Post/Author/DateTime	Post
rice830 09-11-06, 11:25 PM	I've played for a while now, and i havent gotten any books for a while, so maybe thats why i dont feel enthused, but what is the coolest and most fun character concept that everyone has played. Mine would have to be an elf wizard necromancer that is obviously devious, an elf aerenal cleric/necro whose soul purpose is to kick the crap out ofany and all undead, a vampire goblin sor/rog/ and about five other prestige classes, umm not sure on any others. please help with ideas.
Sikyanakotik 09-12-06, 12:59 AM	A closet homosexual who has a secret crush on one of the other player characters, who just happened to be having numerous relationship problems with his girlfriend. Or was this supposed to be D&D only...
Phelot_Plaguecrafter 09-12-06, 11:37 AM	A closet homosexual who has a secret crush on one of the other player characters, who just happened to be having numerous relationship problems with his girlfriend. Or was this supposed to be D&D only... I love you too, Siky...
Sikyanakotik 09-12-06, 12:40 PM	I love you too, Siky... Alas, our love was never meant to be... Seriously, I played him in a convention game under the Buffy rules, and he was a blast to play. I only wish I could get that level of roleplaying from my current group.
oxybe 09-12-06, 01:17 PM	the "fixer": has a large pool of skills to pick from, including various knowledge, can cast a few utility spells & hold his own in combat. very handy guy to play as since very few parties hate having him around (he's not the best at anything, but skilled in everything). i often play the fixer as a bookish character who isn't scared to get his hands dirty. Doing a job is the perfect way to fund expanding his personal library on various topics, as well as upgrade his training facilities.Taking Leadership gives him various aids to help him with his tasks & research projects he has on the go. a spellcaster cohort to help with those stubborn magical item and a faithful inquisitive buddy.
roll8dn 09-13-06, 01:10 AM	Don't remember where, exactly, I ran across this concept first, but I think that the funniest character I've ever thought up was an awakened parrot wizard (with the Eschew Materials and Leadership feats) who has a pirate cohort. Seriously, though, I had a whole lot of fun with my battlerager (c'mon, having an Int of 7 is not a handicap when your character's MO is literaly leaping into battle and hoping that he's tougher and stronger than the opposition). 'Sides, the "always drunk dwarf" sterotype can be fun to play. That is, assuming that you have gaming partners who can deal with a dumb college frat boy with a Scottish accent...
loklok1138 09-13-06, 02:34 PM	I played a druid who saw nature as only seemingly chaotic but actually had a deep, underlying order. So LG druid, which was fun. Eventually, he discovered he was secretly empowered by the forces of law (something called an Adept of Law) and was even able to make near permentant changes to Limbo. In travelling though the outer planes, he met Kord, and switched his alligience from Olidammara. So LG follower of CG Kord. He ended up marrying the CG Adept of Chaos rogue in the party. We started at 1st level and went to 26th. The party became the basis of the panteon of our own multiverse after saving the omniverse from horrible things from the Far Plane
Alakar 09-13-06, 03:45 PM	My favorite concept is the brooding warrior. One who has been scarred by darkness, and fights not to succumb to the hatred and darkness within. I normally play gish characters with this character mold.
JulesCARV 09-13-06, 04:08 PM	What about the creepy, misogynistic male nerd with poor charisma who becomes an int-based caster/manifester and goes into a prestige class like Thrallherd or Mindbender to enact all of his adolescent sexual / revenge fantasies of laying low all the "cool kids" and having sex with beautiful women of his choice?
obtusehobbit 09-13-06, 07:25 PM	One of my favs is the outwardly nice guy who is allows helping people in public:angel: , but when not being watch does unspeakable things to his enemies:devil: .
Tytalus 09-13-06, 11:06 PM	What about the creepy, misogynistic male nerd with poor charisma who becomes an int-based caster/manifester and goes into a prestige class like Thrallherd or Mindbender to enact all of his adolescent sexual / revenge fantasies of laying low all the "cool kids" and having sex with beautiful women of his choice? This could make for a nice villain.
TheAnthroDM 09-14-06, 02:34 AM	Faux Wizard AKA the half-elf rouge who uses alchemy and UMD to beat spellcasters at their own game, and sneak attack to destroy melee fighters "Anything you can do I can do better! Chaos of the far plane, lend me your power, Chaos Hammer!" Faux Wizard, making a big show by casting Chaos Hammer with the wand under her sleeve.
Seghan 09-14-06, 02:44 PM	My fav concept of yet was actually a simple character, it was the context that did it. He was a CN Human Rouge set up for scouting but also with high charisma stats and skills. I played him in a highly modified FR setting. The rest of the group were a paladin, cleric, and sorcerer from the Sword Coast and a druid from the Dalelands, all were lawful or neutral good. They were sort of a classical questing party, all trying to fufill one long term quest of goodness, my character was a shady sort hired in Calimsport for his skills, the one outsider. The fact that he was the one non-good character, and out for himself more than the greater good, but still played straight with the party and was one of the 'good guys' created a narrative tension in our gameplay. He served not as a spoiler in the classic 'chaotic stupid' tradition but rather more subtley as a sort of an anti-conscience, a base counterpoint to the nobility of the party. Viewing the party as a metaphorical construct, a few suggested that he served as a reified id, but I don't think that is entirely fair. What I did enjoy was having this force in the party that allowed us to deconstruct and explore notions of notions of heroism and goodness, as well as belonging, which was really the point of the campaign.
Alex_Belinsky 09-14-06, 03:17 PM	My current favorite character concept (I played him last saturday) is quiet (low Cha). serious (good Int, Wis) dwarf fighter with reasonably high Str and urge to having backup for everything. Armed, heavy armoured lad with three separate crafts, three separate mw artisan's toolkits, backup rope, backup miner's pick, backup hammer and pitons, <fill the blank as needed> up to limits of heavy load. (Another backup is scroll of break enchantment - Ftr5 cannot use this, and no one in party knows about it, but...) His large steel shield proudly displays a motto "Just in Case". Dwarf think, that must mean he's just and his full plate is as good as safe case. Naturally, he's party tank and source for almost any simple equipment. Other dwarvish virtues - tenacity, endurance and pride - provide him extra backup. After some wizards and rogues it is really fun!
Lyinginbedmon 09-14-06, 06:28 PM	Well, I've been a DM for the past 5+ years, so it's been a good while since I've played a PC. I have, however, played a couple of cool NPCs, like Blue Jester. Jester works for people or peoples unknown, never revealing who, and seems to have a view of the world in game-system terms. He's always around for a good joke or some budding cheeriness, and he has his moments of being serious too. But what really sets him apart is what lies beneath the surface. See, Jester is a pretty simple psychological case, he makes jokes and keeps everyone in a happy state of mind because it distracts him from his own problems. He's a machine, a kind of Awaken Construct-Human Effigy combo with bonuses, so he looks pretty well human, but he knows he's mechanical (He also knows he has at max 22 years left to live, which doesn't help) and he lives in a world where his closest relatives (Warforged) are still treated as slaves and property, which really breaks his heart. Especially combined with the fact that, despite being a machine like the Warforged and other Constructs, he gets treated just like any other person. He's the ultimate exception, and eventually it's going to drive him to extreme lengths. For example, in the next campaign, the disposal of a BBEG's Warforged pushes him over the brink, and he declares war on the living races on behalf of Construct-kind, sparking the Little Machine War. In an even later campaign, he tries to start up the first Construct city, appropriately named Zero-One, and after that he tries to establish relations between Zero-One and the other countries (Who will be scarred against the experience because of a previous BBEG's taking over the planet in a similar way). So there we have it, an NPC who basically personifies the 'sad clown' archetype. A man full of contrasts.
Devlonir 09-15-06, 05:32 PM	What about the creepy, misogynistic male nerd with poor charisma who becomes an int-based caster/manifester and goes into a prestige class like Thrallherd or Mindbender to enact all of his adolescent sexual / revenge fantasies of laying low all the "cool kids" and having sex with beautiful women of his choice? I actually once played a Thrallherd in a party. But I did it a bit differently. He always hid the fact that he was using psionics and mostly put it towards his personality that people follow him everywhere and do anything he says. He made himself the party leader by dominating anyone who didn't want to do what he said. He was also using his powers to work himself up in the evil Bahamut worshipping cult, even though he didn't have any interest in Bahamut himself. He just liked the power he got over the other cultists. In the end, the party and the cult realised they were being used by him and lynched him for it. It was a mostly chaotic evil/neutral party in dito cult.. they don't like being controlled that much. But I really enjoyed playing him. Nobody ever found out he was a psion, thinking him a sorcerer of some sort who could hide using his powers. ----- Then there is also Deraks, my legendary barbarian. He was a smart, spiritual Barbarian who didn't want to solve everything with violence but he could kill a lot of opponents he met with one (critical) hit of his scythe. (+1 keen, icy burst, fiery burst, thundering, and so on..) He had a damage potential of well over 100 at mid-high level (13-16)
DBoot 09-18-06, 11:47 AM	I like playing characters with either cunning or intelligence. Cautious in planning but bold in execution. When things need to get done, he's usually the one who figures out how. This type of character is usually of a lawful bent. It fits brilliantly with spellcasters (specializing in utility and problem solving), and tactical fighters. Rogues are usually a good fit too. He doesn't always end up the leader, but people usually learn to listen to his advice.
Euch 09-18-06, 01:33 PM	somehow I always thought the favorite concept would be a cast away quite charecter, trying to find its place in the world. or someone out, seeking revenge in the one that killed its parents... or maybe even an old man, going on he's last adventure (or a young one, seeking new challenges) guess I've seen too many movies :)
Nether_Theory 09-18-06, 10:47 PM	I recently played a very strange character who was basically just a persona. And I mean that literally . . . he was incorporeal, and, like a revenant, existed only to right a wrong (in this case he was actually from the future trying to stop the event which killed him and if he couldn't do that he'd settle with killing the person who did it.) Even though he was incorporeal he had illusions as well as a permanent ghost touch effect which allowed him to interact with others easily (one could even say normally). I played him as a quiet type, who never spoke unless directly addressed or unless he felt it was absolutely neccassary. Part of the cool thing about him is that the illusions tied to him are directly connected with his mood, so when a half ogre grabs one of his party member's head (baaarfight) his garments and appearance change radically into battle dress covered in sharp angles and an angry red-black color (vs. the pure white he usually sports) and not a few horns and spikes besides. He brings back fond memories . . . Best Monk Sorcerer Paladin I ever made.
big_bluto 09-19-06, 08:26 AM	I had Kelukin, a gnome rogue/bard (4/9) who was an absolute ego-maniac. He had unbelievable self-confidence and could be relied upon to make any situation either go away with fantastic results, or go irreversibly wrong and cause absolute mayhem. He also decided early on that he would have to be his own publicist, and promptly re-named the party led by a Paladin into Kelukins Companions. Underneath all this he was quietly insecure, and very intelligent, but with little in the way of wisdom. He couldn't fight his way out of a wet paper bag, and sucked at moving quietly, generally relying on conning people with a high bluff score. Typical behaviour involved drugging the owner of a weapons store for supplies, and then keeping the best bits for himself - The party (one year on) still don't know that he has 5 immovable rods - they just think he's really good at climbing, or stopping moving objects. And they all believe he's a tailor with an alcohol problem.
Nessaj 09-26-06, 04:20 PM	My favorite role would have to be the explorer...Ranger...Scout...Druid...Or any combination of the three. I love to play the forester/survivalist role, but only in campaigns that allow one to use those talents. And with a DM who will actually let me do useful things with Herbalism, etc...Because it's hard to become useful in higher levels when magic dominates. If the clerics outta juice and/or unconscious, it's nice to have a few vials of styptic powder made from plant roots just in case. Not to mention the RP applications of being a country boy...One of my old characters, Dricklan, a scarred halfling Ranger, had a severe phobia to fish. His father and brother had been enslaved by an aboleth as part of his backstory, and although they were rescued by their tribemates, the skum transformation was taboo, bad ju-ju, and all that stuff, so they were killed as per tribal law. I killed many ornamental fish at a fellow PC's house one game, then salted and fed them to the party the next day...It was most amusing. :D
Nived 09-27-06, 10:36 AM	A LN Dwarf Cleric of a LG War God. He was entrusted with a holy quest by his church because the head priest recieved a vision. Thus he was always on the front lines of the adventure doing all sorts of things that would normally be considered "good" and heroic. Thing is he didn't really want to or like doing these things... he just considered them his duty. Tarn would sooner die than fail his duty. I had a lot of fun with that dwarf. He was driven, very driven very motivated, would keep the party on task and was always trying to keep up the moral. Not because it was the right thing to do, but because its what he was supposed to do. A hero by obligation.
theotherdraxen 09-27-06, 10:58 PM	The war-hardened general. While everyone else is playing hip, young adventurers, I'd play an almost middle-aged, war hardened man of the military with a racial superiority complex. High charisma, but he used it to control people, and not so much manipulate. He could be diplomatic, which was his best skill, but preffered intimidate for it's faster results. He also had a habit of having access to high places that the other members of the group could not achieve. He contrasted the other players heavily, which was the fun of playing him.
Gurog 09-28-06, 10:11 AM	I have a LN fighter that I think is really fleshed out. The fighter, Obe Raam, is being currently played in a FR game, and he has recieved some great porphecy that has been grafted to his chest. The more he completes the prophecy, the more it hurts, and the stronger he becomes. Since the being that charged the party with this endeavor said that the entire multiverse depended on the prophecy, Obe Raam has assumed that great things will happen upon completion of the prophecy. Great things--like becoming a god. So Obe Raam and crew went along adventuring and completing this prophecy, and eventually got caught up with this guy named Serevak. Serevak aspired to become the Lord of Murder, Baal. To stop this we had to get a person to strike the killing blow for us (another seed of Baal), or else. Unfortuneatly, Obe Raam killed Serevak with a lucky hit and ascened to godhood. Eventually (At a great cost), it was undone, but Obe Raam to this day still seeks to become a god (not nessicarily the Lord of Murder).
DivineMaster 09-28-06, 12:44 PM	Well I haven't played this character yet but am just about to start it in a school campaign and it is an old Dwarf Cleric of St Cuthbert. I am really going to enjoy this as I have already played a Cleric. I am going to make it an old Dwarf but not venerable, because I want hime to be a very wise old Cleric lol. Anyway I'm thinking of a backstory at the moment if you have any comments just reply. Thanks.
dominus_casuum 09-29-06, 01:33 AM	My favourite character EVER from a roleplaying standpoint was the time I tried out a dwarf knight. He ended up dying against an indefinite demon swarm alone while the other three party members (spellcasters) completed the ritual to banish them. He fought for over a minute after he died.
Telos_Savant 09-29-06, 10:13 AM	My favorit character concept... hmmmm... Probably Fia Elasiad that was a bard/paladin of freedom(chaotic variant in uo). That class is so ridiculously fun to roleplay and i based everything off of charisma really. Just went around telling tales and trying to help those who trully needed the help while avoiding the law as much as possible, almost like a super hero kind of thing that was really social
OldManWinter 09-29-06, 10:33 PM	One character that I enjoyed a lot was a dwarven barbarian who would charge the enemy yelling "I'll turn your groin to puddin'!" in a scottish accent.
Sigil_Baram 10-01-06, 04:17 PM	I keep musing over this one concept that could really do some damage. It works best with the Kensai (Dragon issue 310). If you pick shurikens as your chosen weapon and take two weapon fighting, weapon focus, weapon specialization, etc. you end up at 20th level with 21 shurikens doing about 1d2+9 damage each. This is without any magic items that may increase damage or number of attackes. There is also storm of blows so if you used that increase the number of attacks. The downfall of this concept is that if you do want magic weapons it gets expensive fast since your using many sepperate weapons. I wouldn't actually play this since it isn't my style and feels too metagame-ish to me. My real favorite is a person who revelse in movement (Im a huge fan of Fearun's Lliira). They kind of dance in combat using two weapons. I haven't played much (I've mostly DMed) so I haven't had a chance to test out different methods of reaching this. I can see it being done with a fencer (also Dragon 310) fighter, kensai, ranger or monk.
Doomed_Penguin 10-01-06, 10:49 PM	My personal fav. was my tiefling rogue/telepath with a low cha. score. She started CN, but ended up becoming CG. Looked like the unimportant weakling to all the NPC's. She didn't talk much, didn't seem to be there for anything but the treasure, but she would always be the one to get the party out of trouble. She died to save the favored soul of pelor that she had a crush on. This is before we realized that native outsiders could be raised. I'm not ashamed to admit that I cried a little when she died.
Roivas 10-02-06, 02:49 AM	I've had so many favorites that it's hard to chose one, so I won't. Here's the top five in order of favorite to play.... 1. Roberto Roivas Alignment: True Neutral A braggard scoundrel to the extreme Roivas claimed to be the greatest fighter in history. He started small as a young man trying to make a name for himself working for a theives guild as muscle and wound up in an adventure that set him against two gods [this didn't happen fast I'm summerizing]. A suave spainiard who's lies could make even an elder red dragon give up some of his hoard in tribute [this actually happened], his bluff skil was my prime focus outside of combat. In combat Roivs favored the greatsword, and liked moving into the thick of enemies to maximize the swath of death his sword would bring upon his foes. Roivas was one of my first well made, well played characters. I enjoyed his moral ambiguity as much as I enjoyed his being a complete scoundrel who wanted the bards to sing his legends for all time. Still he had a good side to him too he hated to see the poor being exploited by the wealthy. He never forgot his common roots he came from, and hated those who were handed the good life on a silver platter like paladins. 2. Mythos Yggdrassill Alignment: Lawful Good [extreme] A paladin who refused to kill Mythos was based on a combination of Goku [DB,DBZ] and Vash [Trigun] as someone who would do anyting to save people's lives. His adventures were against the evil dragon god Sekna as she was being reborn in the world. During his travels he fought against a drow city, traveled to a bleak future world where Sekna had won, battled countless friends turned to evil by the dragon, and was slain only to be reborn as a saint. Thoughout the entire campain he only killed two creatures, and tried desperately to stop anything else living for being killed too. Playing a character who would only go what was right and proper was tough, but I mangaged to maintian paladinhood, and even was good enough to become a saint later in game. Mythos was great fun because though he was quite able in combat he loathed the idea of himself as a warrior. He wanted to end Sekna's evil plans so he could get his sister back, save the world, and go back home to live with his family in peace. After playing him the other memebers of the group were convinced I was stuck on playing good characters so.... 3. Shabbernigdo Lolthvertahl [The Alastor] Alignment: Choatic Evil [extreme] A draeglolth whose backstory is actually posted in the vile characters thread in the mature content, so I'll just state why he was fun. After seeing that draeglolths were a playable race at first level in Champions of Ruin I knew I had to try it. This being an evil game I knew I could make the most vile monster I could imagine and have him be accepted by the party. His malice, cruelty, and hatered for all sentient life made him a very complex character. He prefered to leave foes alive so he could make them beg for death later, and only ate the flesh of iuntelligent creatures. His hunting scenes took some time, but they helped flesh out what was going on when he went away from the party, and added to the idea of how monsterous a beast he was. Sadly the game ended long before I was finished with him, and I still to this day seek a game to finish, or reimagine his story. Speaking of sorrow though.... 4. Ryoga Chequai Alignment: Choatic Neutral [became evil later] Ryoga was catfolk who fell in love with a elvin woman of a noble house. Their relationship was forbidden by her father so he needed to be steathly to see her, thus he trained as a ninja. They met when they could and neither wanted for much more than for them to be together, you can almost here the trouble comming. A human named Seifer who was a soldier under the elf lord's employ one day caught them together and cruelly slew the young elven girl right in front of Ryoga. Ryoga escaped before Seifer could kill him too, but he vowed revenge. Seifer would die a terrible death so slow and painfull that the hell he sent Seifer to would seem like heaven after what he'd done. He fled his home and began to train to defeat Seifer, only to have Seifer come after him instead. After countless battles, some with a great deal of collateral damage, Ryoga was a changed man... er catfolk. No longer the free spirit with few cares he became a monster consummed by hate. His only desire was to slay the one who took the only thing from him he truly vauled. Eventually he won against Seifer and killed him for good [damn ressurection], but the cost on Ryoga's soul doomed him to a life of torment and mirsery. His rage was great but not as great as... Vargash Baeshara Alignment: Chaotic Neutral A shifter barbarian with a simple mind, and a lot of energy. Vargash lived with his large family far away from cilivized society raised with his borthers and sisters by his barbarian mother and ranger father. When he was young his father taught him ways of the woods, stealth, and the importance of knowing your enemy before leaping into the fray. Then his mother taught him about the inner beast how to tap into their racial powers and rip apart anything that stands in his way. Vargash preferred the latter. He used his strength to solve most problems, entering a beastial state that terrified weaker creatures. Outside of his rages he lived a quiet life in the woods hunting, fishing, and playing with his family. I've yet to play this character in a game that went beyond one session, but I like his backstory and can't wait to test him in a real game. That's my top five, it took a while but it was nice to get them all written out.
HairyApe 10-09-06, 04:37 PM	Two favorite ideas: 1.) A friend of mine played a halfling barbarian with leadership. The concept was he was a scared little person with low str (even, theoretically, in rage). But when he raged, his inner "Rage Demon" (AKA Shade from leadership) Came out and fought, and he fell unconcious until the rage ended. It was a lot of fun to be in that group. 2.) And friend and I both played different heads of an Ettin. Together we were tougher and any one person in our party, but we often didnt get along and had to have roll offs for control or just beat each other (ourselves) up. It was lots of fun. We also were starting our business of "Bedazzling." We only took craft skills for clothes,weapons and armor, and made purely cosmetic (and expensive) changes to said items. We were giddy like school girls in love when we had the chance to bedazzle someones items. Got us in a fight with a werewolf lord too. Wanted to bedazzle his stuff. Oh well.
Carey Z W 10-09-06, 04:45 PM	Favorite character was Talon Shraker I was wanting to be a very fleshed out character, and ended up writing a 7 page word document, over 4000 words, about his 120 years of life prior to campaign starting. Simplified- Parents were nobles from elven city, caught by orc raiding party on honeymoon, enslaved, Talon born into slavery, watched both parents beaten slowly over time to death, vowed vengence, had eye cut out for insolence, led an escape team, was caught, horrendously scarred and made example of, let live, eventually escaped and made it back to his village, where he was recognized as being the son of the king and queen. *takes long breath* Over time, these are some of his accomplishments. Led Elven army against hordes of goblins/orcs/badguys Married a Drow princess (He had no concept of racial problems between races) and fixed the rift between elves and drow. Led the drow/elven army (With the Other PCs as leaders of their own countries and nations) against an army of undead mindless creatures controlled by a CR 22 Illithid, at level 15. Suicide bombed himself with a sapper explosive device, after rolling three natural 20s in a ROW and getting through the entire army, not tumbling and taking AoOs. Blew himself up and died in a manner fit for a king. Brings a tear to my eye. *Sidenote- Plot device spared Talons life, he now lives happily as King of the Elves and drow city, with his queen by his side, and many little princes beneath him. Oh, he runs his own Company, Shraker Fletchery.
Cherubaddon 10-09-06, 06:02 PM	I use to play a human necromancer about every other game (LE if possible, otherwise LN). Why Human? Humans are awesome. Really. One feat really rocks, and the skill is usually put to good use in one of my absurdly high knowledge skills (which makes often makes me end up knowing more about religion than the party's cleric). Why Wizard, or specifically necromancer? Because they rock. I know it's a poor argument, but they simply do. Knowing everything, speaking almost every language, being able to Spellcraft every single magical effect with almost no chance of failure, and recognizing every monster's weaknesses simply gives my whole group a huge tactical advantage. Necromancy spells are cool because they are nasty, often save-or-die, and can get you an undead army rather quickly. And, for me, necromancers have to be at least nongood, and playing a villain PC has always been great fun for me (my group is morally questionable anyway). Plus, raven familiars are cool.
TaintedSoulBrokenHeart 10-14-06, 10:17 PM	Guy Silverblade, Human LG Paladin/Ranger Later became LE Paladin of Slaughter/Ranger/Assasin Guy was one of my favorite characters to ever play. We had a group of relatively good Role Players...and the majority of our gaming sessions were spent roleplaying...with literally hours of interaction with NPC's and Villains. Guy was a paladin of Pelor and was the default party leader...he was just, compassionate, and an all around good guy. He strove to help the weak and opressed. He was a hero...and retired from adventuring at level ten...to marry the party illusionists a Gnome. The Gnome and Guy enjoyed their retirement...until my new character died...then wanting to resurrect and old favorite...the DM killed his entire family...(the entire scene was roleplayed out, seems the King's Warlords had rebeled and were killing all the loyal retainers)...and made Guy watch...so here he is...in the middle of his homestead...the bodies of his family mutilated...The Paladin switched his class to ranger and set out to hunt his new found enemies...The current Regime, longer story short...he becomes obsessed with destroying his enemies...and becomes part of a group of rebels who assasinate and disrupt affairs...he is such a complex personality...and he loved a Gnome...
Some Like It Hot 10-22-06, 03:30 PM	I typically enjoy characters with some element of self-loathing. My last of this bent was a NE TWF melee type. Never fought just to hand out a headache, only to kill or be killed. Works equally well with good characters who fight to hold their base impulses in check.
The Smartest Lemming 10-22-06, 07:41 PM	I've got to say my favorite character idea was thought up when I decided that I wanted to create an extremely lazy character. I decided to play a wizard, mainly because they had the most spells available for "laziness." One of my favorite sessions was after my group had been jailed for various offenses true and untrue. The only magic that was not allowed within the jail was anything that would take you out of the jail, otherwise everything else was cool. So while the other party members were concocting plans of escape, he fabricated himself some luxuries like a nice plushy chair and a large feather bed, and did favors for other inmates for items, like fine wines, that he could not magic up himself. After that he just got comfortable and waited for the day of the escape. My favorite line of his was "Johnson, we're escaping, you should come, it'll be grand." this was said as he was sitting upon a luxuriously plush chair propelled by tensors transparent disk, smoking on a fine cigar, with a glass of brandy being held up before him by a mage hand. The only time he would ever really do anything was whenever he was disturbed from his relaxation, and he only really traveled with his party for the entertainment and the chances at obtaining more luxuries for himself.
Orchomenos 10-23-06, 02:05 PM	Currently playing on a PbP site, so I have many character at once. I really like my CN druid 8/rogue 1, especially when wildshaping into a tiger and pouncing on a flanked (or blind) target... I'm also DMing a game, and the players (PCs) begged the guards captain for an NPC who would help them to track a monster on a wet land, basically someone who would tell them where to look. I had the LG captain think for a while, and rush to the dungeon to free the local baddy, a CN tiefling rogue. The captain told him he was free as long as he helped the PCs. So this NPC is helping them, but the least possible... A true ba$tard!
Andron 10-23-06, 07:01 PM	My favorite character concept is the thinker. I love sitting around trying to figure out all the puzzles, tricks, traps, riddles, whatever the DM throws at us, and the ways we can either defeat them or get around them. I love following the storyline that the DM is creating, seeing the continuity, and playing along within the guidelines of the story. I also love to parlay with the BBEG's because you know they will taunt you with the knowledge of what they are about to do because they believe you cannot do anything to stop their nefarious plan. That's when I love to pull the rug out from under the feet. (Of course I've left the BBEG still standing a few times with that trick, but it was still fun.) Most of the time I play a human or half-elf wizard, cleric, or druid. This is mostly because I like trying to figure out what spells might be needed or come in handy, plus it's usually the best class for doing what I do best, play the thinker. (Along with the fact that front line fighting holds no real interest for me personally- which does come through my characters also- and no one else in the group likes playing a straight caster.) I don't mind not being up front and not getting all the glory because without me the party wouldn't have figured out what they were actually supposed to do. (This too has backfired on occassion, but I was able to fix it with a bit of improv. ;) ) I do my part to help out the group as best as I can, letting those who can do other things better than I do their job.
kilishan 10-23-06, 07:35 PM	I have just started playing this character, but it's my favorite concept so far. The character is much like a Warforged, except made of flesh and blood and able to pass for it in public. However, to power the body, a demon was trapped in the body. It's a constant struggle for her to not always be evil, and every once in a while (DM's discretion) she gets physically weak until she cannot do anything unless she performs an evil act. The game started off with a massacre that she helped create. The rest of the characters managed to escape and met her while trying to steal some horses. At first she wasn't going to help, but when she found out they were from the manor that she helped destroy, her guilt got the best of her... Looking very forward to playing that one some more!
Spellskin 10-23-06, 09:36 PM	I prefer characters with alterior motives from the party without them knowing it. Because I have a big mouth and can't possibly contain my excitement and so they always knew, but they never found out what and my characters have never had the same motives. Often this manifests in Illusionists, enchanters, rogues or bards. With the recent addition of the Beguiler I went completely crazy with joy :p Of course, I'm a Changeling when I do this! I'm also very fond of my know-it-all elitist Incantatrix/Halruaan Elder/Archmage. Come to think of it, most of my characters are extremely arrogant and confident in the "fact" that they're better then the rest of the party, wich always incurs their enmity but I'm too valuable to be killed and they know it each and every time *serves them right for being unadaptive:embarrass* My next char will be the supreme Conjurer! A kindly young woman with a mischievous bent who uses her magic to teach people lessons in morality! Elaborate pranks! I've also once played someone's familiar! I was the utterly irresistably cute weasel! Didn't do much, but I had a blast running from opposing Fireballs and sneaking into buildings to steal keys or play "EEk, it's a rodent" while thinking "I'm of the Musilidae family, thank you very much!" Ah, the good old days!
Agent Rasp 10-23-06, 10:20 PM	Some of my favorite characters hail from a group I DM'd for back in 2nd Ed. Said group consisted of a kender rogue (is there any other kind?), a human bard, and a human fighter with overtones of the classic Conan-esque barbarian. The kender was a shameless rip-off of Tasslehoff Burrfoot, and thus got the party into all kinds of trouble without even trying. The unhappy bard opened Every Single Fight with his one and only magic missile, then closed to melee with his longsword and got beaten to near-death by skeletons, kobolds, giant centipedes, and other low-level nasties. Every Single Fight. BUT, he never actually died; his buddies always managed to drag him back to the clerics in town, who they greatly enriched along the way. Then there was the fighter, who we affectionately refered to as "Mister Clean." This guy always had bottom Initiative, but with a two-handed sword and 18/50 or higher Strength (2nd Edition, remember), he was easily dishing out three or four times as much damage as his friends -so much so that I houseruled a Great Cleave effect which allowed him to wipe out entire kobold assault teams with just one or two swings. The punch line is that, after watching the bard get mauled a dozen times, the party stumbled into a nest of acid-spitting giant centipedes, and it was the fighter who finally truly died. In something like two rounds, IIRC. There were gobsmacked faces all around at that point, let me tell you. * * * * * As far as my personal characters go, there are two d20 Modern characters I've grown fond of. One is Mira, a medical prodigy who discovers a progressive mutation in her DNA, attempts to treat it with modern medicine, and is eventually driven to study ancient civilizations for clues on the Lovecraftian beasties who are the ultimate source of her atypical genetics. I borrowed Aberrant Feats from Lords of Madness to represent the good doctor's Deep One-like transformation, plus some homebrewed Flaws that give her a conflicting love of water and terror of the ocean. The mental stress eventually develops into disassociative personality disorder, one side the intensely focused and unfailingly professional ice queen, the other a sword-wielding psycho named "Rami," who uses her considerable medical knowledge to find new and interesting ways of cutting apart idiots who **** her off. Mira maintains a clinic in the bad part of town, which includes a chemistry lab for the drugs she devises to treat her ongoing transformation and other personality, and a metalshop for repairing her sword, custom-made armor, and the battered Dodge Caravan that serves as her "ambulance" and the party's main transportation. My other (and totally unrelated) character is a young student named Thomas, who has a part-time job at his grandfather's bookstore to cover for the fact that he's studying a heap of magical scrolls and tomes that the old man has spent his life collecting. Thomas inherits the shop straight out of high school and goes on studying in his spare time, acquiring new pieces of magical lore when and where he can. He doesn't actually use much of this magic -as an occultist, he has no easy way to replace spent scrolls, and as his grandfather's life's work, they're far too precious to waste- but he does eventually advance far enough to make contact with the local magical community and begin progressing as a mage, buying, researching, and trading for new and more potent writings. It's at about this time that said magical community wakes up and realizes that this "mundane boy" is sitting on a veritable dragon's hoard of magical lore. In finest Potterverse style, the bumbling tyrannical authorities want the collection confiscated for study by their experts, while shadier groups plot to steal it for their own purposes. As dedicated wizards, they're rather unprepared for an Occultist's spell resistance, the Glock 19 he keeps around for security, the minor demon he has bound to him to help out around the shop, or his live-in half-dragon girlfriend. It all goes pear-shaped from there, especially once the girlfriend's father (an ancient red dragon) gets dragged into the picture.
extraordinarilyAverageJoe 10-24-06, 04:55 PM	It has actually been awhile since I've played while not in the DM seat, but my current players have brought forth some real gems. One's a really stupid psionic half-orc who's an ex-lumberjack, and who enjoys pulling bits off of the wierd looking monsters they defeat and wearing them. Having NPCs react to this guy is almost as fun as playing him myself.
Out_of_the_Frying_Pan 10-24-06, 07:52 PM	My current character, Ecrof Krad, is a lot of fun to play. He's a LN Dread Necromancer with all the best intentions in the world. His idea is to capitalize on the "free" labor that undead, mindless and otherwise provide. His position is this: the benefit to society that tireless and unpaid labor provides cannot be underestimated. Favorite quote: "It is our duty to serve the common good. I do not see how that duty is expunged by our death."
FiestFan 10-24-06, 10:13 PM	Two concepts frequently come to the fore with me: The lone Hunter. Usually a LN Ranger or Ranger hybrid, high WIS low CHA. Dedicated to his job, and the Hunt. Likes animals more than people. Adventures with others in order to capture the BBEG or bring back news of his whereabouts. The holy Prankster. Some CG combination of Rogue and Cleric, usually a Small race. Thinks that most people are too serious, and pokes at them just to make them lighten up. Often specializes in non-lethal forms of threat-resolution, because killing isn't 'fun'.
Aufenshauft 10-26-06, 03:44 PM	Ka Boommaster (given name by the party) A second ed character that went better than expected. By fluke, I forgot to pick up common and it became the running joke that I had to pantamime all my intents while talking gibberish. I got so good at it that we changed his class from Thief to Bard so his distracting gibberish and complaints actually distracted the enemy and helped the party like bard song. Usually, this guy just got tired of it and did his own thing. Being a gondsman, I had him try to figure out the most effective uses for black powder. This helped with the communication problems as when I started getting fed up with <12 int creatures I just invented something to take care of the problem, like black powder powered personal height enhancers (rocket shoes) because someone wouldn't open a cabinet for me. A larger version, termed the large scale high altitude troop deployment and personal transporter device (a big rocket, or Death by Asteroid by the rest of the party) sadly never quite worked. I did take out the wizard's house, though. I also put in that he was a night owl, and had problems waking up in the morning. So, when out adventuring I set up a time fuse when I went to sleep to set off an arial bomb at low altitude to wake me up. The party tried to sabotage the thing after the first day, but I crafted in an 'emergency wakeup line' that set it off immediately but happened to look a lot like the fuse they would otherwise be trying to pull. The party started letting me sleep in after that. The party kept him around because while he was a liability and pain in the a$$, he could bring out more firepower at random times than anyone else could because of the inventions, like shrapnel grenades and high pressure glue guns with black powder propellant, and the ever-popular florecent dye gun, used to take out invisible creatures (remember, 2nd ed rules). Ah, good times.