Character Types is Tough [Archive] - Wizards Community

Character Types is Tough [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Coneyman88
07-23-07, 12:09 AM Building a character on the paper is easy enough (once you get used to it). But the second part, coming up with their history, personality, ect. can be much more challenging than it seems. Sure, WotC gives us numerous examples in books (i.e. - The Patriot, The Loner, The Faithful, and much more) but these themes are so over-used and more disappointing MISused that running something related is pointless.

I have a group now who made up their characters by themselves (personality/history speaking) and they still fell victim to playing the character how one of these books told them to. I am almost to the point where I want to just throw their character sheets away and force them one-by-one to just learn how to think outside of the books and play a character from their own perspective.

...then I looked at how I play my characters and realized that I did much of the same things they do. I look at my characters' classes and think of something 'neat' that they can do then I build my history (briefly) and then play it as one of the many archtypes that WotC has set forth for us. THIS HAS TO STOP!!!!

In this forum I want you guys to think of some unique character types and a few examples on how to play your stated 'type' that is DIFFERENT from the types laid forth in the D&D books.
Be creative and have fun. --Bragging rights for the best ones I see.--
Terjon of the Blue Rose
07-23-07, 12:30 AM Think you could provide a list of the types already listed? It'd make it much easier since I tend to skip those sections of the book.:cool:
Coneyman88
07-23-07, 12:00 PM Think you could provide a list of the types already listed? It'd make it much easier since I tend to skip those sections of the book.:cool:

Not a problem. The following information can be found in the PHB2, Chapter 5: Building your Identity, pages 129-146.

(A list of Backgrounds and simple descriptions:)

Artisan - Shopkeeper
Ascetic - Student/Studier
Drifter - Home? What's that?
Farm Hand - Farmers' Helper
Gladiator - A Slave Trained to Fight
Guttersnipe - Grew up on the Streets
Mariner - You Love the Water
Noble Scion - RICHIE RICH
Soilder - Servant in the Army
Tribal Origin - "Raised by Wolves"

(A list of Personality Archetypes and simple descriptions:)

Agent - "It shall be as you command."
Challenger - "I must fight him alone."
Companion - "Stand firm, Regdar. I am at your side."
Crusader - "Crush the minotaurs and spread the word of Obad-Hai!"
Daredevil - "You guys stay here. I'm going to (insert INSANE idea here)."
Explorer - "If we continues along this road, we'll come to the fallen country of Abu'nix."
Innocent - "I've never done anything like that."
Leader - "Onward, men! We have those orcs on the run!"
Martyr - "My life for you."
Mercenary - "If there's gold involved, I'm in."
Orphan - "I've been on my own my whole life."
Prophet - "I speak the word of Pelor."
Rebel - "What has the kingdom done for us?"
Renegade - "I can never return to my place of birth."
Royalty - "No, I'm not the prince. I just look like him."
Sage - "That is the rare and valuable Numhatch mushroom."
Savage - "I do not understand your ways, but I will fight for you."
Seeker - "Let us press on."
Simple Soul - "Ha ha! I like you, my friend!"
Strategist - "If you wait here, and you wait there, and you distract over here..."
Theorist - "Fascinating. And I wonder what happens if..."
Trickster - "You go in first, and cover your eyes. I have a surprise for you."
Wanderer - "I have no home. I have no family. I have no name."

Personality Traits:

Ambitious - "I'll be the greatest _______!"
Angrey - "You wont like me. Ever."
Boastful - "How do you like that, huh?"
Bold - "Come let us crush the enemy where he stands!"
Brutal - "He surrendered? Sorry, I didn't hear it; I was too busy chopping off his head."
Calm - "Yes, I see the dragon. What's the big deal?"
Carefree - "Ah, it doesn't matter if we wake that Dragon."
Charming - "Let me hold that for you, my lady."
Connected - "You'd better not be insulting my sister."
Conservative - "The old ways are the best ways."
Disciplined - "An hour of meditation and prayer before sleep."
Driven - "I don't care how many vampires the inscription says are beyond the door. I'm going in."
Energetic - "Okay, we've killed the trolls and grabbed the treasure, what's next?"
Erudite - "Our current plight dervies directly from our dearth of aureate remuneration."
Exotic - "Where I come from, this is normal."
Fatalistic - "None of us is long for this world."
Flamboyant - "With a twist of my sword, a couple of steps to the right, and...ha! The apple is sliced neatly in two."
Funny - "What did the fighter say when asked if he liked mutton? Sword of'. Ha!"
Greedy - "Let's loot 'em!"
Kind- "There, does that feel better?"
Loyal - "You can count on me."
Merciful - "He surrendered. Let's let him go."
Naive - "Why is that person angry at me?"
Patriotic - "For the glory of the queen!"
Peaceful - "Wait, this does not have to end in bloodshed!"
Reformed - "I used to kill people for money, but that was another part of my life."
Religious - "Kord grant me strength."
Serious - "How can you think of dancing at a time like this?"
Skilled - "Spiced crab legs tonight!"
Vengeful - Giants? Wipe them out. All of them."

I know this is a lot but they've all become so overused and MISused that it's rediculous!
Fithero
07-24-07, 12:36 AM there are actually a few more of those personality traits at the back of the book, on the random npc's generation tables :P
Coneyman88
07-24-07, 12:38 AM there are actually a few more of those personality traits at the back of the book, on the random npc's generation tables :P

I think I hit enough of them!!! LoL!;)
Deadlion
07-24-07, 10:46 AM ...then I looked at how I play my characters and realized that I did much of the same things they do. I look at my characters' classes and think of something 'neat' that they can do then I build my history (briefly) and then play it as one of the many archtypes that WotC has set forth for us.

I think this is your problem. You choose character class before you create your personality, background and so on. This way, no matter how hard you try, you're always gonna have the idea in the back of your head that you're creating a personality and backstory for your fighter or wizard or whatever.

Personally I tend most often to think up character concepts first. These may have some bearing on character class, for example the concept may require a martial character, or a spellcaster, or whatever, but it's most often just an attitude, or a certain way of thinking, or even just a striking appearance that comes to me first.

Then I flesh this out a bit, and then, once I have a fair idea of how I want to roleplay the character, I start thinking about stuff like class and alignment.

For example, one character idea I have at the moment is of a guy who is fairly good in general, he helps those who he thinks needs it, tends to try to "teach a lesson" in some form or another to those he percieves as wrongdoers, but... he has a darker side as well. He lives for combat. The rush of adrenaline, the risk of death, the struggle with your opponent, and the eventual kill. It gives him such a great thrill that he will seek out battle whereever possible.
He feels guilty to take such pleasure in what he views as a cruel, brutal thing, but at the same time he can do nothing about it. He is addicted to bloodlust, but although he is driven to fight, he always tries to find a worthy conflict, so that his killings are for some at least vaguely good purpose, not just indisciminate homicides.
Now, I came up with all that, and the only thing it dictates about the character build is that he has to be some kind of martially inclined class that isn't a paladin. I still, in fact, haven't decided what class, race, or even alignment (although I'm leaning strongly towards CN) would best fit the concept.

While the way I create characters is bound not to work for everyone, I suggest you at least give it a try once, and see if it helps.
Fithero
07-24-07, 11:09 AM Yeah, i agree with Deadlion, fit the rules to the story, not the story to the rules.
Coneyman88
07-24-07, 01:37 PM I think this is your problem. You choose character class before you create your personality, background and so on. This way, no matter how hard you try, you're always gonna have the idea in the back of your head that you're creating a personality and backstory for your fighter or wizard or whatever.

Personally I tend most often to think up character concepts first. These may have some bearing on character class, for example the concept may require a martial character, or a spellcaster, or whatever, but it's most often just an attitude, or a certain way of thinking, or even just a striking appearance that comes to me first.

Then I flesh this out a bit, and then, once I have a fair idea of how I want to roleplay the character, I start thinking about stuff like class and alignment.

For example, one character idea I have at the moment is of a guy who is fairly good in general, he helps those who he thinks needs it, tends to try to "teach a lesson" in some form or another to those he percieves as wrongdoers, but... he has a darker side as well. He lives for combat. The rush of adrenaline, the risk of death, the struggle with your opponent, and the eventual kill. It gives him such a great thrill that he will seek out battle whereever possible.
He feels guilty to take such pleasure in what he views as a cruel, brutal thing, but at the same time he can do nothing about it. He is addicted to bloodlust, but although he is driven to fight, he always tries to find a worthy conflict, so that his killings are for some at least vaguely good purpose, not just indisciminate homicides.
Now, I came up with all that, and the only thing it dictates about the character build is that he has to be some kind of martially inclined class that isn't a paladin. I still, in fact, haven't decided what class, race, or even alignment (although I'm leaning strongly towards CN) would best fit the concept.

While the way I create characters is bound not to work for everyone, I suggest you at least give it a try once, and see if it helps.

Thank you for the input. It actually makes a lot of sense and I will most definately give it a whirl. If it doesn't work out, so be it. No harm done. But I have a good feeling it will work. Now that I think about it, I've done this before (sorta) when I watch movies or read a book with characters similar to D&D. I'll look at how they act and what they do, then I'll try to match them to some kind of class and/or alignment. So I can easily see how this may be a much better way to create characters. Thank you.
Morka
07-26-07, 01:18 PM Check the links to the various questionaires in my sigs. They should help you to picture the character you're playing, instead of playing an archetype with stats!
JadeSpider9643
07-26-07, 06:07 PM Not a problem. The following information can be found in the PHB2, Chapter 5: Building your Identity, pages 129-146.

(A list of Backgrounds and simple descriptions:)

Artisan - Shopkeeper
Ascetic - Student/Studier
Drifter - Home? What's that?
Farm Hand - Farmers' Helper
Gladiator - A Slave Trained to Fight
Guttersnipe - Grew up on the Streets
Mariner - You Love the Water
Noble Scion - RICHIE RICH
Soilder - Servant in the Army
Tribal Origin - "Raised by Wolves"

(A list of Personality Archetypes and simple descriptions:)

Agent - "It shall be as you command."
Challenger - "I must fight him alone."
Companion - "Stand firm, Regdar. I am at your side."
Crusader - "Crush the minotaurs and spread the word of Obad-Hai!"
Daredevil - "You guys stay here. I'm going to (insert INSANE idea here)."
Explorer - "If we continues along this road, we'll come to the fallen country of Abu'nix."
Innocent - "I've never done anything like that."
Leader - "Onward, men! We have those orcs on the run!"
Martyr - "My life for you."
Mercenary - "If there's gold involved, I'm in."
Orphan - "I've been on my own my whole life."
Prophet - "I speak the word of Pelor."
Rebel - "What has the kingdom done for us?"
Renegade - "I can never return to my place of birth."
Royalty - "No, I'm not the prince. I just look like him."
Sage - "That is the rare and valuable Numhatch mushroom."
Savage - "I do not understand your ways, but I will fight for you."
Seeker - "Let us press on."
Simple Soul - "Ha ha! I like you, my friend!"
Strategist - "If you wait here, and you wait there, and you distract over here..."
Theorist - "Fascinating. And I wonder what happens if..."
Trickster - "You go in first, and cover your eyes. I have a surprise for you."
Wanderer - "I have no home. I have no family. I have no name."

Personality Traits:

Ambitious - "I'll be the greatest _______!"
Angrey - "You wont like me. Ever."
Boastful - "How do you like that, huh?"
Bold - "Come let us crush the enemy where he stands!"
Brutal - "He surrendered? Sorry, I didn't hear it; I was too busy chopping off his head."
Calm - "Yes, I see the dragon. What's the big deal?"
Carefree - "Ah, it doesn't matter if we wake that Dragon."
Charming - "Let me hold that for you, my lady."
Connected - "You'd better not be insulting my sister."
Conservative - "The old ways are the best ways."
Disciplined - "An hour of meditation and prayer before sleep."
Driven - "I don't care how many vampires the inscription says are beyond the door. I'm going in."
Energetic - "Okay, we've killed the trolls and grabbed the treasure, what's next?"
Erudite - "Our current plight dervies directly from our dearth of aureate remuneration."
Exotic - "Where I come from, this is normal."
Fatalistic - "None of us is long for this world."
Flamboyant - "With a twist of my sword, a couple of steps to the right, and...ha! The apple is sliced neatly in two."
Funny - "What did the fighter say when asked if he liked mutton? Sword of'. Ha!"
Greedy - "Let's loot 'em!"
Kind- "There, does that feel better?"
Loyal - "You can count on me."
Merciful - "He surrendered. Let's let him go."
Naive - "Why is that person angry at me?"
Patriotic - "For the glory of the queen!"
Peaceful - "Wait, this does not have to end in bloodshed!"
Reformed - "I used to kill people for money, but that was another part of my life."
Religious - "Kord grant me strength."
Serious - "How can you think of dancing at a time like this?"
Skilled - "Spiced crab legs tonight!"
Vengeful - Giants? Wipe them out. All of them."

I know this is a lot but they've all become so overused and MISused that it's rediculous!

THIS is your problem! your locking yourself into these "cereal box prize quality" one-word descriptions.

What I do when I design a Character is i start where the character started, with just a race and a situation. Let's say a Half-elf. born to farmer parents, Human mother is just a commoner farmer's wife, father is an ex-mercenary that settled down. From there you build forward, what was the childhood like? was he/she accepted or rejected by the local kids? mabye mom thought it was important to receive proper religious instruction and got tutoring from a monk/priest? mabye money was tight and dad was an angry drunk and you spend as much time away from home as you could....with the local kids? ....hanging out with the city guards? ....at the local temple? What happened later when you grew up? did you grow up? did you move out? did you run away young?

If a character seems like a generic "I've seen a dozen of those" it's because that's only a fraction of a complete character. "theif #211 at the local theives guild"? I bet there's more to Theif #211 than just the fact that he's a thief. Adventurer's don't just magicaly pop into existance at adulthood with starting gold. If that's the way you make a character then you're quite right that they'll seem generic and shallow. If you want them to be unique and interesting, you have to give them depth. And if you don't see other people's characters as unique and interesting, it's probably because you haven't seen their depth (or mabye they don't have any). Character sheets do absolutely nothing to describe WHO a character is, just what they can do in terms of game mechanics.
Kirech
07-26-07, 07:00 PM ...fit the rules to the story, not the story to the rules.
(Not responding to Fitherto specifically, but his quote was a good example)

The problem with starting at a rules-free concept and working toward a D&D character sheet is that there are a lot of dead ends going that direction. Not every character concept you can come up with is going to work mechanically, and many that are forced to work end up horribly crippled, so that either the DM has to play softball or they die after a few encounters. With every sourcebook, some new concepts become workable (I was going to use the idea of a non-mystical unarmed fighter as an example of an ineffective concept, but Tome of Battle introduced a feat that could work for that), but D&D isn't designed in such a way that you can play whatever you want without heavy houseruling.

I prefer to work from the middle, looking at prestige classes and feats until I see a way they can fit together into an interesting character. That way I know from the start that both the personality and capabilities of the resulting character have a good chance of working out.

D&D is a form of storytelling within constraints. It is usually better to work with the constraints instead of attempting to ignore them.
Terjon of the Blue Rose
07-27-07, 01:13 AM alright this has kinda gotten off the original idea of finding new concepts and gone on to playing an existing one.

Personally I always find that the rules don't need to be made to fit the way people look. I merge a character concept with and character sheet. I can play a Roland of Gilead type as a wizard as easily as a fighter. I could play Bilbo Baggins as a sorcerer if I choose. The trick is in understanding the charcater's personality and RPing them more than it is in making the rules fit so you can clone their abilities.

In my examples Roland could be played as a wizard by forgetting for a moment his guns and looking at who he himself is. He is a man with a quest and a code... in that order. He knows full well he isn't a good man. He knows full well he isn't a hero. And above all else he knows he is willing to sacrifice anything and anyone to achieve that which he seeks. See anything about gunplay in their? No? As a wizard his grandfather's time replaces his ancenstral guns. His lightning speed can be added in with quickened spells and "paranoid" feats like improved initiative. His untility spell convey his preparation for anything that may come or not come while his damaging spells are easily a replacement for his deadly weapons. There are other build that would more closely resemble him of course but I could fairly well convey the character in this manner.

Bilbo is even easier. Traditionally he'd be a rogue but really all you need is a character who never realizes his own potential. Someone who, no matter how strong they become, is never able to accept that they moved past first level. A high level rogue who doesn't get that noone alive can spot him when he doesn't want to be seen is the most direct conversion but just as good is a high level sorcerer who think that his spells will never quite cut it no matter how many times he changes the fate of the world.

Don't try to make a character fit the rules or a rule fitting character. Try to make a character who's defining aspects are in the RP and then put him onto a character sheet. If its you and not your abilities that make who you are then what your abilities are doesn't matter.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Coneyman88 07-23-07, 12:09 AM	Building a character on the paper is easy enough (once you get used to it). But the second part, coming up with their history, personality, ect. can be much more challenging than it seems. Sure, WotC gives us numerous examples in books (i.e. - The Patriot, The Loner, The Faithful, and much more) but these themes are so over-used and more disappointing MISused that running something related is pointless. I have a group now who made up their characters by themselves (personality/history speaking) and they still fell victim to playing the character how one of these books told them to. I am almost to the point where I want to just throw their character sheets away and force them one-by-one to just learn how to think outside of the books and play a character from their own perspective. ...then I looked at how I play my characters and realized that I did much of the same things they do. I look at my characters' classes and think of something 'neat' that they can do then I build my history (briefly) and then play it as one of the many archtypes that WotC has set forth for us. THIS HAS TO STOP!!!! In this forum I want you guys to think of some unique character types and a few examples on how to play your stated 'type' that is DIFFERENT from the types laid forth in the D&D books. Be creative and have fun. --Bragging rights for the best ones I see.--
Terjon of the Blue Rose 07-23-07, 12:30 AM	Think you could provide a list of the types already listed? It'd make it much easier since I tend to skip those sections of the book.:cool:
Coneyman88 07-23-07, 12:00 PM	Think you could provide a list of the types already listed? It'd make it much easier since I tend to skip those sections of the book.:cool: Not a problem. The following information can be found in the PHB2, Chapter 5: Building your Identity, pages 129-146. (A list of Backgrounds and simple descriptions:) Artisan - Shopkeeper Ascetic - Student/Studier Drifter - Home? What's that? Farm Hand - Farmers' Helper Gladiator - A Slave Trained to Fight Guttersnipe - Grew up on the Streets Mariner - You Love the Water Noble Scion - RICHIE RICH Soilder - Servant in the Army Tribal Origin - "Raised by Wolves" (A list of Personality Archetypes and simple descriptions:) Agent - "It shall be as you command." Challenger - "I must fight him alone." Companion - "Stand firm, Regdar. I am at your side." Crusader - "Crush the minotaurs and spread the word of Obad-Hai!" Daredevil - "You guys stay here. I'm going to (insert INSANE idea here)." Explorer - "If we continues along this road, we'll come to the fallen country of Abu'nix." Innocent - "I've never done anything like that." Leader - "Onward, men! We have those orcs on the run!" Martyr - "My life for you." Mercenary - "If there's gold involved, I'm in." Orphan - "I've been on my own my whole life." Prophet - "I speak the word of Pelor." Rebel - "What has the kingdom done for us?" Renegade - "I can never return to my place of birth." Royalty - "No, I'm not the prince. I just look like him." Sage - "That is the rare and valuable Numhatch mushroom." Savage - "I do not understand your ways, but I will fight for you." Seeker - "Let us press on." Simple Soul - "Ha ha! I like you, my friend!" Strategist - "If you wait here, and you wait there, and you distract over here..." Theorist - "Fascinating. And I wonder what happens if..." Trickster - "You go in first, and cover your eyes. I have a surprise for you." Wanderer - "I have no home. I have no family. I have no name." Personality Traits: Ambitious - "I'll be the greatest _______!" Angrey - "You wont like me. Ever." Boastful - "How do you like that, huh?" Bold - "Come let us crush the enemy where he stands!" Brutal - "He surrendered? Sorry, I didn't hear it; I was too busy chopping off his head." Calm - "Yes, I see the dragon. What's the big deal?" Carefree - "Ah, it doesn't matter if we wake that Dragon." Charming - "Let me hold that for you, my lady." Connected - "You'd better not be insulting my sister." Conservative - "The old ways are the best ways." Disciplined - "An hour of meditation and prayer before sleep." Driven - "I don't care how many vampires the inscription says are beyond the door. I'm going in." Energetic - "Okay, we've killed the trolls and grabbed the treasure, what's next?" Erudite - "Our current plight dervies directly from our dearth of aureate remuneration." Exotic - "Where I come from, this is normal." Fatalistic - "None of us is long for this world." Flamboyant - "With a twist of my sword, a couple of steps to the right, and...ha! The apple is sliced neatly in two." Funny - "What did the fighter say when asked if he liked mutton? Sword of'. Ha!" Greedy - "Let's loot 'em!" Kind- "There, does that feel better?" Loyal - "You can count on me." Merciful - "He surrendered. Let's let him go." Naive - "Why is that person angry at me?" Patriotic - "For the glory of the queen!" Peaceful - "Wait, this does not have to end in bloodshed!" Reformed - "I used to kill people for money, but that was another part of my life." Religious - "Kord grant me strength." Serious - "How can you think of dancing at a time like this?" Skilled - "Spiced crab legs tonight!" Vengeful - Giants? Wipe them out. All of them." I know this is a lot but they've all become so overused and MISused that it's rediculous!
Fithero 07-24-07, 12:36 AM	there are actually a few more of those personality traits at the back of the book, on the random npc's generation tables :P
Coneyman88 07-24-07, 12:38 AM	there are actually a few more of those personality traits at the back of the book, on the random npc's generation tables :P I think I hit enough of them!!! LoL!;)
Deadlion 07-24-07, 10:46 AM	...then I looked at how I play my characters and realized that I did much of the same things they do. I look at my characters' classes and think of something 'neat' that they can do then I build my history (briefly) and then play it as one of the many archtypes that WotC has set forth for us. I think this is your problem. You choose character class before you create your personality, background and so on. This way, no matter how hard you try, you're always gonna have the idea in the back of your head that you're creating a personality and backstory for your fighter or wizard or whatever. Personally I tend most often to think up character concepts first. These may have some bearing on character class, for example the concept may require a martial character, or a spellcaster, or whatever, but it's most often just an attitude, or a certain way of thinking, or even just a striking appearance that comes to me first. Then I flesh this out a bit, and then, once I have a fair idea of how I want to roleplay the character, I start thinking about stuff like class and alignment. For example, one character idea I have at the moment is of a guy who is fairly good in general, he helps those who he thinks needs it, tends to try to "teach a lesson" in some form or another to those he percieves as wrongdoers, but... he has a darker side as well. He lives for combat. The rush of adrenaline, the risk of death, the struggle with your opponent, and the eventual kill. It gives him such a great thrill that he will seek out battle whereever possible. He feels guilty to take such pleasure in what he views as a cruel, brutal thing, but at the same time he can do nothing about it. He is addicted to bloodlust, but although he is driven to fight, he always tries to find a worthy conflict, so that his killings are for some at least vaguely good purpose, not just indisciminate homicides. Now, I came up with all that, and the only thing it dictates about the character build is that he has to be some kind of martially inclined class that isn't a paladin. I still, in fact, haven't decided what class, race, or even alignment (although I'm leaning strongly towards CN) would best fit the concept. While the way I create characters is bound not to work for everyone, I suggest you at least give it a try once, and see if it helps.
Fithero 07-24-07, 11:09 AM	Yeah, i agree with Deadlion, fit the rules to the story, not the story to the rules.
Coneyman88 07-24-07, 01:37 PM	I think this is your problem. You choose character class before you create your personality, background and so on. This way, no matter how hard you try, you're always gonna have the idea in the back of your head that you're creating a personality and backstory for your fighter or wizard or whatever. Personally I tend most often to think up character concepts first. These may have some bearing on character class, for example the concept may require a martial character, or a spellcaster, or whatever, but it's most often just an attitude, or a certain way of thinking, or even just a striking appearance that comes to me first. Then I flesh this out a bit, and then, once I have a fair idea of how I want to roleplay the character, I start thinking about stuff like class and alignment. For example, one character idea I have at the moment is of a guy who is fairly good in general, he helps those who he thinks needs it, tends to try to "teach a lesson" in some form or another to those he percieves as wrongdoers, but... he has a darker side as well. He lives for combat. The rush of adrenaline, the risk of death, the struggle with your opponent, and the eventual kill. It gives him such a great thrill that he will seek out battle whereever possible. He feels guilty to take such pleasure in what he views as a cruel, brutal thing, but at the same time he can do nothing about it. He is addicted to bloodlust, but although he is driven to fight, he always tries to find a worthy conflict, so that his killings are for some at least vaguely good purpose, not just indisciminate homicides. Now, I came up with all that, and the only thing it dictates about the character build is that he has to be some kind of martially inclined class that isn't a paladin. I still, in fact, haven't decided what class, race, or even alignment (although I'm leaning strongly towards CN) would best fit the concept. While the way I create characters is bound not to work for everyone, I suggest you at least give it a try once, and see if it helps. Thank you for the input. It actually makes a lot of sense and I will most definately give it a whirl. If it doesn't work out, so be it. No harm done. But I have a good feeling it will work. Now that I think about it, I've done this before (sorta) when I watch movies or read a book with characters similar to D&D. I'll look at how they act and what they do, then I'll try to match them to some kind of class and/or alignment. So I can easily see how this may be a much better way to create characters. Thank you.
Morka 07-26-07, 01:18 PM	Check the links to the various questionaires in my sigs. They should help you to picture the character you're playing, instead of playing an archetype with stats!
JadeSpider9643 07-26-07, 06:07 PM	Not a problem. The following information can be found in the PHB2, Chapter 5: Building your Identity, pages 129-146. (A list of Backgrounds and simple descriptions:) Artisan - Shopkeeper Ascetic - Student/Studier Drifter - Home? What's that? Farm Hand - Farmers' Helper Gladiator - A Slave Trained to Fight Guttersnipe - Grew up on the Streets Mariner - You Love the Water Noble Scion - RICHIE RICH Soilder - Servant in the Army Tribal Origin - "Raised by Wolves" (A list of Personality Archetypes and simple descriptions:) Agent - "It shall be as you command." Challenger - "I must fight him alone." Companion - "Stand firm, Regdar. I am at your side." Crusader - "Crush the minotaurs and spread the word of Obad-Hai!" Daredevil - "You guys stay here. I'm going to (insert INSANE idea here)." Explorer - "If we continues along this road, we'll come to the fallen country of Abu'nix." Innocent - "I've never done anything like that." Leader - "Onward, men! We have those orcs on the run!" Martyr - "My life for you." Mercenary - "If there's gold involved, I'm in." Orphan - "I've been on my own my whole life." Prophet - "I speak the word of Pelor." Rebel - "What has the kingdom done for us?" Renegade - "I can never return to my place of birth." Royalty - "No, I'm not the prince. I just look like him." Sage - "That is the rare and valuable Numhatch mushroom." Savage - "I do not understand your ways, but I will fight for you." Seeker - "Let us press on." Simple Soul - "Ha ha! I like you, my friend!" Strategist - "If you wait here, and you wait there, and you distract over here..." Theorist - "Fascinating. And I wonder what happens if..." Trickster - "You go in first, and cover your eyes. I have a surprise for you." Wanderer - "I have no home. I have no family. I have no name." Personality Traits: Ambitious - "I'll be the greatest _______!" Angrey - "You wont like me. Ever." Boastful - "How do you like that, huh?" Bold - "Come let us crush the enemy where he stands!" Brutal - "He surrendered? Sorry, I didn't hear it; I was too busy chopping off his head." Calm - "Yes, I see the dragon. What's the big deal?" Carefree - "Ah, it doesn't matter if we wake that Dragon." Charming - "Let me hold that for you, my lady." Connected - "You'd better not be insulting my sister." Conservative - "The old ways are the best ways." Disciplined - "An hour of meditation and prayer before sleep." Driven - "I don't care how many vampires the inscription says are beyond the door. I'm going in." Energetic - "Okay, we've killed the trolls and grabbed the treasure, what's next?" Erudite - "Our current plight dervies directly from our dearth of aureate remuneration." Exotic - "Where I come from, this is normal." Fatalistic - "None of us is long for this world." Flamboyant - "With a twist of my sword, a couple of steps to the right, and...ha! The apple is sliced neatly in two." Funny - "What did the fighter say when asked if he liked mutton? Sword of'. Ha!" Greedy - "Let's loot 'em!" Kind- "There, does that feel better?" Loyal - "You can count on me." Merciful - "He surrendered. Let's let him go." Naive - "Why is that person angry at me?" Patriotic - "For the glory of the queen!" Peaceful - "Wait, this does not have to end in bloodshed!" Reformed - "I used to kill people for money, but that was another part of my life." Religious - "Kord grant me strength." Serious - "How can you think of dancing at a time like this?" Skilled - "Spiced crab legs tonight!" Vengeful - Giants? Wipe them out. All of them." I know this is a lot but they've all become so overused and MISused that it's rediculous! THIS is your problem! your locking yourself into these "cereal box prize quality" one-word descriptions. What I do when I design a Character is i start where the character started, with just a race and a situation. Let's say a Half-elf. born to farmer parents, Human mother is just a commoner farmer's wife, father is an ex-mercenary that settled down. From there you build forward, what was the childhood like? was he/she accepted or rejected by the local kids? mabye mom thought it was important to receive proper religious instruction and got tutoring from a monk/priest? mabye money was tight and dad was an angry drunk and you spend as much time away from home as you could....with the local kids? ....hanging out with the city guards? ....at the local temple? What happened later when you grew up? did you grow up? did you move out? did you run away young? If a character seems like a generic "I've seen a dozen of those" it's because that's only a fraction of a complete character. "theif #211 at the local theives guild"? I bet there's more to Theif #211 than just the fact that he's a thief. Adventurer's don't just magicaly pop into existance at adulthood with starting gold. If that's the way you make a character then you're quite right that they'll seem generic and shallow. If you want them to be unique and interesting, you have to give them depth. And if you don't see other people's characters as unique and interesting, it's probably because you haven't seen their depth (or mabye they don't have any). Character sheets do absolutely nothing to describe WHO a character is, just what they can do in terms of game mechanics.
Kirech 07-26-07, 07:00 PM	...fit the rules to the story, not the story to the rules. (Not responding to Fitherto specifically, but his quote was a good example) The problem with starting at a rules-free concept and working toward a D&D character sheet is that there are a lot of dead ends going that direction. Not every character concept you can come up with is going to work mechanically, and many that are forced to work end up horribly crippled, so that either the DM has to play softball or they die after a few encounters. With every sourcebook, some new concepts become workable (I was going to use the idea of a non-mystical unarmed fighter as an example of an ineffective concept, but Tome of Battle introduced a feat that could work for that), but D&D isn't designed in such a way that you can play whatever you want without heavy houseruling. I prefer to work from the middle, looking at prestige classes and feats until I see a way they can fit together into an interesting character. That way I know from the start that both the personality and capabilities of the resulting character have a good chance of working out. D&D is a form of storytelling within constraints. It is usually better to work with the constraints instead of attempting to ignore them.
Terjon of the Blue Rose 07-27-07, 01:13 AM	alright this has kinda gotten off the original idea of finding new concepts and gone on to playing an existing one. Personally I always find that the rules don't need to be made to fit the way people look. I merge a character concept with and character sheet. I can play a Roland of Gilead type as a wizard as easily as a fighter. I could play Bilbo Baggins as a sorcerer if I choose. The trick is in understanding the charcater's personality and RPing them more than it is in making the rules fit so you can clone their abilities. In my examples Roland could be played as a wizard by forgetting for a moment his guns and looking at who he himself is. He is a man with a quest and a code... in that order. He knows full well he isn't a good man. He knows full well he isn't a hero. And above all else he knows he is willing to sacrifice anything and anyone to achieve that which he seeks. See anything about gunplay in their? No? As a wizard his grandfather's time replaces his ancenstral guns. His lightning speed can be added in with quickened spells and "paranoid" feats like improved initiative. His untility spell convey his preparation for anything that may come or not come while his damaging spells are easily a replacement for his deadly weapons. There are other build that would more closely resemble him of course but I could fairly well convey the character in this manner. Bilbo is even easier. Traditionally he'd be a rogue but really all you need is a character who never realizes his own potential. Someone who, no matter how strong they become, is never able to accept that they moved past first level. A high level rogue who doesn't get that noone alive can spot him when he doesn't want to be seen is the most direct conversion but just as good is a high level sorcerer who think that his spells will never quite cut it no matter how many times he changes the fate of the world. Don't try to make a character fit the rules or a rule fitting character. Try to make a character who's defining aspects are in the RP and then put him onto a character sheet. If its you and not your abilities that make who you are then what your abilities are doesn't matter.