First-Person or Third-Person Perspective for your supplements?

[Roudi]

To begin, I have to disclose that my curiosity here is primarily a matter of market research.

When you read game mechanics in a supplement, do you prefer them to be written in first-person or third-person perspective?

Do you like:

"You gain a +1 bonus to your Stupendousness score"

over

"A hero may choose to gain +1 Stupendousness"

or vice-versa?

I'm not interested in hearing what people think the standard is or what others have written in the past... I want to know what all of you personally think or feel about the subject.

Vote away, folks, and feel free to elaborate.

 

[Crothian]

third person.

 

[C. Baize]

Really doesn't matter to me, either way.

 

[lukelightning]

Second person solves the gendered pronoun problem.

Which, coincidently, is a great name for a band.

 

[Roudi]

Second person solves the gendered pronoun problem.

That's a very good point.

 

[lukelightning]

The Warhammer fantasy RPG uses second person, and has a humorous note about it in the beginning, something to the effect of "the text uses second person to refer to the player character. For example, the talent of fearless states "you are uncommonly brave and can resist fear." While there are many brave players of Warhammer, this actually refers to the character and not the actual player's personality..."

 

[Vraille Darkfang]

Second Person is Fine when I'm making a character (I.E. YOU get this neat effect), since, I am, indeed, getting the effect mentioned (or my character is).

But, when I'm DM'in & making up villains or tweaking monsters, the Second Person is not fine (I.E. I'm NOT getting the neat effect, my villian, monster, etc is). Since I'm not getting the mentioned effect (or might be giving it to dozens of opponents) Third person is the way to go.


Or, when I'm making a character, I'm doing it in First Person (I'm taking Weapon Specilization), thus text saying "You get +2 to damage" is correct; I'm getting +2 to damage. But, when I give my Advanced Troll Fighters Weapon Specialization text saying "You get +2 to damage" is wrong, as I'm NOT getting a damage bonus, my trolls are.

Third person is OK, when I'm making up a character & is what I prefer when DM'ing.

So, I guess Third Person is my prefered route if I can't have my books switch point of view based on how I'm reading it.

 

[Shade]

Third person, because when I'm wearing the DM cap, "you" generally means "the NPC/creature/etc.", so "you" doens't feel right.

The only time "you" feels right is when I'm a player reading something geared towards my character.

 

[interwyrm]

Also, I prefer pronouns that are ambiguous to always use the male form. Sorry folks, that's just how we do (or are supposed to do) in the English language. Not to mention that the majority of rpg'ers are male.

 

[Roudi]

Sorry folks, that's just how we do (or are supposed to do) in the English language.

I'll strongly disagree with that. As an English Major, using a male pronoun for a subject of ambiguous or no gender is tantamount to telling women to "get back in the kitchen." This is coming from the professors; you know, those guys and gals with the PhDs. I tend to take their word on things like this.


Mind you, I don't expect gaming supplements to be written like university papers. When I write in the third person, I switch up my gendered pronouns in cases where either could work. I keep them consistent within a class or feat writeup, for example, but from class to class or feat to feat I will switch which pronoun I use. Sometimes it's easier to illustrate a situation with two people by implying that one is male and the other is female, and thus being able to use gendered pronouns alone to refer to them.