To all:
One of the things posted recently about having "player archetypes" for characters made me think:
How often do you have characters (PC or NPC) act "out of character" or in contradiction of archetype?
I find that when I play on my own, I tend to have characters tend to follow their personality all the time, but...everyone acts out of the norm once in a while, right?
Like, every game night...
ReplyDeleteI tend to use traits, which are similar to archetypes, I think? I find a lot of the interest is in playing against the aspects of a character. He's quick? Break a leg. How does he deal with his problems now? He's suspicious? What happens when he trusts the wrong person?
ReplyDeleteThere's a reason I always include "use some aspect of the character against them" in my Move lists, haha.
It's also part of the classic three act structure; at some point your hero must realize that his usual approach, which has worked for him so far, has just made things worse, and he'll have to try something new if he wants to solve his problems.
If I'm playing completely in character stance, and not allowed any authorial control, I do the same thing but to a lesser extent. I look for opportunities to have the hero's aspects get him into trouble -- exaggerate them -- and for opportunities for his occasional moderation to get him into worse trouble.
Mistakes are where the drama really is, in my opinion.
roll 1d10, if you get 1 the PC acts out of character ;)
ReplyDeleteHaha, I use "if two dice match" to trigger weirdness!
ReplyDeleteThis is why I like using the D&D Reaction Table mechanic + UNE for NPC's. The nice 2d6 bell curve usually means the NPC's are going to act in a fairly consistent manor...but not ALWAYS...
ReplyDeleteAnothe idea is that when the player archetype and character motives diverge in their point of focus, roll a die. On a 5 or 6 the 'player' meta games it to suit their own interest.
ReplyDeleteDepends on the game, but it's one of the reasons why I like using Vampire so much. In vampire, you have 3 key Virtues--Conscience, Self-Control, and Courage. These help "randomize" how the character will react to situations. MOST of the time, the cold but driven character (Conscience 2, Self-Control 4) will move like a shark--striking only when he must, but not being distracted by emotions.
ReplyDeleteBut sometimes? Sometimes pity gets the better of him. Sometimes he hesitates when he should have acted.
It also why I like using Pendragon for my fantasy gaming. And I've stolen a bit from it for my D&D games, assigning "values" to Good, Evil, Law and Chaos to further keep things interesting. When in doubt, roll, and go with the results.
Todd Rokely I started reading your post & thought "Pendragon". ;)
ReplyDeleteMoonSylver Pendragon has a TON of resources that make solo play a breeze. Random char get, random Feast events, random winter results, random "summer" adventures, Virtues and Vices...you hardly even need an Oracle to play it!
ReplyDelete