The role of the player in a Last Odyssey campaign is to control a single protagonist. The following section is written for players who have already read the previous sections and have an understanding of what a game of Last Odyssey entails, but either lack the FRP experience or the familiarity with Last Odyssey to know how to plug into a group and contribute to the best of their ability. Before you go any further, though, you should take a deep breath and relax. While FRP shares a lot of commonalities with improv, you are not trying out for a role in an acting troupe. This is not a homework assignment, and for that matter it’s not a PhD thesis, either. The author of this book has been playing FRPs for the entirety of their adult life (and a plurality of their childhood, as well), and in her opinion what makes a good player is someone who brings their authentic self to the table, and is willing to be vulnerable enough to communicate to the group when they’re having fun and when they’re not.
That being said, there is a bare minimum level of preparation that is expected of you when participating in an FRP. The benchmark for a Last Odyssey player is that they should know their own character, and be familiar with the rules that govern them. For example, if your character is a Priest, you should know how Restore MP works, and you know which statistics you get bonuses to when occupying different jobs. You should also make sure your character sheet is both complete and up-to-date. Whenever something about them changes, such as when they take damage or injury or when they pick up an item, write it down as soon as you can. If your group allows it, you can use a word processor to record your character sheet, but a printout written on in pencil works just as well. As far as the rules are concerned, everything in the Characters section is your responsibility, as well as the Combat Rules, the Exploration Rules, and the rules for Free Play. You are, of course, highly encouraged to learn the GM side of things as well. Once you get familiar enough with Last Odyssey, your rules knowledge will be invaluable in making sure that your game runs smoothly. If you are feeling brave, you might eventually decide to run a Last Odyssey game of your own.
In Last Odyssey, each player has different capacities that they must use to contribute to the group’s overall goal. Combat is the best illustration of this. If your character is the best (or only) Healer, then it’s on you to make sure that the other characters stay standing over the course of the fight. There are also plenty of abilities that only work in tandem with other players. If your character is going to be a Striker during the upcoming round, then a Defender could Taunt one of the back row enemies into the front for you to take down. If your character is a Caster, then the Saboteur could make sure that your opponents were vulnerable to your elemental type before you rained death upon them. The Paradigm Phase exists as an opportunity for the players to plan out the next round of combat. Because Last Odyssey is very tactics-forward, players are encouraged to communicate with one another as much as they need to about their approach to defeating their enemies.
No other arena in Last Odyssey requires the level of coordination that combat does, but players will also need to take on the roles that fit their characters best during the other parts of the game. During exploration and during free play, it is natural to delegate tasks based on who has the highest Mind, Body, and Spirit. However, many of the challenges you will encounter in this arena must be solved by your own ingenuity. As much as their abilities can help, a character alone will never fully solve a puzzle. It’s your creativity that counts here, and it should. One person alone might possess the ingenuity or background knowledge to overcome the challenges the GM throws at you, but it often takes multiple people putting their heads together to reach a real breakthrough. No matter what your level of talent or skill, you will always know something the other players don’t. Be bold enough to contribute, and likewise be willing to listen to others when they have ideas that are different than your own.
Every player at the table is going to be attached to their own character. The word “roleplaying” is often used to describe the part of roleplaying that involves performance. Taking the spotlight and doing what your character would do is cool, and it’s part of the fun. When everyone else in the room is out of ideas or is too anxious to take that risk, it can be inspiring to step up and do something that drives the story forward. You’ll known you’ve played your character “well” when you notice your fellow groupmates responding in kind, including the GM. At the best of times, a good character can add richness to the narrative by creating more lore and adding a new perspective to your shared world that heightens the group’s immersion.
On the flip side of things, it’s not fun to be nothing more than the accessory to someone else’s story. If you are the type of person who tends to naturally seek to be the center of attention, it’s important to be mindful that there are other players in the room who also have their own ideas of what kind of story they want to tell. It’s very bad form to push people out of the spotlight, of course, but it’s also not unheard of for someone to hog the spotlight without intending to. If you’ve done a lot this session, maybe let someone else solve the next puzzle, or coordinate your team for the next combat encounter, or be the focal point of the next Scene.
Something that this author has observed some of her players doing is planning character arcs together. Maybe your character is rivals with another, or maybe they are siblings, or part of the same religious order. That way, a roleplaying opportunity for you is also a roleplaying opportunity for them. This is why she would suggest that a good player is someone who, by their actions, invites other players deeper into their shared world. Player character interactions during play, including conflict if everyone is comfortable with that, are a great way to make sure everyone feels included. No matter what you do, make sure that you are playing the game in a way that respects other people’s wishes in addition to fulfilling your own.
As a player, you are a co-author of the narrative, and as such your voice deserves to be heard and respected at the table. If you feel like the game isn’t going the way you wanted it to, it’s okay to voice that. If you’re feeling upset, or angry, or just plain old tired, it’s okay to take a break from play, or even request that the session end early. Likewise, it’s not okay to judge people for standing up for their own needs during the game. There is no such thing as good or bad roleplaying apart from whether or not your individual group is getting what they want out of the experience. Last Odyssey is a game that is, at times, designed to prompt negative emotions, such as anxiety, grief, shock, or even fear. Just like with a horror movie, there is always a line between catharsis and emotional damage, and every person’s limits will be different. You are always encouraged to step out of your comfort zone, but if you just want to have an evening of light entertainment with your friends, there is no reason why you can’t steer the game in that direction. Ultimately, it’s your game, and you are allowed to play it however you want to.