Group Dynamics

I'm a big fan of Heavy Gear. In DP9's Character Compendium 1, they introduced a tool which I'll probably start using in my DecTrek games. I thought others might also like it, so thought I'd share.

Basically it's an "attitude" chart and it's probably easier to just give an example:

Given a group of characters -- Yuri, Scot, Indira, Natasha and Suman -- each character is allowed one thought on each of the other characters.

Indira:
Yuri: Young and Naive, he's in for a big shock soon.
Scot: A clown, but he gets the job done.
Natasha: Hard working and efficient, she has a bright future ahead.
Suman: I need to keep an eye on him.

Natasha:
Yuri: A good friend, he knows what's important in life.
Scot: A good example of why I keep to myself.
Indira: I hope I don't end up like her.
Suman: He's okay if you treat him with respect.

I won't do all the characters, but you get the idea.

This can be used both for NPCs, and for PCs. I plan to do this to refine (or just plain generate) ideas for NPC interaction/relationships. With PCs, I'll probably have the players give me a new individual chart after the 1st episode (first impressions and all that), then every 3 or so episodes following. These charts aren't public, as a character's private thoughts might be radically different that his outward behavior.

Thoughts?

-- Daniel

This is similar to something that our group did when we played through the Academy. So as to not have to play through the Psych Exams every semester, we devised a testing system where the squad had to rate each other on the various Renown aspects.

For instance, my character, Tom, was rated by the other cadets (Gabe, Ta'lar, and Vorless) as follows:

Aggression: Not very often, but appropriate for an officer. Grade - A
Discipline: Sometimes has trouble with regulations. Grade - B
Initiative: Very quick thinking, offers lots of suggestions, and shows a willingness to take command, if necessary. Grade - A
Openness: Will provide information if pertinent, and will listen to the suggestions and ideas of others. Grade - A
Skill: Very skilled, high grades in classes (Heck, my character graduated with Honors, and finished second in his class). Grade - A

Now, we didn't call each category by their Renown titles, but I think that you get the point. It allowed the characters an opportunity to express their thoughts about other characters, in a formal fashion. It worked well for our group, so I thought I'd mention it.



Greg

I wish I'd thought of something like that. It partially performs the function of what I was talking about, but also gives a player an idea what his character's strong and weak points might be in the eyes of Starfleet. This would be a good tool for counselors looking for some RPing hooks, too.

Thanks, Greg.

-- Daniel

What I usually do is write up a page per NPC, briefly covering their history and personality. Just enough to consistently play the character from Narrator to Narrator, and enough to give the NPC's department head or counselor something to work with.

We just tell the others at the table—screw hidden charts! :)

I’m curious what the application is, however. In your game, for example, you now have some one-liners of how the PCs think of each other and the NPCs. How is this relevant to you? Shouldn’t the character’s actions speak as to their thoughts as to the other characters without having to write them down?

Of course, a character could *think* one thing and *act* another, but that’s the mark of a more seasoned gamer and this concept strikes me as something only useful for beginning players that need help grasping how their characters interact.

Again, I must be missing something because this strikes me as more of a “gee wiz” tool than something with any application for the Narrator within a game.

(I do like Greg’s counseling idea, however. That has some application that I can see.)

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Originally posted by Don Mappin
We just tell the others at the table—screw hidden charts! :)

I’m curious what the application is, however. In your game, for example, you now have some one-liners of how the PCs think of each other and the NPCs. How is this relevant to you? Shouldn’t the character’s actions speak as to their thoughts as to the other characters without having to write them down?

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The players in our group were given a 'psych profile' to fill out, which included questions about character goals, favorite officer, least-favorite officer, greatest fear, etc. Some of it is interesting in a backstory sense, and some has actually been used in a game.

I could see the one-liners being useful to a Narrator from a perspective point of view, so that you could color the narrative accordingly, though you'd have to make sure it doesn't lead to stereotyping and one-dimensional characters.

Bob

Quote:

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Originally posted by Don Mappin
Of course, a character could *think* one thing and *act* another, but that’s the mark of a more seasoned gamer and this concept strikes me as something only useful for beginning players that need help grasping how their characters interact.

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Actually this pretty much hit the nail on the head, Don. :) I'm going to be starting with a pretty inexperienced group, and it will be used more or less to make them think about how their characters interact, rather than just reacting they way they themselves would. The reason to come back to it is simply to make them non-complacent, and rethink if appropriate, rather than just float along.

As for uses to me, if a gamer is thinking one thing and acting another, then maybe I can use that in an evil way. What? Star Trek characters in conflict? Or having hidden feelings for each other? No, never. :D

This post was inspired by the Personal Logs post around here somewhere, and obviously, logs are a good tool for PC insight as well.

-- Daniel

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Originally posted by Sho-sa Kurita
I'm going to be starting with a pretty inexperienced group, and it will be used more or less to make them think about how their characters interact, rather than just reacting they way they themselves would.

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Great idea. I've encountered many players over the years of gaming who basically played their characters as themselves. It wasn't Grimlok the dwarf fighter reacting to things, it was Dave the player.

I encourage my players to really think about the character, and work on getting into the character's skin. Lately, many players I've gamed with have local theater experience, which helps a lot in role-playing.

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Originally posted by Sho-sa Kurita


Actually this pretty much hit the nail on the head, Don. :)

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Good to know I’m not entirely insane, then. ;)

This concept seems well-suited for beginning players (and I mean truly beginning roleplayers) who could benefit from a tool that demonstrates how their character thinks/interacts with the other characters.