I love this video by Matt Colville. It goes into what he thinks the type of players there are and what is considered official types of players. You may not fall into only one of these categories or maybe you don't fall into any of them. But it is interesting to look at all the different kind of players there are. For fun answer the poll and lets see what type we have the most of in the forums. :)
Types of Players
The Power Gamer wants to make his character bigger, tougher, buffer, and richer. However success is defined by the rules system you're using, this player wants more of it. He tends to see his PC as an abstraction, as a collection of super powers optimized for the acquisition of still more super powers. He pays close attention to the rules, with a special eye to finding quirks and breakpoints he can exploit to get large benefits at comparatively low costs. He wants you to put the "game" back in the term "roleplaying game", and to give him good opportunities to add shiny new abilities to his character sheet.
The Butt-Kicker wants to let off steam with a little old-fashioned vicarious mayhem. He picks a simple, combat-ready character, whether or not that is the best route to power and success in the system. After a long day in the office or classroom, he wants his character to clobber foes and once more prove his superiority over all who would challenge him. He may care enough about the rules to make his PC an optimal engine of destruction, or may be indifferent to them, so long as he gets to hit things. He expects you to provide his character plenty of chances to engage in the aforementioned clobbering and superiority.
The Tactician is probably a military buff, who wants chances to think his way through complex, realistic problems, usually those of the battlefield. He wants the rules, and your interpretation of them, to jibe with reality as he knows it, or at least to portray an internally consistent, logical world in which the quality of his choices is the biggest determining factor in his success or failure. He may view issues of characterization as a distraction. He becomes annoyed when other players do things which fit their PCs' personalities, but are tactically unsound. To satisfy him, you must provide challenging yet logical obstacles for his character to overcome.
The Specialist favors a particular character type, which he plays in every campaign and in every setting. The most common sub-type of specialist is the player who wants to be a ninja every time. Other specialists may favor knights, cat-people, mischief-makers, flying characters, or wistful druid maidens who spend a lot of time hanging about sylvan glades with faeries and unicorns. The specialist wants the rules to support his favored character type, but is otherwise indifferent to them. To make a specialist happy, you have to create scenes in which his character can do the cool things for which the archetype is known.
The Method Actor believes that roleplaying is a medium for personal expression, strongly identifying with the character he plays. He may believe that it's creatively important to establish a radically different character each time out. The method actor bases his decisions on his understanding of his character's psychology, and may become obstructive if other group members expect him to contradict it for rules reasons, or in pursuit of a broader goal. He may view rules as, at best, a necessary evil, preferring sessions in which the dice never come out of their bags. Situations that test or deepen his personality traits are your key to entertaining the method actor.
The Storyteller, like the method actor, is more inclined to the roleplaying side of the equation and less interested in numbers and experience points. On the other hand, he's more interested in taking part in a fun narrative that feels like a book or a movie than in strict identification with his character. He's quick to compromise if it moves the story forward, and may get bored when the game slows down for a long planning session. You can please him by introducing and developing plot threads, and by keeping the action moving, as would any skilled novelist or film director.
The Casual Gamer is often forgotten in discussions of this sort, but almost every group has one. Casual gamers tend to be low key folks who are uncomfortable taking center stage even in a small group. Often, they're present to hang out with the group, and game just because it happens to be the activity everyone else has chosen. Though they're elusive creatures, casual gamers can be vitally important to a gaming group's survival. They fill out the ranks, which is especially important in games that spread vital PC abilities across a wide number of character types or classes. Especially if they're present mostly for social reasons, they may fill an important role in the group's interpersonal dynamic. Often they're the mellow, moderating types who keep the more assertive personalities from each other's throats -- in or out of character. I mention the casual player because the thing he most fervently wants is to remain in the background. He doesn't want to have to learn rules or come up with a plot hook for his character or engage in detailed planning. You may think it's a bad thing that he sits there for much of the session thumbing through your latest purchases from the comic book store, but hey, that's what he wants. The last thing you want to do is to force him into a greater degree of participation than he's comfortable with. (Of course, if everybody in the group is sitting there reading your comic books, you've definitely got a problem...)
(From "Robin's Laws of Good Game Mastering", pages 4-5)
Matts Addition
The Mad Scientist Has a hard time taking the game seriously. Want to poke things just to see what happens. Want to experamint with the world. Character behaviors in unrealistic ways. By definition they are disrupted because they can't be in the real world. Want to do in game all the things they can't do in the real world.
(From video)
I personally identify as a Method Actor player. :)
I'm somewhere between Method Actor, Storyteller & Tactician. A Method Actor who knows the importance of a flowing story from his experience of writing/DMing. Who has loved strategy games, both real-time or turn-based, for well over a decade now.
Your character's story and actions are important, but so is the overall story - you're only one part of roughly four other characters. My philosophy is take your time to shine, but respect the fact there are other people with characters of equal importance, who deserve just as much 'screen time', and respect that a progressive story is 1) fun and 2) going to generate even more interesting moments to employ your character's personality.
But I also love to bring in those clever tactics. It feels really rewarding to me to win through good decisions and positioning.
I'd also go for Method Actor overall - but it's closely followed by Storyteller.
I fall under Storyteller, Tactician at times and a little of the method acting. I don't care about power gaming or the "best build" to win the game. I'd rather play something that interests me with major disadvantages, then to take something that has major advantages but doesn't interest me. I've been playing and running for a long time so.. my tastes have changed over the years.
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Uhmm.. I think I'm a mix between Storyteller, Tactician and Specialist.
Storyteller because influeced by been a DM, I look for the fun in the rp side. I enjoy a lot when I'm feeling we are doing a nice story, not only go forward to the dungeon and kill everything.
Tactician because I also try to find solutions, the better as possible in character. But also I try to help others, not command them, in and outside combat and to improve their characters if they need some advice.
And Specialist because I feel comfortable with a few classes or characters. I don't repeat the same character, but for example my favourite D&D class is the Ranger and I usually pick it when I haven't any other idea which does me wish other class, it's my safe bet. In other games I usuallly like characters who uses technology (like Glasswalkers in Werewolf)
Definitely Storyteller! I sometimes have elements of the others, but most of all I want the story to be good and am okay with compromise to achieve that!
I guess I'm going to have to pick Method Actor. I mostly DM, so when I actually get to play, I want to play. Let me craft an interesting, memorable character above all else and let it be something I haven't done before. I can tweak the numbers, deal with tactics, and craft a story all I want, as GM.
Still, as a GM, I have no interest in disrupting the game or anyone else's enjoyment. So, I'll conform to any restrictions on character creation the GM feels like putting in place, without much (if any) objection. I'll also do my best to play a character that can work with the rest of the group and can play along with the story. Last summer, I joined an in-progress CoS game. My first concern was to find out what niches hadn't been filled, yet. There was a Cleric, but the player wasn't reliable and the group was a bit heavy on martial characters (large group), but did have a Sorcerer. I picked Lore Bard and then built a personality for the character. My only real mistake was in finding the vicious mockery spell and running with that theme -- psychic damage may not be the best choice for an adventure full of undead.
Specialist, but also Tactician, a Little of Power gamer and Storyteller. But mainly I'd say I'm a Lore master - someone that wants to ensure the Lore and logic are upheld. Things like tracking encumbrance but also ensuring that we research the history so we slay the demon correctly.
Can't vote on this with it being single-choice, as I'm not such a simple thing to not fit equally into multiple options. Neither are the majority of other people that I've gamed with.
I am, in one way or another, every last one of the options on this list. Including being a casual gamer, despite that I spend basically every spare minute gaming or thinking about gaming, because I think casual is an attitude or approach - the kicking back and playing for fun, and not treating it as serious business.
In response to AaronOfBarbaria I agree with you that most people feel like more then one of these choices. Because of that I wasn't sure if I should go with single or multi choice for the poll but I decided single because I wanted avoid people voting for everything. I wanted a clear winner in term of which of these people identified with most. I know I myself am a good mix of Actor and Storyteller. And I know people can change as players as I use to be casual player in the sense that I didn't participate much and never acted in character! I was way to shy.
This topic was going specifically into what Matt Colville and Robin Laws believe. However they aren't in any way 100% correct in their ideas they are just well recognized. I think your approach to casual players is interesting. I have yet to play with anyone who treats it as such serious business they let it get in the way of the fun of playing but I can believe those people exist.
In response to Halaku, It wouldn't have hurt to put a none of the above but I was just going off of what Robin Laws and Matt Colville have said on the topic. Not saying they are correct just something that is well recognized.
I am none of those and all of those. I dislike these sort of narrow definitions that pigeon-hole people. Nobody is ever that black or white in their choices and actions.
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"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."
I don't think the purpose of this is necessarily to find an exclusive label, but to help you play to people's interests as a DM. Identify what your player likes and you can sneak in something they might specifically enjoy, or just better tailor the campaign to suit them. Figure out what they dislike and you can potentially lessen its presence.
I voted for Power player, because it's the one i identify with the most (i love char op) but i agree with Aaron, multiple would've been nice as I'm basically a 2 way split between Power Player and Storyteller- the game for me happens at the intersection of those two elements.
I think your approach to casual players is interesting. I have yet to play with anyone who treats it as such serious business they let it get in the way of the fun of playing but I can believe those people exist.
For me, it's more that I find the separation to be people that acknowledge the point is to kick back and have fun (casuals), and people that identify themselves as non-casual as a matter of ego (i.e. "I'm a real gamer, not some [filthy] casual")
Not that people are getting in the way of their own fun by taking the game too seriously. They are just taking their playing of the game too seriously, so they think they need to divide up people that play it into teams; theirs, and the other guys' who their team is totally better than.
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https://youtu.be/LQsJSqn71Fw
I love this video by Matt Colville. It goes into what he thinks the type of players there are and what is considered official types of players. You may not fall into only one of these categories or maybe you don't fall into any of them. But it is interesting to look at all the different kind of players there are.
For fun answer the poll and lets see what type we have the most of in the forums. :)
Types of Players
The Power Gamer wants to make his character bigger, tougher, buffer, and richer. However success is defined by the rules system you're using, this player wants more of it. He tends to see his PC as an abstraction, as a collection of super powers optimized for the acquisition of still more super powers. He pays close attention to the rules, with a special eye to finding quirks and breakpoints he can exploit to get large benefits at comparatively low costs. He wants you to put the "game" back in the term "roleplaying game", and to give him good opportunities to add shiny new abilities to his character sheet.
The Butt-Kicker wants to let off steam with a little old-fashioned vicarious mayhem. He picks a simple, combat-ready character, whether or not that is the best route to power and success in the system. After a long day in the office or classroom, he wants his character to clobber foes and once more prove his superiority over all who would challenge him. He may care enough about the rules to make his PC an optimal engine of destruction, or may be indifferent to them, so long as he gets to hit things. He expects you to provide his character plenty of chances to engage in the aforementioned clobbering and superiority.
The Tactician is probably a military buff, who wants chances to think his way through complex, realistic problems, usually those of the battlefield. He wants the rules, and your interpretation of them, to jibe with reality as he knows it, or at least to portray an internally consistent, logical world in which the quality of his choices is the biggest determining factor in his success or failure. He may view issues of characterization as a distraction. He becomes annoyed when other players do things which fit their PCs' personalities, but are tactically unsound. To satisfy him, you must provide challenging yet logical obstacles for his character to overcome.
The Specialist favors a particular character type, which he plays in every campaign and in every setting. The most common sub-type of specialist is the player who wants to be a ninja every time. Other specialists may favor knights, cat-people, mischief-makers, flying characters, or wistful druid maidens who spend a lot of time hanging about sylvan glades with faeries and unicorns. The specialist wants the rules to support his favored character type, but is otherwise indifferent to them. To make a specialist happy, you have to create scenes in which his character can do the cool things for which the archetype is known.
The Method Actor believes that roleplaying is a medium for personal expression, strongly identifying with the character he plays. He may believe that it's creatively important to establish a radically different character each time out. The method actor bases his decisions on his understanding of his character's psychology, and may become obstructive if other group members expect him to contradict it for rules reasons, or in pursuit of a broader goal. He may view rules as, at best, a necessary evil, preferring sessions in which the dice never come out of their bags. Situations that test or deepen his personality traits are your key to entertaining the method actor.
The Storyteller, like the method actor, is more inclined to the roleplaying side of the equation and less interested in numbers and experience points. On the other hand, he's more interested in taking part in a fun narrative that feels like a book or a movie than in strict identification with his character. He's quick to compromise if it moves the story forward, and may get bored when the game slows down for a long planning session. You can please him by introducing and developing plot threads, and by keeping the action moving, as would any skilled novelist or film director.
The Casual Gamer is often forgotten in discussions of this sort, but almost every group has one. Casual gamers tend to be low key folks who are uncomfortable taking center stage even in a small group. Often, they're present to hang out with the group, and game just because it happens to be the activity everyone else has chosen. Though they're elusive creatures, casual gamers can be vitally important to a gaming group's survival. They fill out the ranks, which is especially important in games that spread vital PC abilities across a wide number of character types or classes. Especially if they're present mostly for social reasons, they may fill an important role in the group's interpersonal dynamic. Often they're the mellow, moderating types who keep the more assertive personalities from each other's throats -- in or out of character. I mention the casual player because the thing he most fervently wants is to remain in the background. He doesn't want to have to learn rules or come up with a plot hook for his character or engage in detailed planning. You may think it's a bad thing that he sits there for much of the session thumbing through your latest purchases from the comic book store, but hey, that's what he wants. The last thing you want to do is to force him into a greater degree of participation than he's comfortable with. (Of course, if everybody in the group is sitting there reading your comic books, you've definitely got a problem...)
(From "Robin's Laws of Good Game Mastering", pages 4-5)
Matts Addition
The Mad Scientist Has a hard time taking the game seriously. Want to poke things just to see what happens. Want to experamint with the world. Character behaviors in unrealistic ways. By definition they are disrupted because they can't be in the real world. Want to do in game all the things they can't do in the real world.
(From video)
I personally identify as a Method Actor player. :)
~I am a Halfling Warrior at Heart~
~Tempus Fugit~
I'm somewhere between Method Actor, Storyteller & Tactician. A Method Actor who knows the importance of a flowing story from his experience of writing/DMing. Who has loved strategy games, both real-time or turn-based, for well over a decade now.
Your character's story and actions are important, but so is the overall story - you're only one part of roughly four other characters. My philosophy is take your time to shine, but respect the fact there are other people with characters of equal importance, who deserve just as much 'screen time', and respect that a progressive story is 1) fun and 2) going to generate even more interesting moments to employ your character's personality.
But I also love to bring in those clever tactics. It feels really rewarding to me to win through good decisions and positioning.
I'd also go for Method Actor overall - but it's closely followed by Storyteller.
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My homebrew: [Subclasses] [Races] [Feats] [Discussion Thread]
I fall under Storyteller, Tactician at times and a little of the method acting. I don't care about power gaming or the "best build" to win the game. I'd rather play something that interests me with major disadvantages, then to take something that has major advantages but doesn't interest me. I've been playing and running for a long time so.. my tastes have changed over the years.
Host of the Pocket Mimic Podcast, a D&D 5e Show! Join us and listen in as we build a new world step by step! (http://Pocketmimic.com)
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Remember to hit the thanks button, if you feel my info was useful, it helps me know I've provided helpful information and know I'm on the right track.
There should have been a "None of the Above" option.
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Specialist, definitly
Uhmm.. I think I'm a mix between Storyteller, Tactician and Specialist.
Storyteller because influeced by been a DM, I look for the fun in the rp side. I enjoy a lot when I'm feeling we are doing a nice story, not only go forward to the dungeon and kill everything.
Tactician because I also try to find solutions, the better as possible in character. But also I try to help others, not command them, in and outside combat and to improve their characters if they need some advice.
And Specialist because I feel comfortable with a few classes or characters. I don't repeat the same character, but for example my favourite D&D class is the Ranger and I usually pick it when I haven't any other idea which does me wish other class, it's my safe bet. In other games I usuallly like characters who uses technology (like Glasswalkers in Werewolf)
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Definitely Storyteller! I sometimes have elements of the others, but most of all I want the story to be good and am okay with compromise to achieve that!
I guess I'm going to have to pick Method Actor. I mostly DM, so when I actually get to play, I want to play. Let me craft an interesting, memorable character above all else and let it be something I haven't done before. I can tweak the numbers, deal with tactics, and craft a story all I want, as GM.
Still, as a GM, I have no interest in disrupting the game or anyone else's enjoyment. So, I'll conform to any restrictions on character creation the GM feels like putting in place, without much (if any) objection. I'll also do my best to play a character that can work with the rest of the group and can play along with the story. Last summer, I joined an in-progress CoS game. My first concern was to find out what niches hadn't been filled, yet. There was a Cleric, but the player wasn't reliable and the group was a bit heavy on martial characters (large group), but did have a Sorcerer. I picked Lore Bard and then built a personality for the character. My only real mistake was in finding the vicious mockery spell and running with that theme -- psychic damage may not be the best choice for an adventure full of undead.
Specialist, but also Tactician, a Little of Power gamer and Storyteller. But mainly I'd say I'm a Lore master - someone that wants to ensure the Lore and logic are upheld. Things like tracking encumbrance but also ensuring that we research the history so we slay the demon correctly.
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Wary the wizard who focuses on homebrew, for he can create nightmares that you wouldn't even dream of
Can't vote on this with it being single-choice, as I'm not such a simple thing to not fit equally into multiple options. Neither are the majority of other people that I've gamed with.
I am, in one way or another, every last one of the options on this list. Including being a casual gamer, despite that I spend basically every spare minute gaming or thinking about gaming, because I think casual is an attitude or approach - the kicking back and playing for fun, and not treating it as serious business.
I'm the type of guy who makes a complicated backstory for a random character for a one-shot, so I'd say Story-Teller.
In response to AaronOfBarbaria
I agree with you that most people feel like more then one of these choices. Because of that I wasn't sure if I should go with single or multi choice for the poll but I decided single because I wanted avoid people voting for everything. I wanted a clear winner in term of which of these people identified with most.
I know I myself am a good mix of Actor and Storyteller. And I know people can change as players as I use to be casual player in the sense that I didn't participate much and never acted in character! I was way to shy.
This topic was going specifically into what Matt Colville and Robin Laws believe. However they aren't in any way 100% correct in their ideas they are just well recognized. I think your approach to casual players is interesting. I have yet to play with anyone who treats it as such serious business they let it get in the way of the fun of playing but I can believe those people exist.
~I am a Halfling Warrior at Heart~
~Tempus Fugit~
In response to Halaku,
It wouldn't have hurt to put a none of the above but I was just going off of what Robin Laws and Matt Colville have said on the topic. Not saying they are correct just something that is well recognized.
~I am a Halfling Warrior at Heart~
~Tempus Fugit~
I'm kind of a combination of The Method Actor and The Power Gamer
I am none of those and all of those. I dislike these sort of narrow definitions that pigeon-hole people. Nobody is ever that black or white in their choices and actions.
"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."
― Oscar Wilde.
I don't think the purpose of this is necessarily to find an exclusive label, but to help you play to people's interests as a DM. Identify what your player likes and you can sneak in something they might specifically enjoy, or just better tailor the campaign to suit them. Figure out what they dislike and you can potentially lessen its presence.
Site Rules & Guidelines - Please feel free to message a moderator if you have any concerns.
My homebrew: [Subclasses] [Races] [Feats] [Discussion Thread]
I voted for Power player, because it's the one i identify with the most (i love char op) but i agree with Aaron, multiple would've been nice as I'm basically a 2 way split between Power Player and Storyteller- the game for me happens at the intersection of those two elements.
Sadly can't change the poll now.
~I am a Halfling Warrior at Heart~
~Tempus Fugit~