Player Types Revisited

Wayyyy back when, Aaron Allston formulated a list of player types in Hero Games' Strike Force and it's been reproduced and copied ever since. I thought I'd take a look at the list and maybe ring some changes on it.

The list: Reproduced here with Mr. Allston's terms but my descriptions, so we're not committing accidental copyright infringement.

Also, I'm using male pronouns here, because I'm old and that's my habit. I'll try to change them before I post this to a gender-neutral "they/them" but please forgive me if I miss one. Point it out and I'll change it.

Type	Description	GM Should
Builder	Wants to have an effect on the world	Let them change the world
Buddy	Here because friends are here	Draw them into roleplaying, or ignore them, depending on circumstances and your needs
Combat Monster	Optimizes character for combat and wants to hit things	Have something to fight every session
Copier	Wants a character just like certain other popular character or just like the character they play in every other game. "Yeah, a boxer, but a stealthy sneaky one who lurks in the shadows and throws knives."	Understand the player's goals and try to meet those; also, let them know in advance if their version will have restrictions.
Genre Fiend	Knows everything about the genre you're playing, and will correct you.	Find out what the player's expectations are and try to meet them.
Mad Slasher	Here to blow off steam from a long week at work	Either have a group of mad slashers or get rid of the player.
Mad Thinker	Wants a clever solution to everything	Have a puzzle of some kind every session, even if the combat isn't one
Plumber	Wants to plumb the character, right down to third-grade teacher's name and response to the Trolley Problem.	Provide different kinds of situations and problems to illuminate different parts of the character.
Pro From Dover	The best at what they do. And nobody else better be as good or better.	Let them shine once in a while, and don't step on their toes
Romantic	Has relationships. Not just of the heart, but rivalries, enmities, friendships, frenemies, and so on.	Provide NPCs for all those kinds of relationships.
Rules Rapist	Exploit every edge condition and loophole in the rules	Figure out what the player really wants or get rid of them.
Showoff	Take the spotlight and keep the spotlight	Survive this phase or get rid of the player
Tragedian	Tragic things happen, and always to this character. Not all at once, of course, but spaced out.	Give the character heartbreak, betrayal, loss, and more.

One of the things that stands out to me is that there are certain player types where the advice is basically, "Get rid of the player." I don't fully agree (in my experience, the actions are often a response to other problems that have nothing to do with the game, and while they might damage your game right now, the player often deserves a later chance). Still, there is a tremendous reserve of "We've been excluded, so we have to include everybody" in the gaming communities I've been in, and I've committed that sin myself, so I understand it. Still: it means that the types Mad Slasher, Rules Rapist, and Showoff are there so you can recognize them and get rid of them. The Buddy isn't actively damaging to your campaign.

I suppose that's useful advice, but you can't do much else with it.

The other advice really boils down to, "Find out what each player wants and give it to them if you can." Sometime that's easy (the Combat Monster).

I think the biggest jewel here is: Not everyone wants the same thing.

The general set of game mastering suggestions you can draw from it:

• Find out what each player wants.
  • Make a list; we don't all want the same thing every time.
• Let them know what the limits are on providing it (say, the Copier's demand for a certain character type).
• Let each character be unique. Give them the spotlight in the way that each person likes: Let the Pro from Dover be the best at what he does, let the Tragedian wallow in angst, get the Romantic tangled in heartstrings, give the Plumber a visit from that obscure person in the backstory.

Know whether your game group's equivalent to disadvantages are a quick point grab (the three different things you could do in Hero that amounted to "Hates criminals") or a plea for stories of that kind. I have been guilty of both; I remember that early in my Champions career I had a Hunted that was, well, pointless, and I wasn't really interested when he did show up. On the other hand, after a gaming drought, I carefully crafted every aspect of my character to provide story activities. (Hint: If you're going to do this, give the list of possible story activities to your GM; as a GM, I find it awful when I get a character who has obviously been designed with care and I have no idea what to do with those qualities, aspects, or disadvantages.) (Second hint: We're older now; more than a page of backstory is probably too much. The way I feel today, three-quarters of a page and six story seed bullet points is probably enough.)