Quote from IamSposta >>

QOTD: Do you draw a strict distinction between players and PCs, or do the lines get blurry for you on that subject?

It’s pretty distinct for me, especially because I play with friends and we tend to make fun, less serious characters most of the time. Not completely out-of-control, but silly enough that the line is obvious. An example is a paladin I played as a filler character while I was still working on my real character sheet: a lawful stupid, orderly, upstanding citizen that frequently clashed with the rogues before his untimely death.

Quote from IamSposta >>

QOTD: Do you draw a strict distinction between players and PCs, or do the lines get blurry for you on that subject?

 Definitely in games I run, there's a strict distinction. One of the first things I always say is "View this through your character's lens not your own."

So while a play may be like, "There's a dark cave ahead and I hear sounds, no way would I go in there." However, if they're playing a fighter - I try to remind them of this - that they're probably well equipped for whatever's inside and they need to view through the character's lens not their own.

This is one of the things I've loved about 5e, where they mention flaws, traits, etc. I encourage players to focus on that to define what their character does. Yes, running into a dark cave sounds stupid - but your fighter has this trait that says, "I will always go first to ensure the safety of my party." Do it.

So character personality vs player personality is very important in my games.

Quote from IamSposta >>

Quote from BoringBard >>

I've just started working on an adventure for level 5 to 6 that I might wanna run with our pbp group, and will likely post in DMs Guild eventually, if it doesn't end up going terribly because I'm not far in at all.

 
I look forward to helping you playtest it!

 Same!

Quote from IamSposta >>

QOTD: Do you draw a strict distinction between players and PCs, or do the lines get blurry for you on that subject?

 I prefer to draw a line in how players act toward each other. Our group was split in half by a disagreement over characters and it actually damaged our relationships in real life (though I think that would have happened anyway…) and our real life attitudes got in the way of playing our characters well.

Because of this, I always include a note in the housekeeping section of my Session 0 handouts: “Remember that this is a game. The dice fall as they may and the characters are just that. Play your character the way they act, as long as you don’t ruin the fun for others. This game is a connection for all of us, so put aside your conflicts and have some fun. We all know what happened to [names redacted].

Quote from IamSposta >>

QOTD: Do you draw a strict distinction between players and PCs, or do the lines get blurry for you on that subject?

 
hrm...

Several times over the years we have "played ourselves". The first version of my "IT" based adventure had us playing ourselves as kids, and relied on the actual fears we all had a real people to drive the whole thing home. Doing it as both the kids and and as adults really had a huge impact.

That was very much more than a blurred line lol. 

In general, though, we are all playing out some current version of what we would like to be as a novel's hero, or a movie hero. Those are two different things, I should note, but that's' a different thing. We do a lot of work on that developing out a character's personality and and all that stuff. We role play them, pretty heavily,and since we have some pretty strong relationships (familial ties and long history) we rarely do anything that creates a blurriness without it being something decided during a zero.

So I would say that normally we are all fairly clear on there being a line, but we do like to cross the line entirely, and we don't play around with blurriness much.

Or at least that's how I see it -- I am sure Kat or Jer would see it differently, lol.

QotD: Is it the player's responsibility to remember what happened last session or the DM's? And why do you think that? (Specifically, perhaps some of the quest details and such...)

Quote from SirTawmis >>

QotD: Is it the player's responsibility to remember what happened last session or the DM's? And why do you think that?

 
Both.

DMs have a lot of stuff to track and keep notes on that is outside the scope of Player Knowledge. THey have to remember what happened because they need to know wat is going to happen.

Player's have to understand the experience from their character's perspective. IF they encounter a creature that the character has never fought before, they need to recall what worked and what didn't. THey need to be able to recall wha tthey found and what they searched, any clues they came across, and the treasure they found.

If no one remembers what happened, did it even actually happen?

Quote from SirTawmis >>

QotD: Is it the player's responsibility to remember what happened last session or the DM's? And why do you think that?

 It is on the individual player to know what happened to their character. Then, they should know the gist of important things that barely involved them or did not involve them. However, the GM should give a brief recap of the most important points of the last session.

I think this mostly because, as GM, I have learned that I cannot keep track of everything that happens to the PCs, so I depend on my players to deal with stuff that mostly affects just them or is only interesting to them. They are (with a few exceptions) really good at this, and I think it helps that I always take notes and provide session recaps at the end of a session and the beginning of the next one. I also recap important plot points that are in development, including details from past sessions.

Quote from IamSposta >>

QOTD: Do you draw a strict distinction between players and PCs, or do the lines get blurry for you on that subject?

 Many of my players can’t be bothered to put more thought into the relationship between them and their characters more than what is natural for them. For my group, the line is pretty blurry.

Quote from SirTawmis >>

QotD: Is it the player's responsibility to remember what happened last session or the DM's? And why do you think that? (Specifically, perhaps some of the quest details and such...)

 I wish it was both, but most of the players in my games don’t put a lot of effort in keeping track of what happens so the DM has to do all of it. 
In a perfect game think both the players and the DM should keep track of what happens. The DM has a lot of work they have to do and so a player should try to make things easier for them, especially if it involves their character. I do think it is a good idea for a DM to provide a recap at the beginning of a session to jog the player’s memory.

Quote from SirTawmis >>

QotD: Is it the player's responsibility to remember what happened last session or the DM's? And why do you think that? (Specifically, perhaps some of the quest details and such...)

 Both, the DM is responsible for keeping track of the overall campaign. The players are responsible for keeping track of their characters and where they are.

Quote from SirTawmis >>

QotD: Is it the player's responsibility to remember what happened last session or the DM's? And why do you think that? (Specifically, perhaps some of the quest details and such...)

 
Both. The DM is responsible for tracking the world, the players are responsible for tracking the party.

However, often times what the players remember contradicts what the other players (or DM) remember. That’s why I officially start off every session with the same question: “Who remembers where we were when last we left our heroes?” That way we start every session with a collective understanding of the last session’s events. By making it a group thing it gets everyone on the same page and gives us an opportunity to adjust for any contradictions, and by putting it on the players it allows me to better understand what they remember (or misremember) compared to my notes from the previous session.

... and now, the follow up Question to my "who tracks what happened" question - how often do you gather with these same group of folks to adventure together?

Quote from SirTawmis >>

... and now, the follow up Question to my "who tracks what happened" question - how often do you gather with these same group of folks to adventure together?

 For my sessions, we all remember what happened but I have the best memory when it comes to what happened so I keep track. I can also check the message history since I only run pbps rn.

Question: When you dm in session do you take notes?

Quote from BlackBear_ >>

Question: When you dm in session do you take notes?

 I thought you were doing your math homework?

you also told me to remind you to do it lol

Quote from BlackBear_ >>

Question: When you dm in session do you take notes?

 I personally don’t take notes until after the session, but in the case of doing a pbp I don’t need to since all the stuff is there.

are you slacking on your math BlackBear_

I'm trying to figure out what I am putting in the exhibits for the Jurassic Park campaign

Quote from SirTawmis >>

... and now, the follow up Question to my "who tracks what happened" question - how often do you gather with these same group of folks to adventure together?

 
Weekly

Quote from BlackBear_ >>

Question: When you dm in session do you take notes?

 
I take my notes immediately after each session when I DM.