The real enemy of any game table is the dangerous and stealthy Min/Maxing monster – playing a character strictly by the numbers rather than by its quirky traits.

Mike Shea of Sly Flourish shared a great method during Critical Hits podcast at D&D Experience on how to counteract this age-old RPG problem. The idea is to create and distribute trait cards to help nudge the players into putting some real personality behind their characters. Try Daniel Rivera’s template for a spiffy card layout.

Ben’s game group has a couple of “newbies” who unknowingly make near-perfect tactical decisions rather than truly playing the role. Thus, these cards were an instant hit and immediately elevated everyone’s overall game (even the veterans). Be sure to see how it went on a future podcast.

Here are some of our initial favorite home-brewed traits:

• You worship yourself in an attempt to receive a divine rating.
• You are obsessed with origami and leave pieces on slain victims.
• Your OCD makes you cross any threshold 1d3 times.
• You love percentages and answer every question with a bogus calculation.

Ben has even built in minor annoyances for players who ignore their new-found persona while subtly rewarding others for exceptional game play.

Even if your group is filled with longtime gamers, try passing a few cards out just to shake things up a bit. Maybe a trait pops up after a blow to the head or via a drink from a mysterious elixir.

Min/Maxing is for the birds. Feel free to post some of your favorite character traits here for others to peruse.

As a DM, it’s time for you to take a stand.

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