Any odd gaming quirks?

[Heather 540]

Like the title says, does anyone have any odd quirks when it comes to gaming? Just something you always do or something that annoys you that others don't.

For me, it's my characters all having the same weapons. I have 2 characters that have a level in Inspired Blade Swashbuckler, so they have to have rapiers. When I made my twin thieves, one Swashbuckler and one Rogue, I wanted to give them different weapons that weren't rapiers. I just hated the idea that 4 characters would have the exact same weapon.

In the end, due to lack of proficiency or free feats, I ended up giving the rogue a rapier and the swashbuckler a cutlass. Even though they have the EXACT same stats. It just felt better to me.

So, does anyone else have anything like that?

[DungeonmasterCal]

I only play Humans, on the exceedingly rare occasion I get to be an actual player instead of the GM. I also can't use a set of dice if one of them is missing. The ones remaining go into my "retired dice box".

[LordKailas]

Roughly 50% of my characters are male and 50% are female across all rpgs I play. I haven't encountered many other players that do this. It seems generally a player will mostly play characters of a specific gender (which is often the same as their own) and will only play something different if a magical effect swaps them and/or their character concept only "feels right" as the opposite of what they normally play.

As I said this is across all rpgs I play. Regardless if I'm playing tabletop, a single player videogame or an MMO.

[Sir Ol'Guy]

LordKailas wrote:

Roughly 50% of my characters are male and 50% are female across all rpgs I play. I haven't encountered many other players that do this. It seems generally a player will mostly play characters of a specific gender (which is often the same as their own) and will only play something different if a magical effect swaps them and/or their character concept only "feels right" as the opposite of what they normally play.

As I said this is across all rpgs I play regardless if I'm playing tabletop, single player videogames or an MMO.

I've done this for years... started doing it in original D&D back in 1975.

Though I have played for a GM who insisted that the players NOT play Cross-Gendered (his term) PCs. For him, I had to switch my female elf to male.

I actually didn't notice the percentages (almost exactly 50/50) until it was pointed out to me that "you always play women" a few years back (in Season 6 I think)... and we sat down and counted. and I hit exactly 50/50. sense then I actually notice it a bit more when creating new PCs. (my first 2nd ed. PC should be male... unless I create one someplace else).
I have started creating "other gender" PCs lately. Not sure if I should track those differently...

[David knott 242]

I usually play characters who can pass for human -- but so far (in Pathfinder at least) never an actual human.

[Meirril]

I never play the same character twice. Every character has to have a different set of skills/abilities/powers. Personality is generally different, though I've noticed myself fall into a rut and not stick to the character on the sheet in the past. I feel I've gotten better about sticking to character with time.

But really the quirk is I don't want to reprise a previously played character unless it is the same character picked up from the last time I played him (or her).

[Scott Wilhelm]

A lot of my dice are more than 40 years old.

[The Shifty Mongoose]

I have four sets of dice. In a sort of Dragonlance fashion, I use the white dice for good characters, the red dice for neutral ones, and black dice for evil ones.

I also have a set of gold sparkly dice, but since those tend to fail me when I need them the most, I lend them out to other people who've forgotten theirs. That'll learn 'em.

[Xorran]

I have a lot of things I always do, both as a player and GM. I always buy dice that have a full compliment of dice, 4d6, and a proper percentile set. I always color code my attacks on my character sheet, 1st attack white, 2nd attack blue, and so on. Then when I roll, I roll eveything at the same time, attack, miss chance, and damage, almost all of my players have adopted this, and it speeds up combat alot.
When I GM I always write down characters stat blocks on a spreadsheet that I put in my GM screen, name, AC, HP, perception, and any other stats I may need to roll in secret for them. Also resulting in sped up combat, since I never have to ask players any of their stats, it also helps encourage role-play, since I can always refer to character names instead of player names.
Probably the biggest things I do as a GM is that I encourage role-play, and offer my players about 50% of their total xp from role-playing, or bonus campaign xp, instead of just combat xp.

[Scott Wilhelm]

I now do all my character sheets on spreadsheets. Published character record sheets have never been adequate for me, and I HAAAAAATE Herolab.

Also, I find that the way one organizes a character when making the character is not the way I want the sheet organized when I actually start playing. I don't want my ability scores on top: I want my Attack, Damage, and AC on top. The Ability Scores and list of Feats are for further down.

[Temperans]

In my case I have a tendency to at least try to multiclass in some way, I try to avoid single class characters unless there is little options (ex Wizards).

Also, probably due to self-esteem issues and some bad experiences I believe I have a high tendency to roll on the low side when it matters most.

Finally, I too tend to use spreadsheets, but it's because it saves me from having to calculate things and erase every time I decide to change something. Automated buffs/debuffs are great.

[Scott Wilhelm]

Temperans wrote:

In my case I have a tendency to at least try to multiclass in some way, I try to avoid single class characters unless there is little options (ex Wizards).

Also, probably due to self-esteem issues and some bad experiences I believe I have a high tendency to roll on the low side when it matters most.

Finally, I too tend to use spreadsheets, but it's because it saves me from having to calculate things and erase every time I decide to change something. Automated buffs/debuffs are great.

I multiclass more than anyone else I know!

[DungeonmasterCal]

No one has multi-classed in my game for over 10 years.

[Cevah]

I make my characters on a spreadsheet.

However, the spreadsheet duplicates the character sheet in the book. I make it so that all calculated stats are calculated, letting me not worry about them when a main stat changes. Did it in 3.X, 4.0, and PF.

/cevah

[blahpers]

I've met way too many players that blow on the dice before rolling them. Gross.

[DungeonmasterCal]

I honestly do not understand some players' obsession with not letting someone else touch their dice. It's not a hygiene thing. I would understand that. But afraid you'll harsh their mojo is just...weird.

[Scott Wilhelm]

DungeonmasterCal wrote:

I honestly do not understand some players' obsession with not letting someone else touch their dice. It's not a hygiene thing. I would understand that. But afraid you'll harsh their mojo is just...weird.

That's not my dice-obsession, but I have one or 2.

[Yqatuba]

This probably sounds really OCD but when I am the DM if a monster's HP is really close to a round number I like to round it off (so if the monster had 394 hp I would give it 400 instead.)

[Scott Wilhelm]

Yqatuba wrote:

This probably sounds really OCD but when I am the DM if a monster's HP is really close to a round number I like to round it off (so if the monster had 394 hp I would give it 400 instead.)

All right, now you've done it!

In my next campaign, I'm going to hide hidden messages in the HP of the Monsters. The Dragon's HP will actually be map coordinates to another treasure trove!

or something

[blahpers]

GUYS THE MONSTERS' HP ARE ALL PRIME NUMBERS IT'S A SIGN FROM BEYOND SOMEBODY CALL JODIE FOSTER

[DungeonmasterCal]

I have never been able to run a published module (I don't own any of the adventure paths, but I'm sure it would be the same). I've homebrewed my entire gaming history.

Wait...I did run the "Baba Yaga's Hut" adventure found in Dragon Magazine back around 1985 or 1986. But as far as I can recall that's the only one.

[glass]

I make sure all the dice are the "right" way up when not actually being rolled (ie highest number uppermost), but only when I am playing a PC. When I am GMing, I leave them as they fall, and if they happen to be too close to all showing the highest numbers I deliberately knock a couple over so they are not. No real reason; just how I like to do things.

Odd enough?

_
glass.

[KingGramJohnson]

I also hate it when people just touch my dice. I don't mind them borrowing them if they ask. And so help me if they roll my d20 without permission!

As for other RPG quirks I have:

Before the game starts (both as a player and as a GM), I roll my d20 once (and only once) to "fire it up".

I tend to always roll bad on initiative regardless of character build or what my initiative bonus actually is. Occasionally I'll roll well on initiative and I'm surprised. Funny enough, this does not apply when I GM. I tend to roll well for the enemies' initiatives.

I don't HAVE to play with a complete set of matching dice...but I prefer it.

My GM dice usually have to be black, and I dare not use them as a player, bad things happen when I do.

I use a notebook when I play and I record my HP, money, and daily powers and abilities/spell slots on there so this way I don't have to wear my character sheet out. I'll update the character sheet itself at the end of the session on some things, and on other things I wait for a level up. I try to encourage others to do this as much as I can, but a lot of people I play with don't care enough. I like my character sheets to stay readable!

Bonus fact: I know a guy who washes his dice before every session.

[blahpers]

KingGramJohnson wrote:

Bonus fact: I know a guy who washes his dice before every session.

I mean, dice are probably pretty nasty. I'd hate to see a swab test of the numeral engravings after a year of steady use.

[Yqatuba]

I only like playing casters of some sort at high level in 3.x/Pathfinder, pure melee classes seem kinda boring since typically you just do a full attack every round. Pathfinder helps in this regard, but I still think casters are just a lot more interesting. Also just FYI I usually play some kind of caster in mmorpgs as well for the same reason.

[Lucy_Valentine]

I always play partial casters or multiclass casters. I'm not sure that counts as a quirk though.
Oh, I also don't play heterosexual characters.

[Slim Jim]

DungeonmasterCal wrote:

No one has multi-classed in my game for over 10 years.

Insofar as I can recall, with a single exception (a wizard), all of my characters have been multiclassed.

(Can you imagine being a peasant Commoner who works at MickyDees his entire life? <shudder> Gotta try new things...)

[DungeonmasterCal]

DungeonmasterCal wrote:

No one has multi-classed in my game for over 10 years.

Well, that streak has been broken. This past weekend I had a guy playing a Bolt Ace/Inquisitor of Abbadon.

[KingGramJohnson]

blahpers wrote:

KingGramJohnson wrote:

Bonus fact: I know a guy who washes his dice before every session.

I mean, dice are probably pretty nasty. I'd hate to see a swab test of the numeral engravings after a year of steady use.

True that.

[Thunderlord]

Despite all of my theory crafting, I usually end up playing fighters or at the least some sort of martial class. I even considered turning my witch into an eldritch knight but reason won the day then. Worse yet, I don't even play straight fighters because multiclassing is so fun and rewarding at lower levels.

Also, all of my dice are red and I get called out on it all of the time.

[Slim Jim]

Thunderlord wrote:

Despite all of my theory crafting, I usually end up playing fighters or at the least some sort of martial class.

Me too. While I appreciate the power of magic, casters feel constrained and one-trick-ponyish. You're always running out of spells for the day, while the fighter's sword can lop a million heads and keep right on going -- and there's comfort in that reliability.

Quote:

I don't even play straight fighters because multiclassing is so fun and rewarding at lower levels.

Incorrigable front-loader here. You never know when a campaign will abruptly quit, so you might as well cram everything awesome in that you can at the first two levels. (One can always retrain later if they want a straight-class.)

Quote:

Also, all of my dice are red and I get called out on it all of the time.

I use a big MtG "life-counter" die as my d20 (lotus flower = crit!), and a speckled black & blaze-orange 20mm spotted d10 as my bardiche damage die. It's a meaty handful with just two.

[Yqatuba]

Does anyone NOT use the "gp are weightless" rule? It seems to be a houserule everyone uses.

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

Yqatuba wrote:

Does anyone NOT use the "gp are weightless" rule? It seems to be a houserule everyone uses.

My groups don't. Encumbrance and weight are things you have to worry about.

[Might be Mighty Mite]

Bjørn Røyrvik wrote:

Yqatuba wrote:

Does anyone NOT use the "gp are weightless" rule? It seems to be a houserule everyone uses.

My groups don't. Encumbrance and weight are things you have to worry about.

I once encountered a trap where we were buried in Brass Pennies (value of a Brass Penny in that game was 0.1 cp.)...

wasn't a TPK, but we did loose 3 PCs to suffocation. Yeah, the PCs "Drowned in Money"...

[Darigaaz the Igniter]

Bjørn Røyrvik wrote:

Yqatuba wrote:

Does anyone NOT use the "gp are weightless" rule? It seems to be a houserule everyone uses.

My groups don't. Encumbrance and weight are things you have to worry about.

And ammo. Track your ammo.

EDIT: I guess that would be my quirk, I ALWAYS track exactly how much money and ammo I have on me, including appropriate weight.

[Sir Ol'Guy]

Table Tents for my PCs...

Over the years of play from Season 0 to today I have watched fewer and fewer players bother with anything in the way of a Table Tent identifying their PC. Back in LG days (Pre-PFS) I would see a player or two at each table, now? I'll bet most people reading this don't even know what I'm talking about when I mention them.

My current version of a PC table tent:

I have my PC's in plastic sheet protectors in binders. The first page/protector of the binder has a card-stock "table tent" that I slip about a third out of the binder (up to half, depending on the size of the PC picture) and fold up to show my PC write-up/intro and picture. I just pull the page partway out of the protector, fold it once to get it to stand up and have an instant table tent.

Table space used? no more than my PC binder. so effectively zero.

Time to pick it up and put it away? 3 to 5 seconds.

Chance of getting it separated from my PC? zero.

Plus, when I open the binder to show someone my PC, it has a character picture and intro on the first page. When I was still using 3 ring binders, it was in the plastic front of the binder so it was the binders cover.

often on the back of the sheet I'll have notes to myself - things like "Mention that I have SR" or "Check for Traps!" or "loan out the extra Hat of Disguise"!

Often in the middle of the game, if I kick a party buff off I'll drop a folded index card, or a small posted note on it with the name/effect of the buff - "Bless! +1 Moral to hit & SV vs. Fear". but by then most of the players have read the tent and recognize me as my PCs picture... and the Buff card get's noticed more that way.

[Sir Ol'Guy]

Sticky notes. Currently I use 4x6 inch ones, but I have used most sized post-it notes down to little more than 1x1 inch.

I stick 6 or 8 in on PC binder, or in the inside cover of my gaming books, and just stick some on my paper PC sheet for use during the game. Tracking expenditures, etc... or just game notes for the scenario. After the game, I'll stick that note on the back of the Chronicle and file it away...

...

this actually lead to a funny story one game not so long ago:

...as we are setting up to start the game, one of the players was a last minute drop in. They didn’t have their PCs with them, but they did have a “copy” on their phone (the judge is ok with this). So they asked if anyone had a “scrap piece of paper” for them to keep notes on (HP and stuff)... I pull off one of the Post-It notes attached to my PC in front of me and pass it to them. As they take it I reach into my bag under the table and say “I’ve got a tablet you can use too...”

To which they reply: “no, I actually need something physical to write on.”

So I blink and say: “Ah - a tablet like as in a pad of paper - you know, like from last century...” pulling out a 20th century style Notation Device (Paper and pencil).

Everyone at the table stops to look at me - then they remember that I’m the guy with the flip phone, and his character in a binder, on paper...

Yeah, some times you young'uns seem to be speaking another language...

[Yqatuba]

How is a level 20 group supposed to carry around 50000 gp in coins? Assuming each coin is an ounce, that would be 3125 lbs of gold! I guess you could split it up but that would still be about 750 lbs per person, a bit much for, say, a gnome wizard to carry. Maybe they could just pay people in precious stones or something?

[DungeonmasterCal]

I get around this by not using WBL charts and recommendations.

[Darigaaz the Igniter]

Yqatuba wrote:

How is a level 20 group supposed to carry around 50000 gp in coins? Assuming each coin is an ounce, that would be 3125 lbs of gold! I guess you could split it up but that would still be about 750 lbs per person, a bit much for, say, a gnome wizard to carry. Maybe they could just pay people in precious stones or something?

50000gp comes out to 1000 lbs, 250 per character. Or a couple of bags of holding.

[avr]

Or you use more valuable stuff than gold pieces, and/or you have a home base or something.

[Heather 540]

In my last group, we had a magically protected safe that we kept our cash in. Quite helpful for my little dex based halfling with the 2 mil in gold and platinum.

[LordKailas]

Yqatuba wrote:

How is a level 20 group supposed to carry around 50000 gp in coins? Assuming each coin is an ounce, that would be 3125 lbs of gold! I guess you could split it up but that would still be about 750 lbs per person, a bit much for, say, a gnome wizard to carry. Maybe they could just pay people in precious stones or something?

This is why in most groups I've played in by mid to high level the group starts to use a portable hole to carry loot. It has no listed weight limit, so the only question is volume. In my current group when the portable hole became impractical, one of the characters did create demi-plane greater and the DM allowed him to connect a permanent gate between it and an instant fortress.

At lower levels if a hoard is sufficiently large enough to warrant it there is treasure stitching

[avr]

BTW in PF a coin is 1/50 of a pound. An ounce is 1/16, right?

[Bob's Feet]

Ok, for all you persons dealing with weights and coins in the U. S. of A., it looks like there are (about)

80 quarters to a pound,
200 dimes to a pound,
90.8 nickels to a pound,
181 (Zinc) Pennies to a pound

[blahpers]

Darigaaz the Igniter wrote:

Bjørn Røyrvik wrote:

Yqatuba wrote:

Does anyone NOT use the "gp are weightless" rule? It seems to be a houserule everyone uses.

My groups don't. Encumbrance and weight are things you have to worry about.

And ammo. Track your ammo.

EDIT: I guess that would be my quirk, I ALWAYS track exactly how much money and ammo I have on me, including appropriate weight.

That's a quirk? It's a requirement at my table.

[blahpers]

Bob's Feet wrote:

Ok, for all you persons dealing with weights and coins in the U. S. of A., it looks like there are (about)

80 quarters to a pound,
200 dimes to a pound,
90.8 nickels to a pound,
181 (Zinc) Pennies to a pound

All zero of us? ; )

[blahpers]

Yqatuba wrote:

How is a level 20 group supposed to carry around 50000 gp in coins? Assuming each coin is an ounce, that would be 3125 lbs of gold! I guess you could split it up but that would still be about 750 lbs per person, a bit much for, say, a gnome wizard to carry. Maybe they could just pay people in precious stones or something?

Gems. Jewelry. Low-weight trade goods.

[Abadari]

blahpers wrote:

Yqatuba wrote:

How is a level 20 group supposed to carry around 50000 gp in coins? Assuming each coin is an ounce, that would be 3125 lbs of gold! I guess you could split it up but that would still be about 750 lbs per person, a bit much for, say, a gnome wizard to carry. Maybe they could just pay people in precious stones or something?

Gems. Jewelry. Low-weight trade goods.

letters of credit with the Bank of Abadar...

also, there is a bunch of "trade goods" that are living creatures - so you could get it to carry itself. Does kind of make paying for transactions odd when you pay with a cow and get a pig, a goat and 3 chickens for change... there's a lot of RP potential there

[Sir Stabalot]

I can not play the same character twice. But I guess it isn't much of a quirk if most people share it.

But by extension, I hate seeing someone come with the same character again and again and again... We've had this paladin that just pulled the same toon for six consecutives campaign (and when I say the same, it was down to the name. The only difference was the background, to fit the campaign start).

I've also since then developped an intense hatred of the self-righteous murder-hobos divine champions, and I unvoluntarily cringe when someone even talk about getting one at our table.