From:	Marc Renouf renouf@********.com
Subject:	Harrowing of Focus (sic)
Date:	Thu, 19 Aug 1999 16:50:35 -0400 (EDT)

On Wed, 18 Aug 1999, Patrick Goodman wrote:

> >> Then you're playing with the wrong people.
> >
> > Many different groups over 17.5 years. Plus every game I've been witness
> > to as an observer including at cons.
>
> I have to concur with Marc: You're playing with the wrong people. In the
> 23 years I've been role-playing, and the 25 or so years I've been gaming in
> general, I've seen it work gloriously as often as I've seen it fail. If it
> gets personal in game, it was personal to start with, in my experience.

I concur. The only time I've seen people get personal about
in-character interactions is when there was a problem between the people
in real life. Some people are just more mature than others, and
inter-party strife can add an interesting, challenging, and entertaining
dimension to the game. Sure, you can get carried away with it, but that's
up to the GM to curtail and control. A good GM will put the characters in
situations where their success/survival depends on working together, which
makes the conflict that much more interesting.

Marc