The Non-Euclidian Staircase

I vary some by mood and style (I'm a different player by mail than face-to-face)... but there's some bits I can't avoid.

There's a healthy component of Power Gamer in most any Tactician, in my opinion... It's always easier to plot out a win when you're tougher, after all. I end up with a strong mix of these two. It's the math modeling geek in me; after all, modeling and trying to find an optimal path through the math of the model is pretty much what I do for a living. The thought patterns that builds are hard to totally abandon. I do tend toward seeing the plot as challenge to be overcome more often than something to interact with, and I love a good structured challenge to meet. And, sometimes, that means making character choices based on what works best rather than more "pure" decisions.

This personal style flavors my choice of games... I strongly prefer games where the mechanics support the style, because both as GM and as player I dislike doing things I know are pointedly unwise (in how the game reflects them) 'just' because they fit the style. A game that matches its mechanics to its style thus allows me to play the style with more comfort.

Beyond that, Method Actor, at least a bit (more by email). I tend toward certain character types (but more than one, so not much Specialist), and those types tend to be ones with strong roleplaying hooks, letting me over-act (acting is a weird thing... oversimplify method acting theory and it seems to say the worse you are at it, the more you do of it).