Dissociation
“Where have you been for the last 24 hours?�
“I was not being brainwashed.�
“Who were you with?�
“The people who weren’t brainwashing me.�
As mentioned in the second chapter, characters in live-action roleplaying games often need to accomplish tasks that players can perform without any mechanics at all. When characters need to converse or pass items to each other, the simplest mechanic is to have no mechanic at all. “People skills� such as deception or negotiation can be extremely complicated and clumsy to mechanic but they can be easily incorporated in games by encouraging players to conduct such interpersonal interactions “for real.� Why might GMs want to mechanic processes that players are naturally and instinctively capable of performing?
When people interact with each other without the mediation of mechanics, it can be unclear whether those people are acting as characters or players. A character may try to weasel his or her way out of a difficult situation but players are not allowed to lie to their fellow players over actual facts of the game. As described in the Standard Rules:
- There is a sharp distinction between Player reality and Character reality. Players are expected to treat each other with courtesy and to explain to other Players what their Characters perceive in confusing situations (“My Character’s hands are covered in blood.�) Characters are under no such restrictions, and should do what it takes to further their goals (“Uh, hi Bob. Just got back from the butcher shop.�) As this example indicates, while Characters may lie to other Characters at almost any time about anything, Players may never lie to anybody about anything.
This is a very fine differentiation that can be easily confused. Some players may consider certain interactions as inappropriate between players, while others may interpret those same interactions as happening between characters, thus being acceptable. Some players may hesitate to perform certain in-game activities that would be appropriate for their character for fear that they may be misconstrued as player, rather than character, actions.
Although implementing abstract mechanics for intuitive player actions may seem cumbersome, they can help at avoiding damage, nervousness and arguments between players. In situations such as negotiation, politics, seduction, combat, deception and interrogation, players and GMs may prefer to use mechanics to make clear that such interactions are occurring between characters, not players.
