Playing the Chessmaster

[Scintillatus]

Playing, not DMing; important distinction. I can manipulate anyone when I know the board is wholly in my possession. What I want to do is manipulate everyone when the board is someone else's.

Ignoring system, class (or whatever else), or power level, I'd like some advice from more experienced gamers on how to play a compelling Chessmaster. Tropes to avoid, cool stylistic advice, tips on particularly effective manipulations, etc; provide me with your brain meats for consumption. Stories of your badassery would also be good.

Tips on how to get away with this out of character would be nice too. Being sneaky is one thing, not getting caught is another. I think I can handle people knowing I intend to play a manipulator beforehand, but then ways to conceal my true plans would be useful.

Thanks and stuff.

Edit: The definition, so I'm not entirely indecipherable

[Saeveo]

Tropes to avoid,

Tropes Are Not Bad. Rather, I'd try to use tropes for ideas. If you're trying to play the Chessmaster, or Magnificent Bastard, the Xanatos Gambit is a must, and the Xanatos Roulette is highly recommended.

Also, someone really needs to start converting some of these things to classes. T'would be ridiculously funny.

[Kurald Galain]

I would recommend the book Nine Princes In Amber, by Roger Zelazny (it's not that big a book) and the related roleplaying game by Phage Press. It's chessmastery at its finest.

[Kurald Galain]

I would recommend the book Nine Princes In Amber, by Roger Zelazny (it's not that big a book) and the related roleplaying game by Phage Press. It's chessmastery at its finest.

[Kurald Galain]

I would recommend the book Nine Princes In Amber, by Roger Zelazny (it's not that big a book) and the related roleplaying game by Phage Press. It's chessmastery at its finest.

[Halcyon_Dax]

I once had a character who was an artificer (Ebberon) and was extremly distrustful of his party. Over the course of the campaign he: planted a lethal explosive inside the warforged, and gave fire-resist (but acid damage+, he does mostly acid damage) necklaces.

Then using a series of elaborate ruses he tricked all of them into beliving the others were dangerous, enemies, insane, etc.
Some good bluffs and suggestions later the Warforged is coup'de'gras-ing the sleeping shifter with a newly shifter-bane'd weapon, while convieniently the warmage and I are going for a walk and discussing the possibility that the warforged would betray us. When the 'forged calls me on its communicator saying "the deed is done" I activate the explosive and act (to the warmage) as if they must have been attacked. We rush back, and then its a simple matter to finish off the suprised unprepared and weak to acid warmage.

FYI. This was a heavily intrigue oriented game of plotting and chessmastery. I'm not usually such a bastard. :P

Besides, we were trying to rap up our 3.5 campaign for 4ed.


Goodluck with your chessmastery!

[Indon]

I would recommend the book Nine Princes In Amber, by Roger Zelazny (it's not that big a book) and the related roleplaying game by Phage Press. It's chessmastery at its finest.

I'd recommend the entire Chronicles of Amber, by Roger Zelazny. It _is_ that big a book because it's Nine Princes and the next 9 books in the series after it in one compilation.

[Scintillatus]

Hey, I wouldn't be playing the Chessmaster if I didn't like tropes. But I also don't want to be a walking wiki, after all. :p

As far as the Gambit or Roulette goes - one part of his backstory will be that his life is one giant Gambit. I was inspired to go this route for the character by seeing The Prestige.

[Kurald Galain]

I'd recommend the entire Chronicles of Amber, by Roger Zelazny.

If you put it that way, I'd recommend the entire oeuvre of Roger Zelazny. But hey, a man's gotta start somewhere. I've never met anyone who, after reading the first book, didn't eagerly ask for the other nine.

[Scintillatus]

More practical advice based on experience (like Dax's story, thank you very much Dax) would be more use to me than literary examples; I don't need inspiration, I need tips for carrying that inspiration out in a situation where I am neither the writer nor the master of my domain.

But I'll add the recommendation to my book list.

[Newtkeeper]

I presume chessmaster is a metaphor, given that taking ranks in Profession: Chess-player would be too easy.

You seem to imply that being a chessmaster implies social manipulation. Ruleswise, buy plenty of appropriate knowledge skills. OOCwise, pick your battles. Don't try to rule everything from behind the scenes, just the ones you feel are critical. Fewer attempts--> fewer chances to get caught. If you trust your DM to keep a secret, ask him about how you should handle this.

In an ideal world, all players would be able to keep IC and OOC so separate that they could know about your manipulation OOC but keep their PCs from acting on it. This may not be practicable, though- and isn't, for the average group.

Final tip: your fun doesn't trump everyone else. If the other players won't mind a few mind games, full steam ahead! If they will, for the love of Gygax don't do it! Roleplaying is, above all, a group activity. Hurting other people's fun is wrong~bad

[puppyavenger]

If you put it that way, I'd recommend the entire oeuvre of Roger Zelazny. But hey, a man's gotta start somewhere. I've never met anyone who, after reading the first book, didn't eagerly ask for the other nine.

meh, I think it trailed off from essence of awesome to just excelent at around knight of shadows.
to the OP, be the guy that everyone trust and needs but no-one realy has a firm alliance iwth. Stereotypicly, this is the mage/wizard/cleiric. Act humble, never be seen as power-grabbing, and try to be the voice of reason in the party. Also see if you can somehow get a wisdom draining poison into the parties water/ale supply, and blame on the guy closest to figuring you out.

[Morituri]

'K, first off, please don't take this the wrong way, but I have never seen a sneaky super smart character played successfully by any individual who wasn't naturally a sneaky super smart individual themselves. If you've never yourself committed a felony and walked free, say, or if your friends have never called up up at 2am desperate for advice on what to do with a body, or if you never sold drugs to pay for college textbooks... I might not recommend this course. (For the record, I play a lot of Chessmasters .)

That said, playing a Chessmaster can be incredibly straightforward and doesn't have to descend to any Xanatos territory. The most important steps are these:

1. Determine your goals. These can be simple, IE, 'have a delicious breakfast', or can be exceptionally complex, IE, 'replace the dollar as the standard US currency with a taxed system of food bartering.'

2. Determine the logical steps needed achieve this goal. Experience with a flow chart can come in handy here. That and White Boards. Many, many White Boards. And Sticky Notes.

3. Determine what steps are needed to achieve these steps. This is where the art of being a sneaky bastard separates the pros from the pawns. You got it or you don't.

4. Determine the potential pitfalls associated with each step and substep, and the steps needed to avert these pitfalls. Try to think like an opponent on this one. 'How could I screw up this man's plan? Where are the gears I can throw rocks into?' Shore up obvious weaknesses, target your enemy's strengths.

5. Always, with every answer you achieve, ask yourself two questions. 'Why' and 'Is there a more efficient way to achieve the same step'. The answer to the first question should always be simple, and the answer to the second will always be 'YES!' your first time answering it.

These are just basic guidelines. Think 'em over.

[horseboy]

Oh, and here I thought I.C.E. had a new source book out.

Why not just go straight to The source.