Comment by 🚀 jsreed5
Re: "Writing in the Second Person"
Since second-person perspective invites the reader to place himself in the position of the observer, moreso than first- or third-person writing does, it seems to me that assigning characteristics to the reader himself is inevitable. However, I think that's an acceptable price to pay, especially in the setting of a tabletop RPG.
Many people start out in the world of TTRPGs by essentially playing themselves, as time goes on, players' characters eventually begin to diverge. That's the allure, and in some ways the point, of roleplaying: assuming roles that are not just yourself and exploring how a different perspective would affect your decisions. In order to do that, you need to place yourself in the world of the story, but you also need to allow your character to think and behave differently than you do. New players in particular often need some help to make that separation, and reading a text in which new characteristics are forced upon you is an effective way to do it.
It's fine if the characteristics chosen by the narrative don't fit a player or the character he wants to play. A good game master will recognize that and make adjustments accordingly. But the act of introducing assumptions about a character's perspective or behavior isn't a bad thing--on the contrary, if it's apropos to the role you want to play, even if you wouldn't behave that way, that still aids the story.
Apr 29 · 9 days ago
1 Later Comment
🌲 Half_Elf_Monk · Apr 30 at 20:57:
I got some value out of that article. I've found that some play groups / players don't mind a bit of the second person as worldbuilding. Unless each player is already committed to making up everything on their own, it's helpful contextualization and worldbuilding. Maybe more towards the "railroading" end of the spectrum, but I can see why that'd be helpful for newer players. ALSO: I'm glad to find out that this capsule exists. :)
Original Post
— ttrpgs.com/second_person.gmi
Writing in the Second Person