From:	Patrick Goodman remo@***.net
Subject:	Harrowing of Focus (sic)
Date:	Tue, 17 Aug 1999 13:37:48 -0500

>Personally all of the very worst moments in gaming I've been witness
>to have been as a result of infighting and confrontation within the
>PCs.

I've been doing this a long time, and I agree that a lot of the worst
moments happen like that.

Contrariwise, however, some of the very best role-playing moments I've ever
witnessed or been a part of have resulted in just exactly the same way.

A case in point: Just a couple of weeks ago, I was playing my ork ghoul
gang leader, and my bike wasn't turning over. I told one of my underlings
(the gang's resident mechanic/rigger wannabe) to get off his bike and ge
tmine running. My intention, really, was to get him off his so I could
commandeer it. He got wise to this idea and told me to bugger off; I
shoved him. He shoved back. It progressed. Being a ghoul, well...I lost
it. Grappled him, and then bit him. His character promptly kicked me in
the nuts, knocked me back, whipped out his Ares Predator, and shot my sorry
ass.

I even deserved it. Well, my character did, but you get the idea.

It was fragging beautiful. If I hadn't been laughing so hard (it really
caught me by surprise that he'd *shoot me*), I might have cried.

We've been after C.J. to actually role-play in a couple of different
campaigns since last September, and this was some of the best stuff he's
*ever* done. Of course, he's only 17 and he's still got a ways to go, but
oh, it was glorious to behold.

>I've never seen it handled well and I've almost never seen two players
>who didn't get personal about it on some level.

It kind of depends on *why* the characters are hostile towards one another.

Patrick