Need Help with True Neutral Thief [Archive] - Wizards Community

Need Help with True Neutral Thief [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
chsbob9
03-23-08, 12:41 PM Hey guys, this is my first time on this site and would be grateful for any help given.

I'm fairly new to D&D, I've only played one other character, but my DM thinks that I can live up to a challenge that he has given me. He is asking me to be a true neutral thief. Only problem is, I have no clue how to do that. My only previous character was a chaotic good kender, but i really only need help figuring out how my character should react overall.

If you can help, it would be greatly appreciated.

-T
Arkimidies
03-23-08, 01:34 PM Hey guys, this is my first time on this site and would be grateful for any help given.

I'm fairly new to D&D, I've only played one other character, but my DM thinks that I can live up to a challenge that he has given me. He is asking me to be a true neutral thief. Only problem is, I have no clue how to do that. My only previous character was a chaotic good kender, but i really only need help figuring out how my character should react overall.

If you can help, it would be greatly appreciated.

-T

I'm guessing that your having problems with the alignment more then the class so I'll make a couple of suggestions for the alignment. Firstly True Neutral can be challenging to play, but it can be quite fun as well. As a TN character you don't care if something is good or evil, or if it's orderly or chaotic. You just do what feels right at the time.

For more advice on playing TN I'd suggest looking up an old second Ed book. "The Complete Druid's Handbook," they've got a two or three page section on true neutral.

The biggest thing to remember is just because you're TN, don't turn on your party because they're slaughtering the monsters, you might stop fighting the monsters but don't turn on the party. A lot of people I know got the idea that a TN character would turn on their pt and help the monsters if the pt was doing 'too well' that's not TN that's ne, being opportunistic and taking out your party when they've been weakened by another threat.

What I’m trying to get at is TN is a very tough alignment to play, it will be a challenge, the easiest way I think I can put it is as a Rouge you wouldn’t go out of your way to be overly lawful, chaotic, good or evil. Sound’s easy on paper, but it can be a challenge in game.
Mad_Jack
03-23-08, 02:30 PM There's two different levels on which to play True Neutral - the personal, and the philosophical.
On a wider philosophical level, a true neutral character is either actively pursueing a philosophy of Balance, i.e., a Bhuddist monk (for example), or simply doesn't have strong leanings in any particular direction. They may not have any deeper philosophy than ":censored: happens." They'll likely do something Good if there's some benefit in it for them, or if it doesn't inconvenience them too much. They may consider doing something mildly Evil, if they feel there's a need, or they think they could get away with it. But, either actively or simply from inclination, they wouldn't go to either extreme.

On a personal level, true neutrals generally tend to be somewhat laid-back and rarely react strongly to most everyday situations. They tend to take things in stride, and may well be generally unconcerned with things that don't directly impact their lives. The example of the stereotypical country farmer is a good one - he'll make an effort to help his neighbors, but probably couldn't tell you who the town concilmen were, and doesn't really care.
"Hey Lem, you talk to that funny-lookin' green feller with th' ray-gun came through here in that fancy spaceship th' other day?"
"Ayep."
"What'd he want?"
"He said 'Take me t'yer leader'... Seemed like a nice feller, so's I told 'im how t'get t' th' town hall."
"Uh-huh.... Hm, looks t'be fixin' t' rain tomorrow..."
"Ayup."

A true neutral character isn't necessarily apathetic or amoral, though - he may well have certain strong views about a particular subject, a deep sense of honor and a very strong work ethic. He simply tends to take the middle path whenever not confronted by something about which he feels strongly.

Your last character is probably almost the exact opposite of this one. A CG kender would be constantly all up in other people's business, and borrowing their stuff.
For a true neutral rogue character, being a thief is probably his "job", and he may well have a sense of professionalism about it. He'd want to keep a much lower profile than the kender. He most likely doesn't go around stealing random stuff in the town market or mugging random people, especially if he considers himself to be a professional adventurer. He's probably a "guide", a "specialist", or a "scout", depending on his background (i.e., where he learned his skills) and his particular choice of skills - a spy or street thief is more likely to have a high sleight of hand skill than someone who picked up their skills as a special-forces commando or government assassin.

As a rogue (which means you probably have at least average intelligence), always take the time to stop and figure out all the angles and what's in it for you before you make decisions. Your choices in most situations are going to be based on pragmatism and personal benefit. "Necessity", with a capital "N", is going to be a word (and motivation) you use often.
As far as interaction with the rest of the party, you'll probably be a bit amused or perplexed by the Good characters getting so worked up about things which they have no control over (heroic ideals like justice, equality, feeding the poor, etc.), and quite possibly a bit irritated by any Evil characters, since their self-serving attitudes are likely to cause unnecessary problems or attention. Overall, you won't have any problems getting along with anybody, though, since getting along with everybody in the party (and with everybody in general) benefits you in the long run.
Grovel_hits_it_yes
03-23-08, 03:54 PM You could also just play your character as though his thief class is his job. Example: he is in the party to steal, backstab, sneak around, etc. When you sit at the table to play him/her imagine you just clocked in to work at your job in real life, you're just there for a paycheck. Your feelings aren't involved only your skills.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
chsbob9 03-23-08, 12:41 PM	Hey guys, this is my first time on this site and would be grateful for any help given. I'm fairly new to D&D, I've only played one other character, but my DM thinks that I can live up to a challenge that he has given me. He is asking me to be a true neutral thief. Only problem is, I have no clue how to do that. My only previous character was a chaotic good kender, but i really only need help figuring out how my character should react overall. If you can help, it would be greatly appreciated. -T
Arkimidies 03-23-08, 01:34 PM	Hey guys, this is my first time on this site and would be grateful for any help given. I'm fairly new to D&D, I've only played one other character, but my DM thinks that I can live up to a challenge that he has given me. He is asking me to be a true neutral thief. Only problem is, I have no clue how to do that. My only previous character was a chaotic good kender, but i really only need help figuring out how my character should react overall. If you can help, it would be greatly appreciated. -T I'm guessing that your having problems with the alignment more then the class so I'll make a couple of suggestions for the alignment. Firstly True Neutral can be challenging to play, but it can be quite fun as well. As a TN character you don't care if something is good or evil, or if it's orderly or chaotic. You just do what feels right at the time. For more advice on playing TN I'd suggest looking up an old second Ed book. "The Complete Druid's Handbook," they've got a two or three page section on true neutral. The biggest thing to remember is just because you're TN, don't turn on your party because they're slaughtering the monsters, you might stop fighting the monsters but don't turn on the party. A lot of people I know got the idea that a TN character would turn on their pt and help the monsters if the pt was doing 'too well' that's not TN that's ne, being opportunistic and taking out your party when they've been weakened by another threat. What I’m trying to get at is TN is a very tough alignment to play, it will be a challenge, the easiest way I think I can put it is as a Rouge you wouldn’t go out of your way to be overly lawful, chaotic, good or evil. Sound’s easy on paper, but it can be a challenge in game.
Mad_Jack 03-23-08, 02:30 PM	There's two different levels on which to play True Neutral - the personal, and the philosophical. On a wider philosophical level, a true neutral character is either actively pursueing a philosophy of Balance, i.e., a Bhuddist monk (for example), or simply doesn't have strong leanings in any particular direction. They may not have any deeper philosophy than ":censored: happens." They'll likely do something Good if there's some benefit in it for them, or if it doesn't inconvenience them too much. They may consider doing something mildly Evil, if they feel there's a need, or they think they could get away with it. But, either actively or simply from inclination, they wouldn't go to either extreme. On a personal level, true neutrals generally tend to be somewhat laid-back and rarely react strongly to most everyday situations. They tend to take things in stride, and may well be generally unconcerned with things that don't directly impact their lives. The example of the stereotypical country farmer is a good one - he'll make an effort to help his neighbors, but probably couldn't tell you who the town concilmen were, and doesn't really care. "Hey Lem, you talk to that funny-lookin' green feller with th' ray-gun came through here in that fancy spaceship th' other day?" "Ayep." "What'd he want?" "He said 'Take me t'yer leader'... Seemed like a nice feller, so's I told 'im how t'get t' th' town hall." "Uh-huh.... Hm, looks t'be fixin' t' rain tomorrow..." "Ayup." A true neutral character isn't necessarily apathetic or amoral, though - he may well have certain strong views about a particular subject, a deep sense of honor and a very strong work ethic. He simply tends to take the middle path whenever not confronted by something about which he feels strongly. Your last character is probably almost the exact opposite of this one. A CG kender would be constantly all up in other people's business, and borrowing their stuff. For a true neutral rogue character, being a thief is probably his "job", and he may well have a sense of professionalism about it. He'd want to keep a much lower profile than the kender. He most likely doesn't go around stealing random stuff in the town market or mugging random people, especially if he considers himself to be a professional adventurer. He's probably a "guide", a "specialist", or a "scout", depending on his background (i.e., where he learned his skills) and his particular choice of skills - a spy or street thief is more likely to have a high sleight of hand skill than someone who picked up their skills as a special-forces commando or government assassin. As a rogue (which means you probably have at least average intelligence), always take the time to stop and figure out all the angles and what's in it for you before you make decisions. Your choices in most situations are going to be based on pragmatism and personal benefit. "Necessity", with a capital "N", is going to be a word (and motivation) you use often. As far as interaction with the rest of the party, you'll probably be a bit amused or perplexed by the Good characters getting so worked up about things which they have no control over (heroic ideals like justice, equality, feeding the poor, etc.), and quite possibly a bit irritated by any Evil characters, since their self-serving attitudes are likely to cause unnecessary problems or attention. Overall, you won't have any problems getting along with anybody, though, since getting along with everybody in the party (and with everybody in general) benefits you in the long run.
Grovel_hits_it_yes 03-23-08, 03:54 PM	You could also just play your character as though his thief class is his job. Example: he is in the party to steal, backstab, sneak around, etc. When you sit at the table to play him/her imagine you just clocked in to work at your job in real life, you're just there for a paycheck. Your feelings aren't involved only your skills.