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<blockquote data-quote="Pedantic" data-source="post: 8995038" data-attributes="member: 6690965">I think there's another dimension here. System knowledge plays a bigger role in this kind of play than probably anything other than pure challenge/tactical play. I've definitely had to nurse players past disappointment when they've realized some definitional part of what their character is supposed to be isn't well supported by the rules, usually because the structure of the game as a game (usually combat) requires them to engage to some degree an ability/competence they have planned not to express in a given character, or because they've announced a character competence the rules don't actually support.That latter is most often a problem with protagonism; they're looking for a story beat that matches the experience of a protagonist in other media, where million to one chances go the right way just the one time, or a character escapes danger without actually doing anything to mitigate it, in systems that don't actually allow for narrative manipulation of situation that way.However, this can swing the other way with experienced players. I don't think I've seen anyone that seems to fit into this bucket who's really a one-trick PC. They might have themes/abilities they like, but they aren't playing the same character repeatedly, and generally seem to relish having a variety of OCs. Once they've internalized how a set of rules works and what it supports, they've tended to just preemptively constrain their character choices to something workable within the system. Given enough information, it's not really a problem to say, not play a sneak thief in a game that doesn't have a robust stealth system.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Pedantic, post: 8995038, member: 6690965"] I think there's another dimension here. System knowledge plays a bigger role in this kind of play than probably anything other than pure challenge/tactical play. I've definitely had to nurse players past disappointment when they've realized some definitional part of what their character is supposed to be isn't well supported by the rules, usually because the structure of the game as a game (usually combat) requires them to engage to some degree an ability/competence they have planned not to express in a given character, or because they've announced a character competence the rules don't actually support. That latter is most often a problem with protagonism; they're looking for a story beat that matches the experience of a protagonist in other media, where million to one chances go the right way just the one time, or a character escapes danger without actually doing anything to mitigate it, in systems that don't actually allow for narrative manipulation of situation that way. However, this can swing the other way with experienced players. I don't think I've seen anyone that seems to fit into this bucket who's really a one-trick PC. They might have themes/abilities they like, but they aren't playing the same character repeatedly, and generally seem to relish having a variety of OCs. Once they've internalized how a set of rules works and what it supports, they've tended to just preemptively constrain their character choices to something workable within the system. Given enough information, it's not really a problem to say, not play a sneak thief in a game that doesn't have a robust stealth system. [/QUOTE]

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