[net.games.frp] Multiple Player Characters

rjnoe@riccb.UUCP (Roger J. Noe) (12/10/85)

Gary Huckabay (deneb!ccs007) writes in <440@ucdavis.UUCP>:

> As for my snobbishness, I'll not deny that.  I admittedly have a relatively
> closed mind regarding changes to AD&D for several reasons.  But first, allow 
> me to confront a question upon which I thought all people were in agreement -
> The concept that AD&D works best when played with one, and only one, player
> character per person.

At least that confirms your claim of closed-mindedness.  A good sign is the
inability to even imagine that other people might think differently than you.
Most good role players are good because (in part) they have that flexibility
of mind which allows them to see things differently.

> 1) It requires all of a player's attention to play ONE character to the best
>    of their ability. . . .
>    It is a simple matter of the ability to focus one's attention -
>    they will be able to do so better on one character than two.

That statement is so broad it seems preposterous.  People do differ in
their ability to concentrate on items.  Schizophrenics like me can play
a large number of characters on sort of a time-slicing basis. :-)

>    No matter what the intentions of the player, knowledge seems to 'seep'
>    from the brain of one character to the other . . .

That can happen, but not just when one player has more than one PC.  It
happens in every session I've even heard of because the DM simply is NOT
going to waste his time determining exactly what each individual senses
and writing out little notes for every trivial occasion.  "But the runes
said xkfjadfbiuh!"  "How did you know?  You were in the back of the party
when we silently read them."  "Well, that's what the DM said."

> 3) Favoritism always rears its ugly head.  I have yet to see a player who is
>    running two (or, in truly sick cases, more) pcs consider them both equals.

Would you like to meet such a player?  You might find it an enlightening
experience.
--
"It's only by NOT taking the human race seriously that I retain what
 fragments of my once considerable mental powers I still possess!"
	Roger Noe			ihnp4!riccb!rjnoe