General Advice for Playing a Mysterious Character [Archive] - Wizards Community

General Advice for Playing a Mysterious Character [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
HappyJay
03-23-06, 07:45 AM In my experience, every time that someone has played what they called a mysterious character, that character has ended up more as a jerk than a mystery. How could I play a mysterious character who is not simultaneously socially challenged? I do not have any other character concept yet, so it is flexible with respect to class, race, etc.
JulesCARV
03-23-06, 10:30 AM I think that maybe you're not looking at it in the most productive way. Instead of saying, "I want a mysterious character; let's figure out what's so mysterious about him," try coming up with a character first, and then figure out what this character has to hide or what he doesn't know or whatever. If the character you came up with doesn't have anything to hide or be mysterious about, then come up with someone else.

Basically, in your character's mind, his objective isn't being mysterious (unless he just IS a jerk). Rather, the mysteriousnesss flows out of the rest of the character's history, personality, etc.

So I suppose the first question for a mysterious character is, "why?" Why is the character mysterious? Did she get her memory erased somehow (she can't remember how, of course), and is on a quest to find out who she is, but doesn't know her real name, her past, etc? Does she have a past of infamy and evil, and now she's running away from the consequences of her actions, and living under an assumed name and being cagey (or lying) about her past? Does she have some objective (like, say, acquiring enough power to become a lich, or assassinating the much-beloved royal chancellor) that she doesn't want anyone else to know about?

In short, I think that before we can say, "how do you do mysteriousness well?" We need to know the type of mysteriousness in question :).
Lord Karsus
03-24-06, 03:40 AM -Playing a mysteriosu character is a pain in the butt. Personally, I think that it creates more tension than good. I once tried the concept, and it didn't fare too well. I was playing a Sun Elf Rog2/Ftr1, who was exiled from his ancestral home, and had been expelled from his family, because a slight misunderstanding, where it seemed that he had stolen an item of great value from the vaults of another Elven family.

-Anyway, being an Elf, my character was instantly somewhat distrustful of the other PCs, who were all Human, with the exception of one Halfling. And, my character was hiding his shameful past, so he was 'socially inept', since he had yet to really start his life anew.

-It didn't really work out for me. Perhaps it was because of the group I was playing with. They are a 'Hack-and-Slash' group, and don't understand/ignore those little socio-character subtleties. If you do play a 'mysterious' character, I hope your group is a little more open minded than mine was. In the end, my PC group abandoned my character, since they did not trust him much. When I woke from Reverie, they were all long gone.
kivane_kid
03-28-06, 12:22 PM A good way to have your character appear mysterious is to have him/her speak very little and not reveal anything about their past. Also always wear a cloak with a hood and keep your eyes covered. Anything said should be very well thought out and not screamed aloud, say it slowly as if you are still in thought and in a normal tone (at a whisper if it's quiet), no matter how loud you surroundings are. The party will soon become intruiged in anything that you have to say and some will drop what they are doing to hear you speak. Another thing to do would not be the meat shield, be some sort of mage or 'powerful being'. It's working for one of my characters right now :D
Adrian_Crane
03-28-06, 01:17 PM ...and of course, most handy thing is to be USEFUL. They won't give a damn how annoying you are if you're their only healer/tank. Filling an important role gives you some leeway. :P
Lyinginbedmon
03-28-06, 01:41 PM You don't even have to be hidden in the background to be mysterious either. A particular NPC in my campaign is plenty mysterious, and he's a diplomatic prankster.

What makes most characters truely mysterious, without resorting stereotypes, is the little details.

A faint scent of coagulated blood, never being seen once the sun goes down, always sitting alone in a crowded bar, despite being with friends, having a somewhat odd but consistent philosophy on something (Like never lighting a candle at night because it wakes the damned to your presence, or always carrying a branch that you wittle down to nothing because it keeps the mind sharp and alert), giving away little insignificant snippets of their history, but never the full story (For example, mentioning lightly that you've been in a desecrated temple before, but not saying how, why, or when), or even an irrational dislike or fear of one thing of another.

These things may seem small, but because they are small, the character doesn't quite seem complete, and these traits start nagging at people after time, to the point that suddenly this character they thought was alright suddenly seems to have a lot to hide.

Remember, the Devil is in the Details
Shavit
03-30-06, 07:23 AM well if you want to be mysterious.....just be Mysterious (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=282257)
Adrian_Crane
03-30-06, 11:58 AM well if you want to be mysterious.....just be Mysterious (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=282257)
:heehee

...though if you read between the lines, there's a lot of good advice in that thred. Specifically, what to avoid so your character doesn't become a long-running inside joke. :D

"I'm not a Vampire, dammit!" ftw.
CappyTheMule
04-05-06, 07:37 AM As stated previously, wearing a hood and not having a name don't necessarily equate to to being a mysterious character. The best mysterious characters, IMO, are ones who have skills and habits from their prior lives that are contrary to the life they lead now. Shepard Book from Firefly is a good example.

So play a cleric of Pelor who is strangely familiar with people from the wrong side of the tracks or a bard that is entirely too good at interrogating (or torturing) people. Be a monk who doesn't like to talk about his military career before the monastary or why he donates his gold to the nearest orphanage. Be a paladin that plays down the fact that, while he's atoned for some atrocity he's commited, he's still quite estranged from his church. Be a fighter who is adamant about not killing humanoid monsters that have children or a ranger that's in good with the bugbears of the area. Simply holding an opinion contrary to the one stereotypically held by your class/race adds a lot of depth to a character.

And above all, don't beat your teammates over the head with the fact that you're mysterious. Don't balk at every step of the way and try to lone it b/c you think that that's "good roleplaying". Tell your GM about your character and his motives, and if he's any sort of DM that's worth his salt, he'll give you ample opportunity to showcase your character w/out being obtrusive. And remember that you're sharing the spotlight with other members of your party, so expect to be support or play second fiddle to other characters and their problems some of the time.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
HappyJay 03-23-06, 07:45 AM	In my experience, every time that someone has played what they called a mysterious character, that character has ended up more as a jerk than a mystery. How could I play a mysterious character who is not simultaneously socially challenged? I do not have any other character concept yet, so it is flexible with respect to class, race, etc.
JulesCARV 03-23-06, 10:30 AM	I think that maybe you're not looking at it in the most productive way. Instead of saying, "I want a mysterious character; let's figure out what's so mysterious about him," try coming up with a character first, and then figure out what this character has to hide or what he doesn't know or whatever. If the character you came up with doesn't have anything to hide or be mysterious about, then come up with someone else. Basically, in your character's mind, his objective isn't being mysterious (unless he just IS a jerk). Rather, the mysteriousnesss flows out of the rest of the character's history, personality, etc. So I suppose the first question for a mysterious character is, "why?" Why is the character mysterious? Did she get her memory erased somehow (she can't remember how, of course), and is on a quest to find out who she is, but doesn't know her real name, her past, etc? Does she have a past of infamy and evil, and now she's running away from the consequences of her actions, and living under an assumed name and being cagey (or lying) about her past? Does she have some objective (like, say, acquiring enough power to become a lich, or assassinating the much-beloved royal chancellor) that she doesn't want anyone else to know about? In short, I think that before we can say, "how do you do mysteriousness well?" We need to know the type of mysteriousness in question :).
Lord Karsus 03-24-06, 03:40 AM	-Playing a mysteriosu character is a pain in the butt. Personally, I think that it creates more tension than good. I once tried the concept, and it didn't fare too well. I was playing a Sun Elf Rog2/Ftr1, who was exiled from his ancestral home, and had been expelled from his family, because a slight misunderstanding, where it seemed that he had stolen an item of great value from the vaults of another Elven family. -Anyway, being an Elf, my character was instantly somewhat distrustful of the other PCs, who were all Human, with the exception of one Halfling. And, my character was hiding his shameful past, so he was 'socially inept', since he had yet to really start his life anew. -It didn't really work out for me. Perhaps it was because of the group I was playing with. They are a 'Hack-and-Slash' group, and don't understand/ignore those little socio-character subtleties. If you do play a 'mysterious' character, I hope your group is a little more open minded than mine was. In the end, my PC group abandoned my character, since they did not trust him much. When I woke from Reverie, they were all long gone.
kivane_kid 03-28-06, 12:22 PM	A good way to have your character appear mysterious is to have him/her speak very little and not reveal anything about their past. Also always wear a cloak with a hood and keep your eyes covered. Anything said should be very well thought out and not screamed aloud, say it slowly as if you are still in thought and in a normal tone (at a whisper if it's quiet), no matter how loud you surroundings are. The party will soon become intruiged in anything that you have to say and some will drop what they are doing to hear you speak. Another thing to do would not be the meat shield, be some sort of mage or 'powerful being'. It's working for one of my characters right now :D
Adrian_Crane 03-28-06, 01:17 PM	...and of course, most handy thing is to be USEFUL. They won't give a damn how annoying you are if you're their only healer/tank. Filling an important role gives you some leeway. :P
Lyinginbedmon 03-28-06, 01:41 PM	You don't even have to be hidden in the background to be mysterious either. A particular NPC in my campaign is plenty mysterious, and he's a diplomatic prankster. What makes most characters truely mysterious, without resorting stereotypes, is the little details. A faint scent of coagulated blood, never being seen once the sun goes down, always sitting alone in a crowded bar, despite being with friends, having a somewhat odd but consistent philosophy on something (Like never lighting a candle at night because it wakes the damned to your presence, or always carrying a branch that you wittle down to nothing because it keeps the mind sharp and alert), giving away little insignificant snippets of their history, but never the full story (For example, mentioning lightly that you've been in a desecrated temple before, but not saying how, why, or when), or even an irrational dislike or fear of one thing of another. These things may seem small, but because they are small, the character doesn't quite seem complete, and these traits start nagging at people after time, to the point that suddenly this character they thought was alright suddenly seems to have a lot to hide. Remember, the Devil is in the Details
Shavit 03-30-06, 07:23 AM	well if you want to be mysterious.....just be Mysterious (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=282257)
Adrian_Crane 03-30-06, 11:58 AM	well if you want to be mysterious.....just be Mysterious (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=282257) :heehee ...though if you read between the lines, there's a lot of good advice in that thred. Specifically, what to avoid so your character doesn't become a long-running inside joke. :D "I'm not a Vampire, dammit!" ftw.
CappyTheMule 04-05-06, 07:37 AM	As stated previously, wearing a hood and not having a name don't necessarily equate to to being a mysterious character. The best mysterious characters, IMO, are ones who have skills and habits from their prior lives that are contrary to the life they lead now. Shepard Book from Firefly is a good example. So play a cleric of Pelor who is strangely familiar with people from the wrong side of the tracks or a bard that is entirely too good at interrogating (or torturing) people. Be a monk who doesn't like to talk about his military career before the monastary or why he donates his gold to the nearest orphanage. Be a paladin that plays down the fact that, while he's atoned for some atrocity he's commited, he's still quite estranged from his church. Be a fighter who is adamant about not killing humanoid monsters that have children or a ranger that's in good with the bugbears of the area. Simply holding an opinion contrary to the one stereotypically held by your class/race adds a lot of depth to a character. And above all, don't beat your teammates over the head with the fact that you're mysterious. Don't balk at every step of the way and try to lone it b/c you think that that's "good roleplaying". Tell your GM about your character and his motives, and if he's any sort of DM that's worth his salt, he'll give you ample opportunity to showcase your character w/out being obtrusive. And remember that you're sharing the spotlight with other members of your party, so expect to be support or play second fiddle to other characters and their problems some of the time.