Roles of the Game

[Frostmarrow]

-To Diaglo. I know everything is pointless. Nevertheless, this afternoon I like to define roles.

...

I've narrowed the field down to six different roles. I need some help with the labeling (lousy names in italics:

Everybody's best friend
Herald
Sage
Troubleshooter
Jester
Sentinel

The Everbody's best friend's job is to make sure the party agrees on the things that matter the most. His job is also to see to that everybody is healthy in body and spirit.

The Herald's job is to make sure the partys is presented to NPC in style. The herald strikes the bargains and makes the friends. He accepts mission's on the party's behalf.

The Sage is wizened in the history of the world. The sage gets the player's handouts and any campaign material from the GM. The sage is key to see the big picture.

Troubleshooter's job is to bypass or break through any physical obstacles that stands in the way of the party and the mission objective. The troubleshooter picks the locks, builds the bridges, and wrestles the hydras.

The Jester's job is to keep things moving forward. When things slow to a halt it's on the jester to shake things up again - for better or worse.

The Sentinel's job to warn the party from imminent danger. The sentinel is aware of tracks, secrets, and hidden agendas.

 

[Thanee]

Role #1: Something player #1 is comfortable with and has fun playing.
Role #2: Something player #2 is comfortable with and has fun playing.
Role #3: Something player #3 is comfortable with and has fun playing.
Role #4: Something player #4 is comfortable with and has fun playing.

Roles #1-4 should but not necessarily have to be fundamentally different.

The GM (and to some degree the players also) is (are) there to make sure Role #1 through #4 will fit together into a certain whole and not taking away from each other, which might lead to two or more of the characters not being able to play together eventually.

Within these boundaries, everything goes, I guess.

I generally like the iconic D&D distribution of roles, that would be warrior, mystic, healer and expert in a fantasy style setting.

I think every character can play multiple roles also, i.e. leader is not a role, which takes up 100% of the "character energy", but can easily be merged with any other role.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Frostmarrow]

Role #1: Something player #1 is comfortable with and has fun playing.
Role #2: Something player #2 is comfortable with and has fun playing.
Role #3: Something player #3 is comfortable with and has fun playing.
Role #4: Something player #4 is comfortable with and has fun playing.

Roles #1-4 should but not necessarily have to be fundamentally different.

The GM (and to some degree the players also) is (are) there to make sure Role #1 through #4 will fit together into a certain whole and not taking away from each other, which might lead to two or more of the characters not being able to play together eventually.

Within these boundaries, everything goes, I guess.

I generally like the iconic D&D distribution of roles, that would be warrior, mystic, healer and expert in a fantasy style setting.

I think every character can play multiple roles also, i.e. leader is not a role, which takes up 100% of the "character energy", but can easily be merged with any other role.

Bye
Thanee

I see your point. Anyhoo, I like the distribution of roles in D&D too, I've just decided to see things from another perspective than the classic four clover. Now that I've defined six roles it's easy to sort the classes into those roles, should one be so inclined. If you have any more input I will listen carefully. -A good label for Everybody's best friend and Troubleshooter, perhaps? (And please don't suggest cleric )

Consider this: I haven't got the role of the sneaky guy covered in the list of six. This is done on purpose. Since the sneaky guy needs to leave the party to do his schtick the role is not necessary as part of the group. The roles covered can all function at the table and get their fair share of "screen time". When it comes to combat I assume that players get to be in the spotlight (on their turn) an equal amount of time too.

 

[Voadam]

If it was a story there would be:

Protagonist: the hero the story centers around. (Frodo) (Luke)

The guide: someone who shows the hero the way. (Gandalf) (Ben Kenobi)

The helper: someone who assists the hero (Samwise) (Han)

The opposition: someone the hero must conflict with (wraiths, orcs, etc.) (Darth Vader)

However in an RPG it is not focused on one hero but on a group where each individual takes the spotlight at different times. Each PC becomes the Hero at some point.

 

[Acid_crash]

This is a good topic to have written about in a article in either ENWorld Magazine or Dragon Magazine or some kind of magazine or freebie off the 'net. This is probably a topic that not too many gamers ever think about, and just seeing it mentioned has me thinking.

 

[Ourph]

These are the 4 roles I would say cover every facet of a complete adventuring group dynamic.

1. The General.
2. The Taciturn Muscle (also acts as the straight-man).
3. The Face-man.
4. The Crazy Guy (also acts as the comedy relief).

Yes, that's right, the A-Team defines the perfect D&D adventuring group.

 

[Samothdm]

I can think of five different roles:

Natural Man: The leader; tries to get people to work together (Ralph) (Charlie Brown)
Intellectual Man: The thinker; provides analysis (Piggy) (Shroeder)
Spiritual Man: The wise-one; sees things differently (Simon) (Linus)
Immoral Man: The jerk; knows the difference between right and wrong, but chooses wrong (Jack) (Lucy)
Amoral Man: This is your wildcard; has no moral compass whatsoever (Roger) (Snoopy)

You can also slot the Brothers Karamazov and their father into the above schematic, but to be honest I forget their names and who-was-who.