The Player’s Lordock
“The following is a collection of sample formats for the different elements of a Player’s Lordock. Make any adjustment, addition, you feel you need to add to your Lordock. The more the better for you and your Story Guide.”
The Lordock
The Player’s Lordock is their character sheet. It should include all vital information, effect trees, items and equipment, domiciles, frequent locations, supporting characters, and of course, notes.
Page One: Top Level Information
Our Page One elements should include the top level information about our characters. Their name, their species, their Copse Cluster of Effect Trees, their level and total experience, their physical description, and possibly with a picture of them.
Character Name
Species - Copse Cluster (Level) (Total Experience)
Physical Description and Picture
Page Two: Action Reference
On Page Two and maybe even Page Three or Page Four we should keep track of all of our combat engagement and social encounter statistics. The actions we are able to perform, and the base mechanical modifiers we will use throughout the game as we roleplay. As part of these pages we need to include our every day carry, which is the equipment we use regularly and need to track the weight and durability. Our vital conditions such as stress and hit points should also be present in the Action Reference.
Section Two: Biography
Beyond page one we divide up the sheet into sections since the total number of pages will likely be variable, and growing throughout our character’s lifetime. In Section Two we will add our main biographical information. A short life history, parents, siblings, and maybe the best friend or a hero they admire. Also, possibly, a rival or a villain they already know. We will add goal posts and milestones to our Section One: Biography. Keeping an up to date biography for yourself and your Story Guide will keep the journey forward for the character a little cleaner of plot holes.
Section Four: Domicile Tracking
Our character may own a home or sleep on their best friends couch. They might have a secret cave where they store their treasures and four different apartments they frequent. A safe house by the docks for when things hit the fan with a few extra sets of equipment just in case. Every Domicile should have at least some level of tracking. If we have domiciles where we store things, entries should be made for them with space for lists of the things our characters have.
Notes: Item Tracking
Where we keep our items is important. We will keep all of the items we want to have or collect in this section except for what we put in our active equipment and every day carry in the Action Reference pages or items listed in a particular domicile. Items tracking can include a ton of things as our characters amass wealth. Having a dedicated section for item tracking is unnecessary as they should be included in the every day carry and domicile listings.
Section Five: Shopping List
Our last item relevant section is the Shopping List. These are items the character wants to have and can include anything you might want to put a price tag on. Keeping an active shopping list where your Story Guide can find it can help them massively in their preparations for shopping episodes and crafting quests for the acquisition of such things. If you’ve ever worked in inventory these lists should be relatively familiar to you. You can keep pars for consumables here as well. Things you need often and how many you might need for the future is essential for maintaining optimal object interaction potential.
Section Six: Frequent Locations & Points of Contact
As a Player Driven Plot Device, FL&PoC is a massive campaign driver. Each time you visit a location keeping a few notes and detailing lore drops and quest information is a strong way to help reinforce the storylines your character are going through. For examples you may find any of the Lordock for locations formats as a model to base this information. The stronger notes the deeper the lore.
Section Seven: The Status Quo
The Status Quo is made of all the blank pages beyond the basic framework but still includes everything from page one forward.
Tracking your Elements
The short hand for the Status Quo a player is responsible for begins with keeping up with their items and character status. How many hit points they currently have, the conditions they are affected by, the durability of their equipment, and of course their inventories including ammunition and food stock.
More importantly in my opinion is keeping track of the story information relative to their characters. Current pursuits and past achievements are good titles to track as well as important relationships to supporting characters and even information between the player’s character and other player characters.
Keeping a good write down of the Status Quo helps us keep up with all sorts of things. Not just the main story, but all the small asides which make our characters significantly more diversified in their lives. Many campaigns will hold only a few side quests and the main story, but when a player takes the time to maintain their status quo, you’ll find hundreds of new avenues to explore in the campaign.
Unlock Everything!
Story Guide’s Notes: Living References
When I am working on prep, it is important for me to be able to glance at what my players are finding important to keep track of. With all of the players sharing their Lordock with me, I can easily find what is important to them. This has been, as a tool, a totally profound way of working together with them to make shared stories rewarding from both sides of the table.
