What Your Character Knows That You Don’t

I’m sure I’m not the only person who’s found themselves in this position.  You tell the GM you want to use a skill, say you’re going to hack into a computer.  The GM says, “OK.  How are you going to go about it?”

“Huh?” you swiftly and intelligently respond.

“How are you going to hack into the computer?” he repeats.

Well…now what are you going to do?  Damned if I know, and you may not either.  Our characters aren’t extensions of ourselves.  Instead, they are unique individuals with expertise that we don’t have.  I’ve made a few pieces of armor back in my SCA days, and I know a bit about how to swing a sword.  As a backpacker, I’ve spent a good bit of time walking down the trail carrying everything I need in a pack on my back.  Does that make me the equivelent of a D&D adventurer?  Hell no!

So what do you do when your GM expects you to tell him/her what you’re going to be doing while using a skill…a skill that you personally don’t have a clue how to use?  Well, at that point, you’re pretty well hosed.  You’re only choice is to pull something out of your butt and hope it works.  In this example say you’re going to use the most common passwords or something.

For me, it was always annoying when the GM expected me to possess knowledge that my character would have but I wouldn’t, sort of like reverse metagame thinking.  However, some GMs will do that.  With all that build-up, here’s how Uncle Tomcat would solve this problem.

First, talk to your GM before the first session.  Find out how they handle skill usage.  Many will give bonuses if you describe your actions, others will require you to do so, and still others won’t care either way.  If you have a GM that wants bonuses, you may need to do a bit of research.  You don’t have to be proficent with the skills in question, but know the basics of what they do to use that skill.

Also, for world basic knowledge, be prepared to ask your GM if your character would know something.  After all, as I’ve already said, your character has knowledge that you don’t.  However, often the GM will know what your character will know but hasn’t thought about it yet.  A polite prompt may help them remember key information your character has that you need to deal with the situation properly.

The key thing is to talk to your GM about it, outside of the game if possible, and deal with it there.  Some GMs may not be flexible.  In those cases, my best advice is to find another game.  Inflexible GMs are among the worst thing you can have!