Playing a Character

Good players can play their character convincingly. If you do not want your game to consist only of slaying monsters and looting treasure, guide your players toward this art.

The Character Rules, in the part How to Play, describe how characters should properly behave according to their moral character, knowledge, nationality, race and what they can do.

Playing the Personality

The Character Rules describe some of the characters' personality traits. If a player wants to play a new trait, do not stop them in any way; just watch whether they play it correctly.

But definitely insist that every character has at least two personality traits, otherwise they become gray and bland. On the other hand, do not let players overload their characters with personality traits - they would forget to play many of them anyway.

Do not forget to make sure the players consistently play their characters' personality traits!

Remember that playing personality traits is what most distinguishes role-playing games from other party games. It allows players to be someone truly different from themselves.

Hardly anyone in our real world longs to kill and enslave others, but that does not mean they cannot play such a character in a fantasy world. Likewise, hardly anyone would give their hard-earned money to the poor, but characters devoted to good will do so without hesitation. Many players do not understand this difference and steer their character's desires by their own intentions.

That is not properly playing a character. So try to explain these points to your players:

— they are not playing themselves, but someone completely different

— the character they play has their own intentions and goals, and the player should lead the character toward them

— the player's knowledge is not the character's knowledge - every player can surely read and write, but most characters cannot, and the same goes for many other things

— there is nothing wrong with playing a villainous character - being on the other side of law and good; evil deeds are done not by the player but by their character

— similarly, a good character should truly promote good and help others, not “line their own pockets” - that belongs to characters who crave money

Alignment

The basic and most important personality trait is moral character (good, neutral, evil). Other rules often refer to it (white magic, necromancy)

Personality Traits in the Party

When choosing the personalities of the individual party members, aim for a certain similarity. People of completely opposite moral character would hardly band together for a dangerous expedition, and if they did, they would either soon part ways or kill each other - and the characters have to travel and live together for months or years!

Differing moral characters can also have a purpose - an evil character sneaks into a party of good characters and will try to exploit or destroy the party. In another case, a good character may infiltrate a group of evil characters to prevent them from doing evil.

Keeping Personalities Secret

The most attractive thing about role-playing games is the unknown and gradual discovery - not knowing the world where the adventure takes place, not knowing spells, magic items, the abilities of others, and also not knowing the personality and motives of others.

If a player knows that one of the characters in their group is a traitor trying to lure everyone into a trap, they will not be at all surprised when robbers fall upon them, and they will be well prepared.

A much more entertaining situation is when they trust their friend and he surprises them with a sudden attack at an unguarded moment.

Such and many other interesting situations can arise if the players do not know the personality of the other characters and only uncover the others' moral character during play - a mighty warrior turns out to be a coward, a thief may in fact be an honest good soul, and so on.

A player does not have to, and must not, reveal their character's personality to the others. Of all the players, apart from them, only the Game Master knows it.

A Player Does Not Play Their Character's Personality

If a player does not play their character's personality traits, talk to them and explain what they are doing wrong. If they still do not follow their character's personality, give them an experience penalty and explain why and for what they received it.

If even then they do not respond, try to persuade them to take a different personality.

Changing Personality Traits

During play, a character's personality may be changed by force - through spells, prayers, artifacts and the like. In such a case, explain the problem to the player and try to persuade them to cooperate and play the character's new personality correctly. Not everyone will be happy with such a forced change - in that case, try to find a way to restore their original personality - a hermit advises them to go to the temple of a certain god and make a sacrifice, a sage sends the character to a mighty wizard who can break the artifact's power, and so on.

Detecting Personality

Characters may have abilities, especially magical ones, that let them recognize the personality of others. The situation is not as simple as it might seem. If, for example, an evil sorcerer is thinking about his dinner at the moment of detection, the spell or ability marks him as neutral. If he were thinking about his wife (whom he deeply loves), he might appear good!

Playing the Race and Skills

Besides playing the personality, as the Game Master you must watch (and require) playing the race and profession. Players often choose a race that best suits their profession, which greatly lowers the quality of roleplaying. Each race manifests itself differently - barbarians and dargs should be rough, loud and boastful, dwarves stubborn, often craving gold, elves gentle, kentu mysterious and so on.

If a player does not meet your idea of playing the race, try to come to an agreement with them and explain what they are doing wrong. If they still do not change their play, suggest that they change the character, or penalize them in experience for the incorrect play (the player must always know what they are being “punished” for).

Playing the profession focuses mainly on using special abilities, and some professions may also have their own specifics: a priest should visit a temple at every possible opportunity (or spread the faith, attend services), wizards spend their free time studying and talking with non-player characters. A thief feels best in a town, where they visit taverns of dubious reputation and make contacts with the underworld.

Keeping Abilities Secret

Players should not know which race the others play (unless it is obvious at first glance), their training and what basic attributes their character has. They should only find this out during play itself, not ask “Are you a wizard?”, “Can you steal?” or “Are you a swordsman or a fighter?”. Nobody should ask such questions, let alone get an answer to them.

It will be a far bigger surprise for them when a barbarian, whom everyone considers a warrior, casts a spell and kills a ghost with it, than if they said “You're a ranger - try Wrath of the Tree on that ghost”.

Contacts

Make sure the players write their contacts in their journals. Without a record, after a few games they will forget whom they know, whom they met and what their relationship to them is.

Player Characters

Contacts also include the player characters. Players often forget what their characters have done for each other and what their real relationship is. During play you can prompt players to reassess their relationship to the others; for example, if someone repeatedly saves the others' lives, their relationship to him will probably rise; conversely, if he robs them or gambles away all the party's money at dice, their relationship to him will worsen.

Personality

Personality largely determines a character's relationship to others. In general, evil characters have few friends, and vice versa. This is one of the advantages of playing a good character - they make friends more easily and their relationship to them will be better.

Benefits of Contacts

Acquaintances make the world go round, and without contacts the characters will have a hard life. If, for example, they need to sell looted weapons and have no permit, a blacksmith or merchant they know will help them. In a foreign town they will learn the necessary (and also correct) information only from an acquaintance. If they want to obtain alchemical products at a reasonable price, they have no chance without a contact. Moreover, the characters need not wander aimlessly around the world, but can travel to visit acquaintances or relatives (maintain contacts).

Contacts bring benefits for you as the GM too: an acquaintance can contact the character on their own and find them work (a quest), can disappear so that the characters will search for them, or you can pass information about a quest to the character through their mouth.

Changing a Contact's Relationship or Strength

A player can ask you to change a contact or relationship, or you as the GM can recommend (order) it to the player.

In general, a character can reach the second level of contact strength (Con) in about 3 months, sometimes longer. The third level is reached in a year at the earliest, sometimes only after several years.

The relationship can change faster than the contact strength; for example, if a contact betrays the character, their relationship drops to -2 or -3.

Character's Patience

The basic rules make no mention of patience anywhere. This rule depends purely on your judgment as the GM. In situations where players want their character to endlessly repeat a certain activity or do something they do not enjoy (long study in a library, poorly paid hard labor, endless searching for treasure underground, long-term manufacture of a weapon and the like), have the player roll Will to see whether the character keeps at the activity. If they succeed, after some time have them repeat the roll and raise the difficulty. If they fail, tell them that their character does not wish to continue the activity (is bored). If the player insisted, you can give their character a penalty (-1, -2) to all rolls for some time due to dissatisfaction.