Visiting the Archives: Roleplaying Pitfalls pt. 2: Hogging The Spotlight

Today we bring you the second installment of Vanir's Roleplaying Pitfalls opus, where he details spotlight hogging and how to manage that urge!

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Originally posted on 10/10/2007 by Vanir

I'm SO guilty of this one: you have concocted a brilliant idea that puts your character in the spotlight and provides hours of roleplaying opportunities - for you.

Enjoy your time in the spotlight, but don't hog it every week. If your group spends more time on hastily-constructed side quests that you caused (or worse, watching you complete them alone) than they do on the actual plot, you might want to back off a little bit.

If You Must Hog The Spotlight

Make sure it's worth it! In our group, we usually set aside some time every campaign for some PC-specific stuff, which is a lot of fun. So when it's not my character's turn and I decide to do something completely off the map, I usually try to do something to further the story in my own way.

A good example of this is the time I thought everybody in our party had been captured aside from Bat Loaf and I decided to convince a bunch of low level wizardry students to help me rescue my comrades by showing them how to score with the ladies. Off the tracks: you bet. Hogging the spotlight: check. Well-received by the party: well, nobody threw anything at me (even the Stupid Ranger!) and it was entertaining enough that everybody seemed to be having a good time!

An even better solution would be, if possible, to convince your compatriots to join you on your crazy mission. Your GM's head might explode, but at least you've involved everyone AND you still get to do what you wanted.

Metagame (Slightly)

There's a certain point where you just need to shut up and go with the party. Yeah, I know it's not what your character wants to do and he totally would just leave them and do his own thing in this case. Usually, a D&D campaign is based around the fact that the party has a common goal and is willing to work together to reach it. There's some leeway there, but by and large that's how this game works. As I frequently say on this blog, there are other people at the table, and they probably want to play too. Would you rather play D&D with your friends or continue to play in your sandbox by yourself?

Like so many other things, being in the spotlight is best when done in moderation. A little can be entertaining, too much isn't fun for anyone. Keep the lines of communication open with your group, and you'll find the right balance. Until next time!

Visiting the Archives: Roleplaying Pitfalls...

Last year, our good buddy Vanir created a truly excellent thread on Roleplaying Pitfalls. I would like to present the first installment wherein he examines schtick and its effect on your roleplaying experience.

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Originally Posted on 10/7/2007 by Vanir-

In a lot of gaming groups I've played in, it's not an unusual occurrence for eyes to roll and mumbles of "damn it, not again" to be overheard when somebody decides to roleplay. Frequently, this is because the would-be roleplayer has decided to do something stupid and/or outrageous in the name of roleplaying. Having put much more emphasis on roleplaying in the last several years, I think I've figured out a major reason why -- and how to minimize its effects.

Schtick
When some people roleplay, it's more like they're following a list of unchangeable rules they've established for their character. They're dedicated to "fighting evil" and that's what they do no matter what.The worst example of this is the dreaded "attack on sight" mentality.

I've also seen a lot of people who think a particular concept would be funny and that's their character's schtick for the whole campaign. For instance, their character is afraid of rats so they'd make a big five minute deal about checking for rats under every snowbank if they were in the middle of the Arctic tundra. These kind of characters seem to me like the player is telling a joke that takes six months or more to tell -- but the punchline still makes everybody roll their eyes. It wouldn't be so bad if this was something this character does somewhat regularly in the course of roleplaying, but when it happens without fail, even during battle, it is murder-inspiringly annoying.

You've probably figured out by now that I'm not crazy about this particular brand of roleplaying. Either the characters just get irritating or the players do things that cause things to go horribly wrong "because that's what their character would do". Like charging a dozen orcs all by yourself with a first level wizard.

Of course, there are always the characters that you didn't mean to end up this way. These are the ones that you've honestly set out to roleplay fully, but either the concept didn't work out as well as you'd hoped or the setting changes or doesn't allow you to do what you had planned. And you end up doing the same thing over and over and over and getting bored. Bat Loaf is a very good example of this -- he was a ton of fun to play for the first 5-6 sessions. The problem with Bat was that there were many, many roleplaying opportunities well-suited for him in the beginning and it was fun because his misadventures would spill over into what the other players were doing and vice versa. As the story progressed these roleplaying encounters dried up in favor of Major Plot Events -- but there was still an inn, booze, and women in every town we'd travel to. Eventually the cycle of "go to inn, get drunk and find chick, run away, occasionally Inspire Courage +2 in combat" got old. For everyone, since it meant splitting the party pretty much every single session. And it just got boring for me.

Intentional or not, the problem with schtick is that it eventually gets in the way. One-trick PC's are either a direct hindrance to the game for everyone, or they just aren't fun anymore after awhile.


The Cure

I think schtick comes from three sources: lack of imagination, laziness, and an inability to sense danger. A little effort goes a long way when making your character. And the reason the other players get irritated when a Schticky player does things is because he's not playing the same game they are anymore. He's playing his own and doesn't care about the consequences for everyone else. Which makes them want to hurt him.

Here's a few ways to avoid personal bodily injury:

• Well-Developed Characters
  Well-developed backstory and character motivations and schtick don't mix. They cannot exist together. A well-developed character with a frequent quirk is fine - it's just a personality trait and doesn't define the character. The difference? A one-trick PC is that same quirk armed with a battleaxe.


• Acknowledge That Your Character Has Intelligence
  Your character REALLY hates orcs. Your character is also, in most cases, an experienced warrior. They know it's dumb to face a dozen orcs alone. Instead of attacking them all, think of strategies. You might even use (gasp) TEAMWORK. Or decide that you could do more damage later if you live to fight another day. Most one-trick PC's are roleplayed as if their INT was about 6 or 7. Their INT scores are probably much higher, which means they wouldn't think in such simplistic terms as "ORC! BOB SMASH NOW!". Act smarter than that, and make your PC's act smarter than that.


• Change Things Up
  Nothing says your PC can't change if it's not working as planned. Hell, an emotional crossroads makes for a good roleplaying excuse. Incidentally, that's how I saved Bat Loaf from one-trick PC hell -- I married him off, got him some new abilities, and had him start a bardic rock academy / militia. All of a sudden the old boring stuff became backstory for me to build on and he's fun again.

Hopefully, this will significantly decrease the number of eye-rolls at your gaming table. Have you had problems with Schtick in your gaming group? We'd love to hear them, and how you deal with it.

In the next installment of Roleplaying Pitfalls, I'll talk about another issue plaguing today's modern roleplayer: the dreaded Spotlight Hog!

Until next time....

<evil laughter>

Oh wait, wrong column. My bad!

We suck at breaking the cycle...

I was spending some time tonight thinking about all of the different gaming systems that I have been adjacent to over the years and how utterly terrible our group is at adapting to new campaign settings or rules systems.

The Great Resistance

For some reason, our group is change resistant. We have tried several different systems over the years and despite the different flavors and genres we keep coming back to traditional D&D.

The reasons for resistance have been varied and numerous. I wanted to give Deadlands a try, however the strange character generation rules and utter complexity to combat made it fizzle out after only a session or two. Kanati, my co-DM for our current D&D campaign, wanted to introduce us to Call of Cthulhu. It lasted several sessions, but for some reason running a roleplaying game in a modern setting just wasn't resonating with our crew. I actually liked the fear system and the ephemeral "X-Files" feel to the whole session, but I guess the rest of our crew wasn't really feeling it as much.

Does your group have a comfort zone?

We've tried limiting the number of sessions for a new game system or campaign setting, and it really hasn't helped the situation. It appears that our core group simply prefers the Greyhawk/Forgotten Realms classic D&D experience.

Does your gaming group have a comfort zone? Has anyone succeeded in breaking out of this comfort zone and trying some new things with any measure of success? Is there something (besides the obvious) wrong with us?

Lets hear it!!

Being Good, with your host, PC

The guys around here have created a lot of good buzz about being a "good" character. And who am I to stop a "good" thing?

Well, It's Not As Easy as Insanity

One of the important things to realize about playing a good character is that it's not always as simple as it seems it should be. It's easy to slip into the mindset of being a good person: you are a good person, so playing a good character shouldn't be that hard; you just make in-game decisions like you would make life decisions. Unfortunately, it's not always that easy because life doesn't always translate into game. Don't believe me? Consider this: most of us don't wield a sword or cast fireball everyday. Face it, you don't always have the necessary background as a player to fully relate to your character.

So, Is It Hopeless?

Of course not! Just avoid some of the pitfalls of being "too good" as Vanir and Dante have already shared... basically, don't go insane with goodness! Also, remember that your alignment is a guide to help you determine your actions; you might not be "good" every time, but your goods should outnumber your not-goods.

Always Remember This:

You know more about the situation than your character most times; when making morality decisions, you must avoid metagaming if you're going to be true to your character. You might know that the shadowy figure in the background is the long-lost heir to the throne, but your character doesn't; how, then does your character react to his proposal when he asks you to murder the king?

Making these moral decisions without metagaming can be somewhat easier if you have a backstory for your character: some history to which you can refer in times of crisis. Take a step back from the plot for a moment to re-orient yourself if your moral compass has been compromised.

Progression and the Quintessential Good Character...

On Friday, Vanir triumphantly returned and started an interesting discussion on player character morality and how it often plays out within a campaign. This got me thinking about some morality related issues of my own... but this time focusing on the progression of a good character.

Please note: these are only one man's opinions and your mileage may vary. Be sure to tip your stewardess after the flight.

My character is good, and I mean all the way, see?

Oftentimes, overzealous players have this all consuming vision of their good aligned characters. They run the gamut from moral, peaceful folk to the insane Holy Avenger types but the tack is usually the same... people that play good aligned characters usually take one aspect of goodness that relates to their new character and turn the volume up to 11.

Now this is a very noble pursuit, usually born out of a Single Good Idea (heretoafter, SGI) that was developed during the creation of the characters backstory. For example, lets say a character decides to make an altruistic monk that believes in giving to the poor as a means of salvation with their deity. Lets say that this monk had someone help him out when he was in desperate need as a young man, which turned his Giving Knob up to 11.

This is a great thing, however how the player chooses to express this good trait can often become perplexing, annoying, or downright boring.

It's called PROGRESSION, people!

If Mr. Monk expresses his desire to give in a flat, overzealous way and gives all of his starting gear (of which he would logically have none of anyway) to some random downtrodden person and all his gold goes to the local temple, Mr. Monk is a very good person. He is also a BURDEN to the rest of the adventuring party that he is supposed to be cooperating with for the common good.

To my mind, it is much better practice to take your character on a journey. At Level 1, your monk is at the beginning of his path. Have him start by giving what little of his adventuring gains that he receives to the needy, but not at the sacrifice of his viability as an adventurer. As his renown grows, and he gets to see more of the world and the suffering that is going on, THEN make him start to give more of his personal belongings as he gains other skills that will allow him to continue adventuring and doing even more good.

In short, as Vanir mentioned it is an excellent idea to not just select one random aspect of goodness and immediately do the absolute maximum possible activity in that space. You have nowhere to progress to, and after 20+ levels of adventuring your continuing acts of singular good will be grating. Providing, of course, that you live that long wearing the robe you set out in.

There are many other ways to salvation

As previously mentioned... these are just my opinions on the matter. If you can find a unique, sustainable way to take a single aspect of a character's personality and crank it up by all means go right ahead.

I would love to hear some "in the trenches" stories of character building and progression to hear how others have realized the tricky task of roleplaying humanitarian goodness. Also, feel free to throw fruit if you don't agree with the proceedings!