{"id":3724,"date":"2015-12-25T07:00:37","date_gmt":"2015-12-25T13:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.d20radio.com\/main\/?p=3724"},"modified":"2015-12-15T10:14:29","modified_gmt":"2015-12-15T16:14:29","slug":"gming-the-one-trick-pony","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.d20radio.com\/main\/gming-the-one-trick-pony\/","title":{"rendered":"Ask a Gamer- GMing the One-Trick Pony"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"one-trick-pony-definition\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

On a recent episode of the Order 66 Podcast, we spent some time digging into a specific character type, the Slicer<\/a>. For those unacquainted with Star Wars lore, a Slicer is not a lightsaber aficionado, nor a lover of sharp cutlery. A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, “slicer” was\u00a0the term used for “hacker” – and computers are their one and only love.\u00a0Now, this article isn’t about computers, or hackers, or slicers. This article is going to try very hard to expand on a brief point mentioned during that lonely podcast episode that applies to Slicers – but also to many, many, many other RPG character types, tropes, classes, and careers: the One-Trick Pony, and how to properly GM them.<\/p>\n

Regardless of the RPG system or type of game, the One-Trick Pony character is an all-too-common phenomenon. By accident or by design, certain players will craft a character that is absolutely superb – at just one thing, or perhaps a small subset of common things. \u00a0And usually (due to common inherent balances in most RPGs) this excellence in one area comes at the expense of every other area<\/em>. World-class\u00a0hackers who trip over their own feet; master illusionists who can\u00a0<\/span>only<\/em> cast illusion spells and\u00a0<\/span>nothing else<\/em>; champion race-car drivers who don’t wield weapons in a crime game (because they can’t); and high-powered sword-fighters who can’t ride, shoot, or talk worth a flip. I’ve personally GM’d each of these characters in my RPG career.<\/span><\/p>\n

And not all of the blame falls upon the players. To be fair, most One-Trick Pony builds aren’t the result of min-max glorification and a desire to hyper-expose one facet of a character. They’re the result of a player’s love of\u00a0a “cool concept;” or perhaps just a function of the system, itself – in the case of FFG’s Star Wars system and the aforementioned Slicer, a player who wants to take that specialization is\u00a0forced<\/em> down a path of extremely narrow character advancement.<\/p>\n

The point being – as GMs, we don’t want to take things out on our players and decry the system, or their choices within it. It’s our job to\u00a0roll<\/em> with it, and give that One-Trick Pony one hell of a ride. But that ride can be rough…so we’re going to spend some time reviewing the biggest problems GMs of One-Trick Ponies face; and then talk about seriously effective strategies to nip those problems in the bud.<\/p>\n

\n

The Problems You’ll Frequently Encounter<\/strong><\/p>\n

For GMs who have One-Trick Ponies in their party (of any stripe), there are two common problems you will frequently face as these players unexpectedly face the reality of the character they’ve just created, and the long-term impact of that character on both the game and their enjoyment of it.<\/p>\n

PROBLEM 1\u00a0–\u00a0“[BLANK] Fixes Everything!<\/em>“:<\/strong> \u00a0The [BLANK] in this case, is whatever specialization the One-Trick Pony has focused on. \u00a0Computers, Arcane Illusions, Acrobatics, Silver Tongue, Sword-Slinging, or Culinary Creations; the player will work their hardest to find a way to make that [BLANK] be the solution to the party’s current problem or situation. \u00a0Does this sound familiar?<\/p>\n