Not Getting To Play

[Jay R]

Not at all. Who really wants to spend their turn just rolling and not actually accomplishing anything? Are you really in the encounter if you cannot contribute in any way?

I do, sometimes. I mean, obviously, there is no single encounter that I want that to happen, but I believe that sometimes my character should be blocked, and saved by others, and sometimes the other character should be blocked, and I get to save them. That's what a team is.

I don't have to be a major player in each encounter. I do want to be a major player over the course of the session.

It's no different from being a quarterback in American football, and sitting down when the other team has the ball. Or portraying a character in a play, who is sometimes offstage.

I reject the idea that I should always be center stage. My 2e Thief was the only one acting when sneaking into the enemy's camp, but he then did far less damage during the fight -- sometimes none. My 3.5e illusionist was much less effective against the undead (who don't see illusions). But his illusions have devastated other opponents. I don't get annoyed when my friends get the chance to be the hero; they don't get annoyed when I get the chance.

My abilities outshine the others sometimes, and they outshine mine at other times. If I can always attack with my best weapon, then the GM is not showing enough imagination, and I'm not getting the full measure of challenge and suspense I should get. There should be some encounters when I have to be clever or do something unusual.

I don't believe that the best character is one who can meet every challenge. I believe that the best party is one that always has somebody who can meet the challenge.

Superman carries the mountain away when Batman can't do it. Batman carries the kryptonite away when Superman can't do it.

It always frustrates me when someone says "just buy new armor or a ranged weapon." That may work at lower levels, but when you are a melee type with 12 DEX and have spent a lot of money on your armor and weapon, it makes no sense to expect them to spend the same amount on something they will only use rarely.

First of all, if they would only use it rarely, then it's not a big deal - the situation only comes up rarely. Wait for your chance in the next melee, or come up with a clever idea to upset things for the enemy. I once had a first level wizard, who had already used up all his spells, get behind a goblin on hands and knees, just so the fighter could push him over. [And in an SCA battle, when I lost my sword arm, I charged the enemies with shield and no weapon, just to distract them and let my allies hit them.]

Secondly, I will never have a martial character who doesn't have both a ranged weapon and a melee weapon. My archer has a much cheaper backup sword, and my melee fighter always has a bow or throwing knives or something. [In fact, my lower level warriors always have a backup bludgeoning weapon, just for skeletons, even if it's just a quarterstaff.]

Besides being proper game tactics and proper narrative, it's also proper simulation. Roman legionaries carried javelins. Longbowmen carried swords. Riflemen have bayonets today.

Anyway, the players are not the PCs. It's bad if the players aren't getting to play the game. But the PCs can be any form of ____ed, up to and including dead, and the players still be playing the game if they aren't limited to just playing the PCs. Simply allowing a player to puppet an NPC (friend or foe) while their PC is disabled can keep the player in the game.

You're in luck. Most games have exactly this mechanic. In D&D 3.5e, for instance, there are familiars, animal companions, cohorts, hirelings, summoned creatures, and more. Any player who wants to play more than one creature can design such a build. My current player has a familiar, and just hired a bodyguard. He also often summons creatures. The one before that had an animal companion and a cohort.


It's not the GM's job to create an easy way for my PC to shine. It's the GM's job to create obstacles and problems for my PC. It's my job to overcome them.