Where does one find a definition of 'weak' when it pertains to characters? If you're playing 2nd Ed AD&D, is it one without 18's in every stat? Or for GURPS it's a 150 pointer with no points spent buying attributes up but a broad base of skills related to being a "realistic" type of character? I think it's part of the 'contract' between the GM and the players to explain *what* general types of characters are expected, within the genre and system being played. A computer hacker with IQ 20, HT 6, computer hacking at 25+, no gun skills and pacifism:can not kill is out of place in a Gurps:Black OPs game as a PC, though as long as the player is having fun and does not mind when the game drops to the grind of an extended firefight against a sewer fluke, then why not allow it? I, as GM, try to juggle the game to give everyone something to do in a play session, even if that means that some players are going to be bored when they are not on center stage (since we're using TV, theater and movie analogies). That's when they go for a snack (or to the bathroom). Sometimes it just doesn't work. My players expressed an interest in an 'X- files" type of game. I worked out a pretty complex set of interlocking conspiracies, very illuminati-ish. Way too long story - the players were actually looking more for a "Black OPs" type of game (find the wierdness and SHOOT TO KILL) than I had prepared, and the game died after only a couple of sessions. As we've grown more used to the play styles of our troupe, we have started allowing players to have two characters. Originally it was just a backup character, in case something tragically unexpected happened, but more and more the "backup" characters have become part of the game, rather than a plot contrivance. As long as the 'backup' character is not just a clone of the original (Paranoia, anyone), and the player can convincingly pull off the roleplaying of the two characters, then this style of multiplay can work. I can only speak from experience with the games I've participated in over the last 17 years (ghods has it been that long?), but the player who is willing to try the "weak" or "interesting" character is more likely to be able to convincingly multiplay. ---------------------------------------------------------------- GMAST Home Page: http://www.phoenyx.net/gmast/
