*What* Are You?

[West]

I attended a talk by Eddy Webb, and it was really quite interesting -- very cool guy, we've extended the talks over email and I'm genuinely impressed with this WW Staffer.

One of the larger portions of the panel revolved around play styles, which he broke down as follows:

Actor: a player interested in pure rp, and getting into their character's head -- even to the point of doing things they (as a player) aren't interested in.

Cultivator: a player interested in building a powerful 'portfolio', be it combat stats, influence, etc.

Fixer: a player who is a problem solver, who likes to resolve plots.

Socialite: a player interested in interaction; in having 'cool scenes' with other characters.

Asshole: a player who can be any of the above on the surface, but who generally ruins the fun of other players.

We have the four main types here, and one of the things Eddy talked about was there being no wrong play style other than imposing one's style upon someone else's. He stressed that communication was the best way to avoid this, and to let people of similar styles or complementary* styles match up.

* For example, a Fixer and Socialite might pair up for the Socialite to gather information from Scening with NPCs and then the Fixer using that information to resolve 'problems'.

I thought it was a great breakdown, and a good way for players in a game this large to gravitate towards the style they enjoy and others they might enjoy their style with. Another thing that was mentioned is that a player may change styles, even from day to day, as the mood fits them -- again, there being nothing wrong with that.

So... what are you? By no means do you have to share, but it might be enlightening and helpful if you do ^^

Me:

I'm probably a cross between an Actor and a Cultivator, with Socialite and Fixer tendencies following that. I think that having a Fixer component is part of being a Cultivator, but for me it's not as important as the Actor & Cultivator styles. I do find myself on occasion enjoying a Scene like a Socialite but most of my interaction is Actor-driven.

[BloodiedClaws]

definately lean towards a mix between Cultivator(i can haz combat monkey?) and Socialite(cause i looove a good scene), every once in a while i'll lean towards being a Fixer

i think thats me, though in reality, i'm probably just an Asshole

[West]

The difference between an Actor and a Socialite is that the the Actor is driven by their toon's goals - be it being a solo assassin or party animal. A Socialite is driven to interact with other characters in Scenes which could be anything -- bargaining for info to an argument about wine to seduction.

An asshole character does not mean you're an asshole player necessarily -- but I suppose that would be up to a peer panel after they were played. I think Dog is an asshole character, but I don't think I'm an asshole with him. You'd have to ask around, as obviously I may be biased.

One thing to note... we've had some assholes, like Dragon the Mage. They don't last long, and they tend to be more of a 'speedbump' than actually interfere with established characters.

[Deltaomega]

Overall I tend to be a Fixer and a Cutivator, with a dash of Actor thrown in. Pretty much an objective based player. If I have a clear goal and path, I'll follow it to its conclusion assuming I don't hit roadblocks or die a gruesome death all the while gaining power and influence (The influence part I really, really lack no matter what :P).
It works fine for most Venues (Discounting Vampires I make who ironically have the shortest lifespans :P)

And Yeah, I usually try very, very hard to avoid being an Asshole player. Last thing I want is to screw things up for everyone.

[roadnottaken]

I can see all four styles in myself at times, but I'm primarily an Actor, and probably Fixer second. I tend to get heavily immersed in my characters, and really try to think about what the most in-character reaction is -- even if it mean pushing the toon to the edge of sanity.

[Kailaria]

I think the closest fit for me is a Cultivator followed closely by Fixer. Some of the artist/musician in me likes Acting a bit, particularly with Xerxia. It gives me something that's always a challenge (trying to play someone you're not), unlike Cultivating (which comes naturally to me, even though I'm not the best at it and tend to be more broad than deep) and Fixing (which somewhat comes naturally, but at least is actually challenging from time to time).

I think my desire to Cultivate by breadth rather than by depth ties into my Fixing: I want to always be able to solve the puzzle/mystery, and generally be able to cover for any given party's makeup. I used to min-max in D&D, but that was mostly because I knew ahead of time what role I was going to play and specialize in that, for the most part.

On here, I never know who I'm going to be with at any given time, so most of my Cultivating goes towards broadening my abilities so I can try to pick up slack if needed. This is less true with my Changeling, but then, I'm also trying to Act or Socialize more with her than I did with my Mage, which has made her more fun to play, I think.

[DrDog]

For me, it depends on the character.

Al-Adin- such an actor I am with him. He does the stupid, idiotic stuff. He also does the cowardly stuff that I don't approve of, but fit him perfectly (see Storm scenes).

but...
I played Mrs. Scotts as a cultivator. I was interested with her in accumulated a powerful portfolio of disciplines and power. Regina is similar.

I thought I was playing Bull Rush as a fixer, but he somehow tricked me into playing him as an Actor/Socialite. Not entirely sure how.

This is a very interesting way of looking at players though, and I think it is a beneficial aspect to be able to be flexible. Play by post games lean more on certain types, while tabletop games and chat games lean on different ones respectively.

[Dean]

I vary from character to character. I find that Actor is almost always primary. Beyond that it depends on gameline/character. Requiem is generally Actor/Socialite. Fixer may come into it if it's a primacy game in which players run part(s) of the city. But in terms of the standard PbP scope, it's Actor with occasional Socialite tendencies.

Changeling tends towards Actor/Cultivator. Again, Actor is primary, it's just my style, but the most appealing section of Changeling, to me, is using a character to amass experiences of the stranger elements and seeing how these experiences change this character as the chronicle progresses. This is nothing new to any gameline, of course, but the number of strange, nasty things, weird knowledge and practices within the C:tL setting make this the focal point for me.

For Hunter I'm Actor/Fixer, at least within the tier 1 game (my preferred tier). The problem is usually 'murk the big bad, failing that just survive' at its most basic. Playing out Actor in and around what appears to be a simple, heavy-handed goal is the draw of Hunter to me.

Promethean is straight Actor, usually.

These all vary from character to character and scene to scene, but I've noticed myself slip into certain playstyles more readily in some splats than I would in others.

Also, Dragon the Mage...?