I'm toying with the idea of writing an article about the possibility of replacing the standard alignment system with a personality system.

I'm doing research, and I'm wondering, how much do you develop your PC's theory of mind?

It's fairly common that players separate what they know from what their characters know, but do you also play characters that *think* differently than you do? Also, in what way do they think differently and how do you determine what they would think in comparison to what you would?

Thanks.

I don't find it especially natural to play a character with instincts that are quite far from my own - such as being a conflict-seeking hot head (which I'm not).  I usually make a note of the personality in writing, ("conflict-seeking hothead") and periodically I try to deliberately make decisions from that outlook, rather than what I might normally do.

Is 'Theory of Mind' really the expression you're looking for?

Quote from: fuseboy;702205I don't find it especially natural to play a character with instincts that are quite far from my own - such as being a conflict-seeking hot head (which I'm not).  I usually make a note of the personality in writing, ("conflict-seeking hothead") and periodically I try to deliberately make decisions from that outlook, rather than what I might normally do.

Thanks for your response, it helps alot.

QuoteIs 'Theory of Mind' really the expression you're looking for?

Probably not, I've just been into psychology too much since I've been involved with RPGs.

Quote from: shawnhartnell;702203It's fairly common that players separate what they know from what their characters know, but do you also play characters that *think* differently than you do?

Yes, otherwise you are role playing yourself.  :cool:

Quote from: Arduin;702209Yes, otherwise you are role playing yourself.  :cool:

That's exactly to the point of why I'm exploring this.

Quote from: shawnhartnell;702203I'm toying with the idea of writing an article about the possibility of replacing the standard alignment system with a personality system.

Oh yeah this works really well, I have two tables of one hundred traits each, like "cranky" or "cheerful", one table for positive and one for negative traits. During chargen players get to roll on these tables and associate their personality traits with their careers at that time.

Quote from: The Traveller;702213Oh yeah this works really well, I have two tables of one hundred traits each, like "cranky" or "cheerful", one table for positive and one for negative traits. During chargen players get to roll on these tables and associate their personality traits with their careers at that time.

I was thinking about using Reversal Theory.



For example, telic means someone is serious minded and focused on a task, while autotelic means they're pretty much there for the fun of the experience.

Autotelic - Negativistic -Mastery - Autic would mean he's a fun-loving rulebreaker who's on an adventure to sharpen his skills.

Flipping autotelic to telic would create a kind of serious-minded ronin-type character.

Even though I'm thinking about Reversal Theory, I'd be interested in your tables.

Quote from: The Traveller;702213Oh yeah this works really well, I have two tables of one hundred traits each, like "cranky" or "cheerful", one table for positive and one for negative traits. During chargen players get to roll on these tables and associate their personality traits with their careers at that time.

Is there any way I can check out your tables?

Quote from: shawnhartnell;702220Is there any way I can check out your tables?

Em, I'm kind of working towards publication on that system but there are loads of examples out there, like this: http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples/character-trait-examples.html

Quote from: The Traveller;702226Em, I'm kind of working towards publication on that system but there are loads of examples out there, like this: http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples/character-trait-examples.html

This is awesome, thanks. The first one is religious and I never considered that in this context before.

Quote from: shawnhartnell;702227This is awesome, thanks. The first one is religious and I never considered that in this context before.

I know, right? Just a few simple words to describe a character's personality can really make a difference to the amount of roleplaying players engage in. Once they start playing their role they begin filling in the blanks themselves.

I'd also encourage them to add or remove traits as the game progresses and note the reasons on their character sheet, which means it's not a great idea to lend traits any mechanical weight. Even negative traits can make for great characters, like "angry" and "loner" which would describe many two fisted heroes.

There was a giant PDF listing a thousand odd traits floating around a while ago, you should have a look for it, if I can find it in my files I'll load it up. No need to reinvent the wheel eh.

Quote from: The Traveller;702213Oh yeah this works really well, I have two tables of one hundred traits each, like "cranky" or "cheerful", one table for positive and one for negative traits. During chargen players get to roll on these tables and associate their personality traits with their careers at that time.

I've been in games that used the 'personality mangler' from the DMG1 appendices as a starting point for who your character was.

The idea of a PC "Theory of Mind" is interesting.  On one hand, it allows for you to look at characters as distinct individuals, which is interesting.  On the other hand, it seems almost "anti-immersive" (at least from the "I'm my character" PoV), as it asks the player to question what the character would do, and be aware of the differences between the character and themselves.

Quote from: robiswrong;702247On the other hand, it seems almost "anti-immersive" (at least from the "I'm my character" PoV), as it asks the player to question what the character would do, and be aware of the differences between the character and themselves.

I've always seen that as being the point of roleplaying, or at least one of its main attractions. Otherwise as others have said, you're just roleplaying yourself.

Quote from: The Traveller;702270I've always seen that as being the point of roleplaying, or at least one of its main attractions. Otherwise as others have said, you're just roleplaying yourself.

And some people have very visceral reactions to any mechanics which highlight the player/character separation.

I'm not advocating for/against anything here, by the way.  I'm just kind of pointing out what some people may see as advantages and disadvantages.  Personally, I prefer to play with the idea of my character as a separate individual, and on occasion even be surprised by what they do.

I'd like more evidence presented either way before we start a crazy witchhunt between the immersionistas and the true roleplayers.

I've seen hard-immersion people (e.g. John Morrow) not wanting to, for instance, play psychopaths because rewiring themself that way temporarily would be unpleasant, but to an extent you would just need to separate in-character and ooc feelings and act on the former.
Never seen a complaint against mechanics as simple as a tagged personality trait like 'angry' either. More against stuff that needs to be rolled against.