I thought it would be fun for the 5 year anniversary to take a look at the most viewed post on this blog. In truth this is the second most viewed post, but the first most viewed is only that because 1) it was for a blog carnival and 2) it somehow made it onto a page that all the spammers use to find blog posts in hopes of luring clicks.
So, what is this blog post? It was a ranty post on how a Player should know their character sheet. You can find it here. Below the break are my thoughts on that post.
Hilariously enough, I also did a redux of this post a few years back, and much like then I still feel the same way. The post has a lot of good information in it, but it loses some punch in the ranty way it comes out.
Knowing your character sheet is a very big deal as a Player. I am not sure if I would say it is the most important thing still, but it is definitely the most important mechanical thing you need to know. Again, even if you don't know the system itself you can speed up the helping process by knowing the sheet. If the GM calls for an Acrobatics roll, and you know you have an acrobatics skill (which is flagged as a dex skill) on your sheet your question can be "I have an Acrobatics 15 and a Dex 12, what do I roll?" As opposed to the more generic question of "how do I roll?" which makes someone else (the GM) have to look at your sheet or help find things.
I think that you can get around this by having someone willing to help you. If you know you're not good at this part (the mechanical part) of a game, and get someone to help you with it, you're fine too. The main point here is to have a handle on your character's personal mechanics to not slow the game down, or worse make people think you aren't interested in the game.
How about you? What are your thoughts on this?
Ironically I think that the more complex the game, the more personal responsibility the individual player holds in regards to their sheet. I think it is important to understand what is on your sheet, and if you as a player can't understand, talk to a fellow player or the GM to make a sheet that describes what things mean on your sheet so you can know what to do at all times. It's why I like making very detailed sheets for games like Dark Heresy when I have players that aren't as conversant with the system.
ReplyDeleteAs a regular GM I have periodically thought (and infrequently said), "Here's the deal - you run your character & I'll run the rest of the entire universe. It's a good deal." :-p
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