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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Tony Vargas" data-source="post: 7288163" data-attributes="member: 996">I don't exactly disagree, but it does seem a key assumption of 'spotlight balance...'...absent that assumption, it could be fine for one player to play the James Bond or Gandalf or whatever, and the rest of the players side-kicks and supporting cast who are just there to ooh an ah over his feats.   That may or may not be true depending on the proclivities of the group.  But, a system can have 'netrunner syndrome' (there can be aspects of the game that can only be resolved 1:1 and outright exclude other players), or not, regardless of how a give group feels about being spectators for a while. All talk of 'multitasking' aside, yeah, that's a limitation of human DMs.  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" />Nod.  DM attention is a fair approximation of splotlight time, but the attention/interest of the rest of the table can be a part of it, too - and the attention being basically positive for your character, being exciting or interesting or at least successful.  Even if the DM spends a lot of time paying attention to your character as it fails miserably time & again and you get annoyed and frustrated, is it still 'spotlight?' <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /> Incomplete, anyway.  System mastery is one skill, and in some games, like 3.x D&D, a very potent or heavily over-rewarded one.  But there are others, skill at manipulating the DM is even more powerful & broadly applicable, for instance.  Gygaxian 'skilled play' is distinct from system mastery, too.</blockquote>

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