Institutional memory or accountant

[Wycen]

A couple weeks ago in the Pathfinder game I play in, run by the owner of Black Diamond Games, Gary, I was sitting at the table with everyone and we were faced with a situation that essentially made it very difficult to reinforce the barbarian. A thought came to mind and I asked another player, "Don't you have that magic lamp, it should be able to suck up the cloud". And voila! suddenly we could progress and help our isolated barbarian. Too late I wondered to myself, would anyone else, say like the player who owns the magic item, have remembered it?

After the game I started remembering other situations. Our ranger's magic sword was destroyed by a rust monster. I remembered reading the blog report about a session I actually missed where the ranger found another magic sword at a quarry. I asked "what about that other sword you got?" A few sessions later we were fighting a genie and in the middle of battle I remembered, "Don't we have that arrow of slaying?!" I started thinking about institutional memory.

Today I got an email from the other group I've been playing with and it irked me, which prompted this post. For reasons I wont go into I'm considering dropping out of the other group, but apparently I'm their institutional memory as well. Basically the email contained a list of magic items they believed we had and a list of stuff each of the other players wanted. But guess what? It didn't contain everything, like the missing figurine of wondrous power. Or the haunt siphons, or magic ouija board. The figurine of wondrous power particularly had me puzzled as to why it was missing because when I greedily said "ooh, mine" that prompted a couple people to say I'd already claimed enough magic items, one of the players being the guy sending the email. Who also happens to take notes during the game. Huh?

But, maybe I'm wired to remember treasure. Maybe institutional memory isn't what I bring to the table. Maybe I just love tracking numbers and stuff. I do of course, at least when it comes to games like DnD/Pathfinder. Obviously other things pop into my memory, which have helped with bonuses to diplomacy rolls, but they don't seem to leave as big an impression in my memory.

And if the wiki for institutional memory is correct, "it transcends the individual" so if just one guy remembers this stuff, is that the same thing? Maybe I'm just an accountant.

So does your group have institutional memory? How has it affected your games? Or maybe you have an accountant?

 

[Gilladian]

I only have two players, and I make magic item cards for all magical and alchemical items, so it is a bit different than your situation; but I have one player who keeps a journal all during our campaigns. She's done it for 20 years, so I do think she counts as "institutional" in one way or another!

I strongly suggest that you try getting your DM to use item cards. They make leafing through a stack of stuff much more doable, and handing items in after use ensures they don't get "recycled", nor "multiplied" when two people want the same ring of protection, for example.

 

[Janx]

sounds like your friends are lousy at tracking equipment. And lousy at remembering.

I use a seperate sheet of paper from my char sheet to track items and money I find and spend.
If I find 20 gold, I write "+20 GP" on it
if I sell my old longsword +1, I write "-1 longsword +1"

after the game, I integrate those changes into my charsheet so when I print it for the next game, it is up to date. I throw out the scratch sheet. it's job is to prevent losing inventory information, and avoid messing up my sheet with eraser marks on stuff that may come and go in the game session.

it's simple D&D accounting.


that may not totally fix your friends, but lack of inventory management is hurting them.

 

[Rune]

When I run games, I embrace the surreal. When players' memories (or lack thereof) collide, I do my best to incorporate the resulting conglomeration of perception into the game. The fantasy of the game is all the more enriched thereby.

As a player, though, you might just have to accept your role as the lorekeeper of the campaign and get on with things. If the players are always turning to you to remember things, that essentially makes you the liaison to the DM. That's a pretty important role.

 

[Janx]

And if the wiki for institutional memory is correct, "it transcends the individual" so if just one guy remembers this stuff, is that the same thing? Maybe I'm just an accountant.

Institutional memory or knowledge normally implies the info is spread around across all the old-timers. Your friends just can't keep remember or track stuff.

You're not an accountant, because you aren't writing it down. Accountants don't rely on memory, they record and track.

You've got a good memory and your friends don't.


As the inverse, memory is how we hose our GM from time to time. In that we squirrel away every item we get and it may not see play for years. then, when put in a pinch by the GM, we whip out the one item that can save our bacon in an unexpected way. He'll question where we got it, and we'll remind him of the exact adventure where it came from.

Good times.

 

[delericho]

Conversely, IMC the rule is "if it's not written on your character sheet, you don't have it". So institutional memory is no good - clearly, if the player didn't note down that second magic sword, the character felt it wasn't important enough to actually take.

Yes, I am a mean DM.

 

[Wycen]

You're not an accountant, because you aren't writing it down. Accountants don't rely on memory, they record and track.

I did not mention it, but in fact I take notes for the first campaign. But as instances of memory, I didn't write down the sword from the quarry, since I wasn't even at the session, nor did I write down the magic lamp, though I was present for that session. Flipping through and deciphering notes during combat is a great way to slow the game down so I don't do that.

I suppose they could be bad a record keeping, but I know the other players can remember details of our past campaigns.

 

[Crothian]

I am the group accountant quite literally as I do the taxes for 80% of the group. We have players that are good at note keeping and if they do forget about some items then it is gone. But sometimes as DM I am nicer as it is just a game and I know they have more important things on their minds.

 

[Janx]

Conversely, IMC the rule is "if it's not written on your character sheet, you don't have it". So institutional memory is no good - clearly, if the player didn't note down that second magic sword, the character felt it wasn't important enough to actually take.

Yes, I am a mean DM.

I might cut them some slack if I deem it a simple mistake, but generally, I agree.

The char sheet is your inventory. If you don't have it written down, you don't have it. I'd especially enforce this if there's frequent failure to document.

The effort to manage a character sheet is minimal and failure to do so is either incompetence or disinterest, of which I can only help solve so far as GM.

 

[3catcircus]

Really very simple - inventory management and encounter management used to be a part of the game that is now considered "not fun," so most people don't do it to the level they need to.

How many of you record details of encounters with NPCs? How many record the details of how a magic item was lost or expended?

Most of this falls on the DM to enforce by way of, as previously mentioned, if not on char sheet, not in possession. Likewise, if not recorded by someone and they forget I'll give the player a chance to "remember" some detail by way of an attribute check. Can't remember and failed the check and not critical to the campaign? Sorry, you forgot.