – "we hung out and had fun." In this case, we might say that the group is Norming in terms of roleplaying, but [Performing] in terms of **friendships**. If someone wishes the group to be [Performing] in terms of some other goal - intense rolepaying, ]]> Wed, 06 Dec 2006 11:06:05 +0000 mod Forming http://cheetoism.pbwiki.com/Forming email.hidden@example.com (Anonymous) Anonymous edited Forming
Most rpg books do not talk about the stage of Forming at all. Some address it indirectly, for example by suggesting that the GM ask the players what sort of game they want, or that players should write a background for their character. If the members of the group have an idea of what the others want, some of the potential conflicts will be resolved before they ever become open conflicts.

It should be noted that what's here called "Forming" is normal social behaviour. We suppress minor differences simply because they can be usefully suppressed. If someone bumps into me in the street and doesn't even say "sorry", just presses on, even though I'm irritated, I'll set the issue aside with a little muttering to myself, since the issue of whether this random person is polite, rude, clumsy or whatever doesn't really matter - I'll never see them again. It's just not worth the trouble. "Forming" behaviour lets people live together in a civilised fashion, lets them bump
]]> Wed, 06 Dec 2006 11:03:18 +0000 mod