Player Types
During my early years of playing 3e... thats 3.0 D&D, I remember reading an article in a Dragon Magazine that talked about categorizing players into 9 types. Understanding these 9 types of players would be able to allow a DM enjoy running a game based off of that(those) player(s) strengths. So, based off my memory here are the Nine types of players. Of these 9 types I will make an alignment chart like that of D&D as I add more middle ground "Alignments"
The Wargamer: Like combat and the whole combat system, they tend to also be the dungeon crawlers who often will get into barfights and often have little to no character development. Games tend to boil down to rolling a die for every action. "I'm gonna tie my shoe." *Roll* "aww crap I rolled a 1"
The Story Teller: Is all about their character, story tellers can go an entire session and not roll a single die. They care little for rules but will use them as long as they don't hinder character development. A story teller has been known to ruin entire campaigns because they believe certain things are not "what my character would or wouldn't do."
The Rules Lawyer: The sage of RPG world physiques, a DM can always count on the Rules Lawyer to know what a rule is or where to find it. They often have an extensive collection, and could be excellent DMs if they had the motivation. However rule lawyers tend to not allow for any variant or modification to a rule, and in extreme cases are known to argue with DMs even after the DM has made a call... "but its a +1, not +2 it makes a big difference."
The Munchkin: These guys are not cheaters... they do not don't break rules, but instead twist, and contort rules until they get the all powerful character. Munchkins tend to think, and play outside the bounds of game mechanics. They tend to have a very loose grasp of the rules, and have a certain knack to make a rule seem like something that it is not and exploit it to an extreme. The word POWER GAMER is an understatement. Still they tend to be interesting to game with if nothing else, and there is always 1 in every group
Hack n' Slasher: Likes combat, sometimes confused with the wargamer, the gung-ho really don't care about the strategy as long as they can do something cool in combat. The good side is that gung-ho players can get a story plot going real quick, on the down they almost never role-play and don't distinguish between a few goblins or the king's entire elite guard
The Min-Maxer: The min-maxer is often the result of a rules lawyer and a munchkin. They can max out character strengths (often exploiting them until they seem broken), but create huge weaknesses within their character design.
The Casual: This player tends to only game because they feel like they have nothing else better to do. They tend to be girlfriends and spouses who are there either to see what RPGs are all about or because they would be just as bored not playing D&D. The random friend who joins once in a while might be a casual gamer... others just lack enthusiasm.
The Anarchist: The anarchist just like to make the games hard for the DM. They are truly the bane of any DM. Unlike the munchkin, the anarchist disrupts the game just to be difficult. Needless to say they usually don't last long within a game group.
The Competitor: The competitor is all about being the best. They want all the xp, all the gold, and the best character around. Munchkins, Min-Maxers, and Wargamers are often competitors. These players often have a Player vs DM mentality, or cause many player vs player group infighting. However, if directed to keep in character a competitive is very likely to keep games fun as they will always work against the main villains... always a plus to a group.
The Wargamer: Like combat and the whole combat system, they tend to also be the dungeon crawlers who often will get into barfights and often have little to no character development. Games tend to boil down to rolling a die for every action. "I'm gonna tie my shoe." *Roll* "aww crap I rolled a 1"
The Story Teller: Is all about their character, story tellers can go an entire session and not roll a single die. They care little for rules but will use them as long as they don't hinder character development. A story teller has been known to ruin entire campaigns because they believe certain things are not "what my character would or wouldn't do."
The Rules Lawyer: The sage of RPG world physiques, a DM can always count on the Rules Lawyer to know what a rule is or where to find it. They often have an extensive collection, and could be excellent DMs if they had the motivation. However rule lawyers tend to not allow for any variant or modification to a rule, and in extreme cases are known to argue with DMs even after the DM has made a call... "but its a +1, not +2 it makes a big difference."
The Munchkin: These guys are not cheaters... they do not don't break rules, but instead twist, and contort rules until they get the all powerful character. Munchkins tend to think, and play outside the bounds of game mechanics. They tend to have a very loose grasp of the rules, and have a certain knack to make a rule seem like something that it is not and exploit it to an extreme. The word POWER GAMER is an understatement. Still they tend to be interesting to game with if nothing else, and there is always 1 in every group
Hack n' Slasher: Likes combat, sometimes confused with the wargamer, the gung-ho really don't care about the strategy as long as they can do something cool in combat. The good side is that gung-ho players can get a story plot going real quick, on the down they almost never role-play and don't distinguish between a few goblins or the king's entire elite guard
The Min-Maxer: The min-maxer is often the result of a rules lawyer and a munchkin. They can max out character strengths (often exploiting them until they seem broken), but create huge weaknesses within their character design.
The Casual: This player tends to only game because they feel like they have nothing else better to do. They tend to be girlfriends and spouses who are there either to see what RPGs are all about or because they would be just as bored not playing D&D. The random friend who joins once in a while might be a casual gamer... others just lack enthusiasm.
The Anarchist: The anarchist just like to make the games hard for the DM. They are truly the bane of any DM. Unlike the munchkin, the anarchist disrupts the game just to be difficult. Needless to say they usually don't last long within a game group.
The Competitor: The competitor is all about being the best. They want all the xp, all the gold, and the best character around. Munchkins, Min-Maxers, and Wargamers are often competitors. These players often have a Player vs DM mentality, or cause many player vs player group infighting. However, if directed to keep in character a competitive is very likely to keep games fun as they will always work against the main villains... always a plus to a group.
posted by Forced Evolution at
9:10 PM
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