Caller
Hi folks,
Seeing that transcript of game play from Holmes, reminded me that I've never played a game (as a player or referee) where one player was nominated as the "Caller".
I'm the odd man out here, right? Who amongst us has experiences of the Caller role and how does it work out for you?
Thanks
Mike
I've never been in a group where this was a official position, but I've regularly done something similar in complex situations when we needed to communicate a coordinated action to the GM. Getting one player to provide the info made for a clearer and less chaotic experience. This was usually the player taking point on the action or the one with the plan.
ReplyDeleteBut in larger groups - I never play with more than 6 with any regularity - I can see making this official might be a huge benefit.
I have a rotating "caller" role that starts with a random player and moves around the table after every major scene (combat, room exploration, long travel). This provides an approximate track of time, decides who rolls the die for side-based initiative, and supplies a "decider" when the party is hung up on what to do. However, it's a "soft" caller role in that the other players can still deal with the DM as normal.
ReplyDeleteYes, as often as I can. I used the Caller in every edition of D&D I GM'd. I'm a big fan. I find it helps to force a leadership position on the players as the GM. If left to their own devices one of two things generally happen, in my experience: 1) No one steps up to a leadership position and the game drags. Long pauses after the GM says, "What do you do?". 2) One player steps up and some, if not all, of the rest of the players resent him or her for being pushy. The shyest of them shut down and stop engaging.
ReplyDeleteI do like the idea of the rotating caller.
ReplyDeleteI've never done it, nor seen it done. (been playing since '81 and looked in on some games in the late 70s.) We do, however, hash things out and have one player explain things to the DM on occasion. But turn-by-turn play with a caller? Nope, never.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure people didand still do, play that way, however.
Perhaps smaller groups are the norm these days. My group is 4 players plus me and they can get pretty chaotic at times. I really think I might give it a shot...
ReplyDeleteMike Hill I think you are correct. The value of the Caller really shines the more players you have. Also, as editions progressed and every PC becomes a special flower with all kinds of various skills and abilities the value fades a bit.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first got the Holmes Basic set for Christmas 1980, we 3 friends would take turns DMing, leaving 2 of us to argue who was Caller. That rule was completely unnecessary for 2 or 3 players, so it went the way of the dodo.
ReplyDeleteI once had a group with 10 but forgot about the Caller role, but everything worked out just as good, as I kept the players on their toes with a fast paced game.
I think my current game (5e) DM uses a rotating Caller. He passes a circular d100 around to whoever wants to speak, but combat is still handled with individual initiative, which really drags the game out.
Robert Weber I'm surprised (for some reason) that you're a 5E player but hard-core old school as a referee. :-)
ReplyDeleteWhat can I say? ;-) I wanted to try 5e, but not have to buy (yet another set of) the rules, and I'll "play" anything at least once. However, if I'm the referee, I prefer BX, 1e, or Holmes/LBB rules.
ReplyDeleteAs it is where I live, there are only two types of D&D players: newbies who've never played before so they play 5e, and all the former old skullers who switched to Pathfinger.
The third kind don't count : old skullers who don't play anymore because no-one plays 2e or older anymore because their players prefer any non-THAC0 D&D. :-P (because, and I quote: "math is too hard ")...
Seriously, I like 5e because it's streamlined like 0e or basic, but I'll always ref with the Great Old Rules. ;-)
I think we ignored without question. The unspoken consensus was that it somehow shut out individual players from the DM, but I can see how this doesn't necessarily have to be the case. Individual players are interacting with each other, after all. But no, we never used it (our group had 3 players BTW).
ReplyDeleteFWIW, I came to adhere strictly to the phases of the combat round ; I always insist on Declared actions before initiative is rolled and then resolve actions based on initiative rolls and the phases of combat: spells, missile fire, movement, and melee, always in that order.
ReplyDeleteWhen all the players are used to a regular combat routine, their actions can be choreographed as easily as a group with a Caller.
It's useful for large groups. My last B/X group numbered up to 8 or 9 people. As I played in an empty restaurant next to a raging bar, it helped compensate for the noise and general chaos of the situation.
ReplyDeleteIf, heaven forbid, I make the mistake of giving my players more than one choice within no time at all, three of them have gone off in different directions assuming that the rest of the team are following dutifully behind. The rotating caller might work for us...
ReplyDeleteI can't recall using a formal "Caller" in any game I've played in. Holmes himself didn't use it; see his comments in "Basic Points of View" in Dragon #52 (there's a a link in the upper right hand corner of this community to a transcription of this article).
ReplyDeleteI've never used a caller, but I think I can see the appeal. Having someone in an official "lead player" role can really help save time when you are DMing for a large group or in a newly formed group where the players are still getting to know each other.
ReplyDeleteIf nothing else, it gives the players a second person to ask "Do you think I should try this?" when the DM is otherwise occupied.
Even if the use of an official Caller, or rotating Caller is not adopted to your group, I encourage players to adopt an S.O.P. (Standard Operating Procedures) when it comes to encounters and doors. This doesn't always have to be the same actions for every PC all the time, but if your group has a higher leveled fighter than the others that might be considered to be a bit more combat competent than any others in the party, designate that PC as a "Combat Caller" and have him call the shots, IF the rest of the group agrees.
ReplyDeleteI know there wouldn't be any additional benefits aside from an orderly conduct of the Players during a combat encounter, but I'm currently working on a house rule that would allow some mechanical benefits to "Fighting In Formation", like an overall bonus to AC to any PC in Formation, and perhaps additional "Attacks of Opportunity" (yes, its a modern term, but it exists in Holmes!) if opponents decide to run away, and for narrow passages a formation called "Close Quarter Drill" that allows 3 man-sized allies to stand and fight abreast in a 10 foot wide passage, as opposed to the current standard of 1 every five, etc.
The only downside is that PCs in Formation can't run off in their own directions without breaking the formation and causing everyone else to lose the assorted benefits.
How about a "Casual Caller"; the PC with the highest Charisma handles the Caller role when dealing with NPCs, bargaining, or giving orders?
The "Critical Caller" with the most Intelligent or Wise PCs calling the shots when attempting to deduce information, puzzles, or the like?
Example: "A party sets off a trap in the dungeon causing the doors to be sealed shut and physically unopenable, and the chamber rapidly begins filling with water. The M-U character with the highest intelligence must figure out the puzzle of the three levers in the chamber before the entire party drowns. The MU PC tells the fighters and the dwarf to stand by the doors and be ready to prop them open with something should operation of the levers does something to improve their situation. The MU also orders the Thief and the Elf to search for more traps and secret doors respectively, and the MU makes a decision to operate specific levers and tells the DM."
Perhaps the DM will allow a bonus to Intelligence, or offer hints due to the highest Intelligenced PC calling the shots, likewise in other situations for different roles in the party, this way each PC has a chance to be the Caller in certain situations.