Iffy On A New GM

So, I game at my FLGS on Mondays. Is good time.

And recently, someone new has been coming, and he's running Villains & Vigilantes, also known as Mighty Protectors.

We've gone through three sessions (Character Creation, Big Bad Fight, and Meet The Heroes) and I retired a character that I just wasn't really feeling that much. That was last Monday. For this upcoming Monday, I've been thinking about character concepts.

Now, according to the GM, you can build ANYTHING in V&V. So I inquired about the Archive, of Dresden Files fame. To summarize, the Archive knows anything written. Anything and everything. You write it, the Archive knows it, doesn't matter where, when, who, or how. Also a potent magician. So I was asking about how to build that as a PC-with the understanding that that level of power may be too strong.

While he insisted that it's possible to build anything in Mighty Protectors, he basically said "Okay, so one of your three powers will be Intelligence-centered. Now just pick the other two." Which just... Kinda rubs me wrong. I feel like, as the GM and most experienced person in the group when it comes to V&V, he should be working with me.

He's also the kind of DM who builds your characters for you, without your specific input. While I found his character creation process interesting, it also didn't really allow me to make who I wanted. (Admittedly, at the time, I didn't KNOW what I wanted, so that was cool with me.) But now that I've gotten to look at the nuts and bolts, it irks me to not be able to work on the nuts and bolts myself.

I enjoy gaming, especially with my best friend (who's another player and having a ball). But I'm a little frustrated.

So, I don't know that system, so I'm potentially extracting this from my fundamental orifice ...

Maybe there are unbalancing choices in the system (traps and ... whatever the opposite of a traps would be) and your GM is merely trying to steer you on a middle ground. This seems especially possible, given that you dropped a previous character because you "weren't feeling it." It's not clear from your post whether the locus of your displeasure was the concept or the execution, and if the GM is similarly not clear on that, he may be trying to help you at least avoid the obvious (to him) bad choices.

Also, he may be working to avoid something gamebreaking and overpowered.

Maybe talk to him about it? Mention that interacting with the rules and controlling your own character build is a major part of your enjoyment of the game? (That's the advice, and probably all you really need to get out of this ...)

I've played in games where I never saw the rules, and where the GM ... at least oversaw chargen if he didn't do it all himself. As a GM, I've built characters for players before (always at the players' request), in one instance writing a multi-page owner's manual for the character. Obviously there are several paths to enjoyment.

Good luck. Hope this helps.

I'm confused. What do you need from us? I don't see a question. Maybe you just need some moral support or alternate perspectives? Assuming that's the case...

Always cut a GM slack. They are stepping up often when no one else is/will.

As for character creation, I'm guessing the first time he took an assertive hand in character creation because of the challenge of getting characters created and keeping playing interested. Now it sounds like he's trying to give you more freedom to create something. I also wonder if he has any clue what an Archivist is. I don't know so s/he might not either?

Don't worry about the character you are conceiving is too powerful, you've voiced your concern to the GM and they were not concerned. So go for it, build them how you envision them and then if you need to adjust them later, you can do that.

I'm not allowed to build my character. The GM is handling it.

And yeah, I'm looking for advice in general, other perspectives, sanity checks, all that. I do know the woes of GMing, and I am having fun, so...

Roll with it :)

Then go ahead and let the GM create the character. Maybe send them some links or videos about the character as you perceive them. "Hey, here's a scene from a movie..." or "here's the text from the class as written in the xyz system that I'm wanting to replicate..."

But in the end, relax, have fun, don't sweat the small stuff :)

As mentioned above if it's a fairly complex system the GM may just be trying to ensure the effectiveness of your character/get it ready for the next game night. Some GMs can get frustrated with newbies pinging them with constant questions, preferring players to pick up the system through play first before creating their "own" characters.

Now, obviously everyone picks up new games at different speeds so it may be that you're comfortable making a character now and the GM just didn't expect it so quickly. Either way, there is absolutely no reason for said GM not to work with you on the character and explain as much of the process as possible while doing so. Ideally if the GM is building the character for you I would at least expect a few variations to be made available with the differences made clear (both in terms of mechanics and flavour).

If you're enjoying it so far, maybe run for a few more sessions before making waves. It can be a little tricky bringing a bunch of people onto a new system and getting them used to it, and I've had great fun in the past with characters I had no hand in making although it was a little odd at first.

BUT my advice would be to just casually make your GM aware of how you feel. No need to be confrontational or anything, just explain that building a character is a big part of the gaming experience for you. If they freak out and make a big deal out of things that's probably a fair red flag.

Something also to remember: just because "you can build anything with a system" does not mean that you can build them as a starting character, instead you can usually build a "starting version" of the concept.

A lot of people seem to hear that "they can build anything" as a cue for building a character from a fiction they like that is a very experienced character capable of dealign with anything. Very, very few rpgs will have that sort of character as a starting character (Traveller being the obvious exception) - they are what you work towards as you gain xp. I have to say that you seem to be falling into this trap, and this may be the GM not knowing how to tell you "no" because they haven't realised the answer is to build a character with he potential to become what you want. They may also see your character as very weak (not having thought it through).

I've heard of V&V but have never played it - Mutants and Masterminds always out performs for people looking for a super game in the market. Both M&M and BESM, along with GURPS and a few other point buy games are able to "Build anything" but be careful - being able to make anything doesn't necessarily mean you know how to create it within the rules.

I'm assuming it's relatively similar though.

In M&M you aren't limited to three powers, but that may be a product of the game's specific balance, or the DM making things streamlined for new players. Am I to assume you are not the only new player at the table?

Is it progression based? IE, you start at level X and as you go through encounters you become Level X+3, or is it story based with facsimile of tropes you are allowed to employ as a resource (In M&M, this would be Hero Points, but in D&D/Pathfinder they are known as Action Points. It takes away from the randomness of dice and puts more power in the players hands to manipulate the game world) and going up levels is a rare treat for astonishing deeds or long story arcs coming to a close?


Teaching through play is a fine line of making sure the game is simple and enjoyable to a new audience while allowing creativity and not diving deep down into complexity. I wouldn't be surprised if he was just trying to make it easy to get into while giving the feel he thinks you are looking for.

I am not familiar with that system in the slightest so.....

Is building your character for you an expectation of the system, or something this DM just likes to do?

Is he doing it because he thinks ya'll don't understand how to do it, or because he wants to control the outcome?

If it is not an expectation of the system and you understand how to do it, just be straight with the guy that you'd like to build your own character. I'm going to guess that you enjoy building characters yourself, and taking that away from you may dramatically reduce your interest in a game (it certainly does for me), so just tell him that. If he refuses and makes it into some kind of ultimatum of "I'm gonna build your character or you're not gonna play." then I think you'll know that game isn't for you.

Build a character present the caracter for approval.

Build 5 let him choose. If your happy with any of them and are as allowed to play one. You will know if it was his building or his game.

Okay, update time!

About two weeks ago, after the session, I talked to my friends. We chatted for a while, and agreed that while we had some issues, the best recourse was to talk to the GM about it. We did, mostly mentioning that we wanted some more roleplaying, and next week, it was implemented reasonably well.

The session had a lot more character to it, and when we DID fight, we were actually able to kick some patoot. Overall, had a lot more fun. Still don't think the GM is perfect, but then again, no one's perfect, so I can hardly blame him for that. :P

Thank you everyone for your support and advice. I'm happy to say I'm having fun now.

Did you get to play the Archive? How true to form was it?

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Originally Posted by Quertus

Did you get to play the Archive? How true to form was it?

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I did not. That concept is too broad and powerful for our current part of the game.

I'm currently playing Magnus, a telepath who was raised by lions in Madagascar.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JNAProductions

I did not. That concept is too broad and powerful for our current part of the game.

I'm currently playing Magnus, a telepath who was raised by lions in Madagascar.

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This lion? Considering lions are not native to Madegascar... :smallwink:

Glad things are working out for you!