What are your player traits and incentives? (from DMG II)

[Quickleaf]

Joshua, this is a great poll! Thanks!

I noticed the leading motivations were: Accumulating Cool Powers, Kicking Butt, Brilliant Planning, and Story. The conclusion I draw from this is (and other conclusions can be drawn)...

Many players use D&D as a way to vent steam while exercising their mind. "I want cool powers that facilitate me using my imagination in order to kick butt. And I want to be entertained by a good story which emphasizes me getting my powers, beating the odds with a genius plan, and kicking butt."

I think a follow-up poll to this that looks closer at each of these four motives in more detail would be beneficial for the industry. For example....

What kinds of powers do your players want?
- Butt kicking combat powers
- Powers which facilitate, adapt to, and inspire my imagination
- Ability to directly affect the story
- Power to control the course of a nation
- Reputation, fame, gold, and glory

What kind of conflicts do your players like?
- Clear cut good versus evil (and we're the goodies)
- Clear cut good versus evil (and we're the baddies)
- Morally gray conflicts that require a choice be made
- Facing hordes of minions to hack through
- Facing interesting and cunning villains

What do players feel about their brilliant plans?
- I should get a bonus to my roll for a clever idea and good description
- I should be able to spend an action point and pull it off
- I make plans so that I can kick butt with an overwhelming victory
- I make plans so that I can outthink the mastermind villain
- I wish my DM would be more consistent about rulings on my plans
- I wish my DM would be more free-wheeling about my plans
- I feel insufficiently challenged creatively

What do players feel about the story?
- It should be focused on me gaining power, being brilliant, and kicking butt
- I would like more direct control over the story
- I want to be surprised by somebody else's story
- I want my actions to have a direct influence on the story's outcome
- I feel my DM railroads us for his/her story
- I feel my DM doesn't provide us with enough direction
- I enjoy really complex, twisting stories

Cheers!

 

[Nightfall]

For me, story and powers are cool. No idea what my players like since I rarely get to game with the same guys ever.

 

[Galethorn]

Story, Favorite Role, and Kicking Butt, in that order.

You see, I like [Cool Stuff] going on; surprises, tension, and so forth.

And I like being the guy who's always calm and in control; from the same mold as Aragorn, Obi-Wan, and Mal from Firefly. Usually a 'warrior' type, seldom of the young and inexperienced sort.

And I like beating up bad guys.

 

[Henry]

Just bought the DMG 2 Today.

After reading the categories, while I like the addition of some of them (irresponsibility and outlier, specifically) some of the traits remaned from Robin's Laws do NOT capture these players accurately. The "Lurker" is not a good title for a "Casual Gamer" to me; I AM a Casual Gamer, in part, and "Lurker" does to me express what that trait is about.

I'm a combination Storyteller/Casual Gamer, myself -- beyond the fun of the unfolding tale, if you tell me you've got "Old Maid: The RPG" ready to playtest, I'm there, my friend. It's about the friends and the fun, and the meeting people.

 

[MoogleEmpMog]

Cool Powers, Story, Favorite Role* and Supercoolness*

The latter two got my vote, but I didn't look at the post to see that they referred to, in the former case, ONE role, and in the latter, to that role ALWAYS being Supercool.

I always want a compelling Story and Cool Powers - probably why I like console RPGs more than PC RPGs, and, for that matter, a system like SilCore or HERO, where there's little emphasis on advancement of power, more than a system like D&D.

Fascinating poll.

Oh, and Story has caught Kicking Butt as of my vote. Go story! Kick Kicking Butt's butt!

Erm...

 

[Quicken]

I have a friend who is 100% lurker. She'd show up, create the character, learn the rules, the whole deal. But was ultimately unmotivated to do anything in game. Was more interested in salted cashews. Henry, I think you're a lurker but because you are also the storyteller you have motivation to be active in the game.

In the end I had to stop inviting my friend to play. Kinda sad really but it was dragging everyone down when she'd decide rather than shopping in town for a magical item she'd rather have her character have a nap. And so would deliberatly put her character aside for hours and just listen in on what everyone else was doing. I was DM and went so far as to have an NPC kick her awake, have her attacked every time she took watch and anything I could to get her to DO something.

 

[The Shaman]

Setting Explorer. Most definitely. My prime directive.

 

[diaglo]

irresponsibility.

i'm playing a kender dragonhunter

 

[Joshua Randall]

Let's hear it for Brilliant Planning! As a player, I will happily spend two hours of real time planning in minute detail how the PCs should attack the dragon -- and I will be completely satisfied if we get the jump on it and take it down in two rounds of game time and five minutes of real time.

Sometimes the Butt Kickers get in the way of my Brilliant Planning, because they just want to hack stuff up with no regard for maximizing our advantage and minimizing our risk. Which is frustrating to me as a Brilliant Planner... but only mildly so. As long as I get to make Brilliant Plans sometimes, I'm happy.



And just to get this out of the way now:
[Blackadder] A plan so cunning you could pin a tail on it and call it a weasel. [/Blackadder]

 

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

Brilliant planning, story, exploration. Not necessarily in that order.