Talking Heads

Something a little different this time.

One of the hardest parts I have with GMing is keeping characters distinctive. To remedy this, I had the idea to use something like flash cards.

With just a glance, you could look down and get a rough idea of how to act out each character. The pictures are mainly just for quick identification.

The words are there to bring up the most likely tone of response. GUIDE is encouraging by default, but occasionally lapses into history, being very well educated. If the players elicit a further response, GUIDE's vulnerable side bleeds through.

The cards can't tell a complete story. I knew from the get-go that GUIDE is afraid of dying, even though it's artificial. That's mainly just there as a reminder. If possible, the response will be historical/factual, or encouraging in any way. GUIDE's a good guy.

Mister Fixer is a different story. He's a tough guy, who drives muscle cars and lifts weights. His day job is assassination, something he doesn't hide. If he can't think of a "tough" thing to add to a conversation, he'll tell a little story about his line of work. And, at the very core, his dirty secret- he's a proud father. This adds a little bit of character depth, and as the players get to know him more, he'll probably open up about it. Probably. Maybe. Possibly.

The quotes at the bottom are just a little phrase to help identify the speaker. I plan to have it show up at least once in every conversation, to reinforce the character. Obviously, the phrase is kept as open as possible to let it be spliced into any part of speech.

• MF (see what I did there? =D) Blows up a car: Too easy.
• During a set-up: Anyone else think this is a little too easy?
• Talking about cars: ... Makes it too easy. A child could do it.

It's just a GM aid, ultimately. I have no guarantee this will improve anyone's ability, or concentration. In fact, it might be too distracting. I'll have to find out myself. 

But, if it helps, go for it!