You already know why Betterments are so important, but I’ll recap it anyway.

Betterments are not only a big part of game balance, but they also make Governing a whole lot easier. Play hard to get your Betterments and all should be well.

This is why you should absolutely have your own Character in the campaign!

Every Governor should have his own Character. Even if you expect to be the Governor every single game, you should have a Character.

Name your Character, spend your starting Leanrin’, spend your starting cash on sweet loot, keep track of the Loot and Learnin’ you get as Governor, and keep spending it on new skills and new items.

In short, make sure your Character is ready to play at a moment’s notice!

But why should I care about my Character if I’m always going to be the Governor?

First, you don’t know you’re always going to be the Governor. In fact, as we’ll talk about next time, you definitely should not be the Governor every game. Who knows when somebody else in your group is going to whip out some badass custom scenario? You gotta be ready!

Second, maintaining your own Character puts you closer in touch with the mindset of the other players, which is important if you plan on Governing most of the time. But more importantly, maintaining a Character gives the Betterments a real and tangible benefit. It gives you a good reason to remember to pick them, and to ponder over which ones are the best to go for. Which one do you want the most? Which ones are easy to get?

It forces you to think about the Scenario and figure out how it’s supposed to work.

Having a Character, and maintaining the growth of that Character, makes you a better Governor, even if you never put your dude on the table.