Games' Most Wanted: The Top 10 Book of Players, Pawns, and Power-Ups

10. Stepping Up to the Table

76 10 Stepping Up to the Table Gamers come in all shapes, sizes, and behaviors. If you ever sit down at a table to play a role-playing game, you are very likely to encounter at least one, if not more, of these types of gamers. These terms of endearment speak to playing style or personality quirks that affect gamers’ behavior at the table. 1. ATTENTION HOG One of the toughest jobs the game master faces in any game session is making sure that all the players get an equal share of attention and a moment in the spotlight. Players always have interesting things they want their characters to do, to feel part of the action and to contribute to that evening’s session , and a game master who neglects players will soon find himself with fewer attendees to his games. The Attention Hog makes this task even more difficult than it already is. The Hog loves being the star of the show and having his or her character involved in nearly all the action , no matter what. To help accomplish these goals, the Attention Hog usually sits in a position at the table that places him or her very close to the game master. His or her naturally dominant personality only compounds the difficulty the game master Stepping Up to the Table 77 faces during interactions with the other players. The Hog tries to have his or her character take a leading role in any role-playing situation and is always keen to offer advice, whether in character or not. Short of having a direct confrontation, the best way to deal with the Attention Hog is to simply make sure that every player is addressed during that night’s game, going out of your way to focus on the other players. If the Hog tries to intrude, a quick reminder from the game master is usually enough to keep the pushy player in check. 2. SLOB The complete antithesis to the Neat Freak (see item 3 of this list), the Slob doesn’t really care about his or her character sheet. It may have many pencil and pen marks, numerous numbers scratched out and rewritten, and random notes written in the margins, and it will most definitely be wrinkled. Stains, whether from grease, ink, or some other unidentified substance, will also be present. The Slob’s character sheet is the gaming equivalent of the Pig-Pen character of Peanuts fame. The space around the Slob’s sheet is also in a state of disarray . Dice will be scattered and will usually make their way into the space occupied by other players. This, of course, is assuming that the Slob actually remembered to bring dice this time. The outward appearance may make it seem like the Slob doesn’t care about his or her character or the game, but surprisingly , the exact opposite is true. The Slob does care, but in his or her own way. He or she may make scattered notes and have trouble reading a piece of information scrawled on the sheet, but the Slob always proves to be a stalwart when it comes to party unity and support. This player seems to have the ability to remember small details that may have escaped the grasp of the Neat Freak, details that prove absolutely necessary at some particular moment. 78 Games’ Most Wanted™ Be warned, however, that though most gaming Slobs keep their mess at the table only, many do not, and take care of their own hygiene in a way similar to their character sheets. 3. NEAT FREAK Meticulous, organized, and of course a little anal, the Neat Freak is the player whose space at the gaming table is clean as a whistle, and he or she wants to keep it that way. The Neat Freak’s character sheet is always straight, crisp, and clean, free of smudge marks and grease stains. The only thing preventing the Neat Freak from laminating the sheet is the need to add necessary changes as the character advances. The sheet is usually laid carefully in a threering binder, possibly in a protective sleeve, along with the pages of meticulous notes the player has taken over past sessions. The Neat Freak rounds out his or her OCD tendencies with a proper lineup of dice used for that evening’s session, each die turned with the highest number facing up...