P1 and GM are housemates. I figured early on that familiarity was a big part of it. P1 knows what GM likes, and GM is accustomed to P1's style.
It went beyond mere familiarity, though, to clear favoritism. Whenever P1 did something unilateral he was rewarded with favorable results. For example, when we captured a petty crime boss we (the group) struck a bargain with him for his freedom. We got his magic items, an agreement to call off his gang from us (which we verified), and a promise not to cross us in the future. The negotiation was done. Then P1 adds, "Oh, and I want [thing you have worth 20,000 coin]." And the GM just gave it to him. To put this in perspective, our starting wealth (7th level characters) was 7,500 coin.
By contrast, whenever I did anything solo (there were parts of the adventure where we purposefully split up) I got nothing more than a roll of the dice against a stingy results table. High roll? I got a scrap of information. Low roll? Nothing— or worse, my attempt backfires and I lose something.
no subject
It went beyond mere familiarity, though, to clear favoritism. Whenever P1 did something unilateral he was rewarded with favorable results. For example, when we captured a petty crime boss we (the group) struck a bargain with him for his freedom. We got his magic items, an agreement to call off his gang from us (which we verified), and a promise not to cross us in the future. The negotiation was done. Then P1 adds, "Oh, and I want [thing you have worth 20,000 coin]." And the GM just gave it to him. To put this in perspective, our starting wealth (7th level characters) was 7,500 coin.
By contrast, whenever I did anything solo (there were parts of the adventure where we purposefully split up) I got nothing more than a roll of the dice against a stingy results table. High roll? I got a scrap of information. Low roll? Nothing— or worse, my attempt backfires and I lose something.