Boomstick, Ironwall, Mechanic, and Architect.
Imho "Skillmonkey" was a bad idea in 3.5 and is a very bad idea in Pathfinder...
(unless of course you meant trapmonkey... but then that's not all skills and you'll be missing quite a few skills unless you make sure the others cover the rest, but then why mention devices, but not survival, diplomacy, ...)
why it's a bad idea:
- only one person gets shine-time during non-fighting cutscenes, everybody else might hang around for witty/funny comments, ...
- that person has to min-max skillpoints to fit in everything (it's impossible in Pathfinder to be scout, device specialist, loremaster and face, all in one)
my take on skill-distribution:
have everybody choose a set of skills that they'd like to focus on... even fighters/clerics/barbarians...
why shouldn't they be allowed to have a niche of skills?
I would like to add a few roles to the quoted list.
"The Fanboi" They usually have an object of unhealthy obsession they channel through all of their characters. Some of them might seem to be creepy fetishes but this isn't always the case. This object of obsession can be anything from ninjas, to elves, or even fauxlitas. You can tell this is the case when the last 5 characters in a row played by the player in question. It's best not to ban this concept no matter how creepy it may seem, because it alienates that particular player. They typically embody some of the traits of the snowflake, only they are more predictable. Female versions are called "the Fangirl"
"Mister TMI" This may take a variety of extremes, but they usually tend to deliver too much explicit detail in their gaming. This can be as minor as "I need your restroom for 30 minutes" or as extreme as describing thier character's sexual activities or clothing choices in explicit detail. Some descriptions work better than others. "Youthful and small framed" works a lot better than "childlike".
Where does one draw the line of "unhealthy" and "too much explicit detail" really?
Because one of my DMs (the one I critique a lot) seems to like my Mister TMI tendencies while seeing me as a Fanboi at the same time. I find the latter view of his insulting since I especially made all of my homebrew races from half-plant elves to spiderfolk (all of which he banned) with the intent of actually being playable races with a place in the campaign world. For some reason or another, he thinks I only made them because I'm a fetishist or something (so suddenly I'm into driders and plant people?), which leads back to that feeling of being insulted. Then again, now that I think about it, his presumptuous assumptions only bring about more contempt out of me towards him.
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((weird, the forum appears to have eaten my post, although it still appears on my "posts" tab. Anyway, here it is again))
Character roles
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The Smasher - The smasher is the one who deals the most damage the fastest. Usually a melee character, sometimes a glass cannon. May also be the tank, but not always.
The Technician - The technician is the one who deals damage (or allows the party to deal more damage), but is a lot more tricky about it. Likes to use combat maneuvers and other such things. More about exploiting the enemy rather than just battering them. The technician, like the smasher, is sometimes the tank. Can also be the buffer/debuffer of the party if a spell caster, but generally isn't the tank in these situations.
The Tank - Everyone knows what the tank is, the tank is the damage sponge. They're the fullplate wearing bulwark that keeps the enemy away from the squishies. Often a solid damage dealer, but not always.
The Problem Solver - The problem solver is the one that deals with difficult situations that can't generally be solved by hitting things. This role is usually filled either by a highly skillful character (such as the rogue or the bard) or by a non-specialized spell caster. They're the ones that open locked doors, sneak past guards, spy on enemies, disable traps, and traverse obstacles.
The Face - The face is the wheeler and dealer of the group. He or she is the one who generally acts as party spokesperson and handles the charisma based issues.
Supplier - The artisan is the one who keeps the party stocked in interesting things. Generally makes liberal use of the craft/spellcraft skill or the fabricate spell. Keeps you rolling in arrows, alchemical substances, or magical items at cost.
The Stinger - The stinger is a ranged damage dealer who usually stands back and spreads damage out over the battlefield. Archers and evokers are common in this role.
The Swarmer - The swarmer fights by proxy, using summoned creatures, animal companions, charmed enemies, or undead. Generally a spell caster of some bent.
The Doctor - The doctor generally acts as the party's healer, as well as dealing with status conditions and debuffs. Usually a cleric.
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Player roles
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The Rules Lawyer - The rules lawyer isn't someone that points out the rules when they come up, the rules lawyer is the person who will argue with the DM after they make a decision. Sometimes the rules lawyer is justified (even necessary), but often they are simply an annoyance.
The Method Man - The method man (or woman) is the one who is always in character. While rare these days, the occasional LARPer who also does table-top tends to be the most likely person to fill this role.
The Theatric - The theatric is the one who adheres strictly to the rule of cool. If the bad guy is giving a monologue, they will let him finish. If the paladin is engaged in single combat with the Dark Lord Murderface who killed his family years before, they'll allow the fight to play out because it's something "the paladin has to do alone." Basically they'll act in the manner which is most dramatically convenient.
The Pragmatist - The exact opposite of the theatric. The pragmatist will pay no heed whatsoever to the concept of storytelling, they're there to complete their mission without dying in the process and they'll be damned if they're going to pass up on a golden opportunity to kill the bad guy before the fight even starts.
The Kender - The Kender is not necessarily someone who plays a Kender (for those of you unfamiliar with Kender, here), but nearly every person I've encountered who chooses to play a Kender falls into this category (as such, I always refer to this sort of player as a Kender in my mind). Kender are the people who treat gaming as an opportunity to troll their fellow players and DM. They will build a character who gives them every excuse to screw with the party at any opportunity. They're the person who plays a paladin in a CN party. They're the person who kicks down the door to the evil hideout just after the party finishes detailing their plan to sneak in through the back way. They're the ones who derail the plot, not because their actions make good sense, but because they can. They're the person who plays a Kender just so they can deliberately steal, insult, and wander into stupid situations in order to aggravate the other players. (NOTE: Not all players who play Kender fall into this role. The Kender CAN be played properly, I've just never seen in happen in practice; though I have heard of such things)
The Black Knight - The black knight is the one that insists on quoting Monty Python and the Holy Grail at least five times a session. May also quote The Princess Bride, Labyrinth, Willow, Highlander, Hawk the Slayer, Beastmaster, Conan the Barbarian, Dragonslayer, Red vs. Blue, or The Gamers. Everyone does this once in a while, but it seems like there is always at least one person who does it ALL THE TIME to the point where it almost derails the game. (NOTE: Quoting Ladyhawke does not fall under this category, but it will confuse people as they'll have no idea what you're quoting)
The Trademark - The trademark is the player who always makes a character that is a blatant rip off of an existing character. While not always a bad player (one of the best played and most interesting characters I've ever seen started off essentially as a rip off of Neji from Naruto), it can be a red flag. Like the black knight, most people do this once in a while. The difference is that the trademark ONLY does this.
The Significant Other - The significant other is generally there because they are dating/married to one of the players or (more commonly) the DM. While gamers often date or marry other gamers, not all of them fall into this category. This role is reserved for people who are ONLY there because they're dating. These people tend to be very green and either completely uninvolved or ridiculously up in everything.
The Tactician - The tactician is the person who loves planning and scheming. While this sort of player can often be beneficial to the party, they can also turn the most simple of tasks into the most time consuming and convoluted procedure imaginable.
The Metagamer - This is a role that can people can often fall into without meaning to do so. Typically an experienced player who has read all the published materials. They know every monster, they know the DCs of every trap entry, every type of lock, and breaking point of every material. They know how many HP a half-dragon ogre has and the layout of every room in the Tomb of Horrors. Consequently, they often find themselves doing things their character couldn't possibly know. It's not always blatant, they might count HP in their head or subtly alter their tactics, but it's still there.
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I could probably come up with more player roles, but I'm getting a bit tired of it right now. Maybe later.
(NOTE: Not all players who play Kender fall into this role. The Kender CAN be played properly, I've just never seen in happen in practice; though I have heard of such things)
Technically, according to the official description of Kender, all Kender played properly fall into this. Kender played improperly might actually be decent members of a party.
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Huh, it ate my link to the description of Kender. Weird. Anyway...
Technically, according to the official description of Kender, all Kender played properly fall into this. Kender played improperly might actually be decent members of a party.
I guess, but there still is a difference between playing a character that's difficult to deal with, and SPECIFICALLY playing a character to screw with the party. But, in general, I would agree with you. I mostly threw that bit in to placate anyone who might like the Kender and get chaffed about my generalization. They are out there. They've found me before.
And they don't deserve any consideration. They like Kender.
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Two that I've seen that haven't appeared on this list
The Manic snowflake: These players will get really into a character building backstories, cultures, religions, and character motivations for their character with the GM. The will then proceed to ask for screen time which in and of itself is fine but whine through others time in the sun about when they get a turn. Then after a few months when you're finally ready to put their character in the limelight and let them show what they've got they tell you they are no longer interested in the character, think it's stupid, and have built something else and start begging/demanding to play their new obsession.
The Mike: This is that one guy in your group who has lady luck on speed dial, he can literally roll back to back 20's with any die and one shot's your boss encounter on a fluke. To make matters worse he is also totally oblivious to why his gm would want to strangle him over this as well as his players with his response to all the glares coming at him from across the table "What did I do?". Suffice it to say can potentially be one of the funnest characters to gm if you know how to deal with the innate monkey wrench in the plans and can quite easily turn him into the answer for most of the parties woes as the forces of the universe/nature rally to stomp out this unnatural ace.
Beer wench: The male or female in your group who has both the spirits/liquor/alcohols to produce cocktails and the know how and love of making them. Leads to rousing drinking contests in game when you actually have someone who can mix drinks called "the hurricane", "Fey blood", and "Green dragon".
Loot Wench: The guy or gal designated to keep track of all the loot on the party loot sheet, title is gender neutral.
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The Mike: This is that one guy in your group who has lady luck on speed dial, he can literally roll back to back 20's with any die and one shot's your boss encounter on a fluke. To make matters worse he is also totally oblivious to why his gm would want to strangle him over this as well as his players with his response to all the glares coming at him from across the table "What did I do?". Suffice it to say can potentially be one of the funnest characters to gm if you know how to deal with the innate monkey wrench in the plans and can quite easily turn him into the answer for most of the parties woes as the forces of the universe/nature rally to stomp out this unnatural ace.
I've never run into someone who consistently rolls 20's to the point where it annoys the group...I have run into the exact opposite though. One of the players in a Fantasy Craft game I'm in once managed to never roll higher than 5 all session. As a joke the DM let him roll one of his attack rolls on a D30 near the end of the session...he rolled a 1.
my take on skill-distribution:
have everybody choose a set of skills that they'd like to focus on... even fighters/clerics/barbarians...
why shouldn't they be allowed to have a niche of skills?
They can and do, and I use this approach a lot. It's why I can never understand people who dump-stat intelligence.
(NOTE: Not all players who play Kender fall into this role. The Kender CAN be played properly, I've just never seen in happen in practice; though I have heard of such things)Technically, according to the official description of Kender, all Kender played properly fall into this. Kender played improperly might actually be decent members of a party.
Never read a Dragonlance novel. Played a Dragonlance game once. Nine of us at the table, two of the players were playing Kender. Everyone but me seemed to find the "antics" of the two players quite enjoyable. Myself, I couldn't figure out why we hadn't strung them to a tree yet. The characters, not the players. After the game, I listened in on a conversation about how well they captured the Kender spirit.
That was my last Dragonlance game. Never read a Dragonlance novel.
Greg
My thinking is that there are 4 main roles, with a couple of sub-roles.
Tank- High AC, HP's and decent damage to leep stuff on him. However, without any type of aggro table, and with any sort of monster intelligence, this prolly isn't gonna be very effective
DPS -Ranged
-Melee These are usually high damage, but usually very squishyHeals Self explanatory
Skills Self explanatory
The importance of these roles will vary wildly depending on your type of game. And yes, I admit I am tainted from playing WoW for many years, so I tend to use terms that don't really have a place in PnP
These roles are only combat oriented. Who does the stuff outside of combat? Who takes the lead? Who does the talking and testing and logistics?