Easing in a rules-shy player.

[Werther von G]

Finally reached critical mass (four interested players) for an AU chronicle, and have begun the character generation stage. It's going fairly well -- we've got a decent mix of character concepts, and the players are eager. I'm having a bit of trouble with one, though, and I figured I'd ask the assembled for help.

She's a solid roleplayer -- been LARPing for more than a decade, loves immersion, thrives on drama and character interaction. However, she likes her system stuff *transparent*. Too much thinking about the choices she has to make as a player jolts her out of character and frustrates her to the point where the game becomes less fun. This means that she's shunned the more combat-heavy classes in the past, in favor of the magically oriented ones. (Picking a spell off a list of daily options was fine by her, as was the system in Mage: The Ascension because it could be reduced to "You have the Sphere of X, which means you can manipulate X to some degree. If you want to pull off an effect, ask the Storyteller if you can, and then roll some dice.")

Last night, we started going over the AU magic system, and we hit a wall. She doesn't like the trichotomy of spells available/spells ready/slots -- she doesn't see why working with those subsets would be any fun at all. And she threw up her hands in frustration at any mention of the other complications and complexities that are available.

Now, she's willing to go along to get along, but I'd really like to help her in any way that I can. She's made a verrik mageblade that she likes, and I want to give her a way to play the character that will allow her to do cool stuff while allowing her to bypass the extra complexity that she feels "too dumb" to handle well. (She's a little insecure about it.)

Any suggestions?

 

[Pielorinho]

Actually, I would suggest that she consider a non-spellcasting class: spellcasting is very complicated in AU. My brother is having a blast with his unfettered character in our game. They're very swashbuckling and cinematic and have plenty of room for players with flair to excel.

Daniel

 

[drnuncheon]

It might help to have a more visual representation of things.

First, spell cards. Put all the spells she knows onto index cards. Tell her to pick X cards each day for the spells she knows.

Now, for slots. Mageblades get 8 levels of spells (0-7), so you need 8 different colors of something - glass beads, maybe. Each represents a spell slot.

Now, all she has to do is look at the card, pick the effect, and hand over the bead that's the right color. Simple. Later you can get into trading beads (weaving & unraveling).

 

[Werther von G]

First, spell cards. Put all the spells she knows onto index cards. Tell her to pick X cards each day for the spells she knows.

Now, for slots. Mageblades get 8 levels of spells (0-7), so you need 8 different colors of something - glass beads, maybe. Each represents a spell slot.

Now, all she has to do is look at the card, pick the effect, and hand over the bead that's the right color. Simple.

You know, that's actually one of the solutions I had in mind. Great minds and all that. Thanks for the independent confirmation of our mutual brilliance

 

[drnuncheon]

Thanks for the independent confirmation of our mutual brilliance

Too bad I'm no longer in Boston, I'd actually like to play AU 'stead of running it...

J

 

[Anthraxus]

Perhaps she could just learn the rules pertaining to her class, anyway? She doesn't need to know all the grappling rules intimately if she's going to be a spellcaster, for example. Or sunder. Or disarm. Etc...

Not to be blunt, but is it too much to ask her to learn some of the rules that she might need to play the class? If she is playing the game, it'd be good to know some of the rules of that game. :\

-A

 

[Pielorinho]

I've had players like this, who aren't so hot at the rules but who excel at coming up with and playing interesting, compelling characters with a very plothook rich backstory. Although an ideal player would be the perfect roleplayer AND a rules-monkey, I've got no problem with a player who just does an exceptional job at the character end of things.

Daniel

 

[GoodKingJayIII]

I agree. The rules are there to support the story and game. You're being patient with her and welcoming her to the game, that's good. But be sure and try to teach her the rules as well. The glass beads, spell cards, etc. are a great way to learn, and I think I'll be incorporating it into my game.

If she wants to be mystical but dislikes the spellcasting system, perhaps consider the Akashic? They are a great class, capable of a lot of different things. Sounds like you're all squared away with the Mage Blade though. Good luck and good gaming!

 

[Umbran]

Not to be blunt, but is it too much to ask her to learn some of the rules that she might need to play the class? If she is playing the game, it'd be good to know some of the rules of that game. :\

Not to be blunt, but frequently enough, the question isn't that simple Whether or not it is too much to ask does not tell us whether, having learned the rules, she will be comfortable or facile with them.

I submit for your perusal this article by Sean K Reynolds.

Now, Mr. Reynolds is talking about what people like to do. RPGs have many facets, and different people are interested in different facets. But it also seems to follow that there shold be different skills associated with those facets.

To simplify for the case at hand - role playing games can be divided into playing a game (fiddling with the rules to gain advantage) and playing a role (acting and storytelling). And those skills are perhaps not strongly related. A player can be good at one but not the other.

So, we've got a player who is really good at the role-play aspects, and does not like the rules-aspect. In addition, she doesn't feel she's good at the rules aspect, and feels a bit insecure about it. If she's tossed in with a bunch of gear-head players, she may be worried about being an effective and useful member of the party.

The usual simple solution is that perhaps a rules-heavy game isn't the best thing for her. However, gaming is a social event as much as anyting else. If this is a bunch of friends and all the others want to play AU, then perhaps some work shoring up her weak areas can yield a great game for everyone.

The bookkeeping aid is a good idea, and the cards and beads might work well. But they also constitute physical objects that can get knocked off the table, or otherwise get in a confusing jumble. You can also make up a paper alternative - give her a list of the spells she can prepare. Then a piece of paper with one section giving her lines for her spells per level she can prepare to fill in. The other section is check boxes for spell slots used per day. Properly laid out, it can be pretty intuitive.

Other things you can do...

Start at low level, and don't push for quick advancement. At low level, the character doesn't have that many options, and failing to use some of them generally won't hamstring her character. It is quite possible to take a 1st level D&D party from 1st to 2nd level in a single session. You should avoid the temptation to do that. The rules-shy player may need more time to get used to basics before moving on to more advanced possibilities.

In initial sessions, accentuate the basics. If the player is leery of the spells known/prepared/cast mechanic, make sure there's an unambiguous place to practice it. You can telegraph, "You will be going dungeon crawling tomorrow, you might want to prepare different spells".

If a player is insecure in one area, make sure she has chances to shine in areas she's strong. If she's a strong role-player, make sure that there's situation in which the rules aren't nearly as important as role-playing.

A good role-player should know the difference between character knowledge and player knowledge. Use that to her advantage. Every character can be fed certain simple information like, "Your character would know that if she moved 5 feet to the left, she can get a flanking bonus on her attack. You can do so at no penalty, if you wish." Or, "The nearby ruined wall would priovide you with good cover from the archers." If the player has spare skill points, and the character is the right type to take them, make sure to allow her to use appropriate Knowledge skills to get more subtle hints. You might just assume that any time the player misses an option that would be obvious to her if she were Taking 10 on the appropriate Knowledge check, a hint would be in order.

It is good to give a rules-shy player options and present them with rules-choices to make. However, don't swamp them with too many at one time. That'll leave her feeling confused and awash in a sea of things she's already apprehansive about. Avoid the, "Well, you can full-attack, single attack, or you might try to disarm or sunder the opponent's weapon, or you could back off and cast a spell..." To start with, keep suggestions limited to a couple options that are clearly reasonable and useful.

If you're looking for answers really specific to AU mechanics, this forum is a good place for this. I don't think you'd be out of line to post something like this in General, where it'd get more responses that are less system-specific.

 

[Henry]

She's DEFINITELY not going to like the templating, the weaving and unravelling, the heightening and diminishing, or the "spells known each day" part. My suggestion would be indeed the index cards, and just help her decide what she knows more like a sorcerer (set in stone) than in AU (changeable). She won't be battle-optimized, but that's not her goal, either.