An intriguing trend [Archive] - Wizards Community

An intriguing trend [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
TheWerg
12-14-06, 02:02 AM I have recently noticed that, RP-wise, my players tend to create characters that reflect some aspect of their personalities. A player with ADD and a loud mouth often creates a somewhat obnoxious, easily distractable PC. Another who is outspoken and often angry has created a character that tends to speak out... rather rudely.

Has anyone else noticed these trends among their players?
IdleAltruism
12-14-06, 02:17 AM One of my players plays most of his characters(pretty much all of them even barbarians) as a not so sneaky guy that tries to be really sneaky and once anything so much as scuffs his characters boots hes up in arms swearing revenge. Just so happens hes an idiot, a loveable idiot, but none the less an idiot.
Invoker47
12-14-06, 02:21 AM People tend to play what they're good at I suppose. I'm a fairly introverted and shy person, and even when I play high charisma characters such as a paladin, I end up being taciturn.

One of my players has bi-polar disorder, and many of his characters end up being N or CN. He plays good characters well, but there was the infamous incident when he first played a paladin, and as a player he was having a bad day, and his character ended up falling.

Another one of my players was a U.S. Army Ranger, and he always plays a druid that's really good at grappling. Somehow I find some relation.
Sphyre
12-14-06, 02:48 AM I would think that unless you take the time to actually make a distinct personality for your character, you're going to gravitate heavily towards what your own personality is.

Hence why I enjoy making up distinct personalities when I make a character. I don't like being myself in game - this is my chance to be someone who I'm not!
UnrelentingHoror
12-14-06, 04:22 AM I usually find that even if its not apparent at first, there is at least a small bit of the persons personality in each of their characters. <insert heartwarming "aaaawwww">
Catra
12-14-06, 11:06 AM Most players aren't experienced enough to even want to play characters that don't mirror their own personality. Most players, especially ones who don't read much or get into the character's heads when they watch movies, don't feel comfortable playing opposite alignments. Often they're not confident they could do it right.

Once players have a few satisfying experiences playing out their own personality type, they should start wanting to branch out and try playing 'unorthodox' characters and using play styles they haven't tried yet. You should encourage them; in fact, write up a few characters for them to try out and see how they respond. If they don't warm up to what you've prepared, you have some new NPC's. :)

As the DM it's hard to see why the players wouldn't want to try out new styles because you have to play so many by necessity. That's probably one of the main reasons you're the DM of the group--you feel comfortable creating and acting out multiple personalities and they don't. So, gradually encourage them to develop skills you already have and use, and perhaps some of them will become DM's one day as well!

Go forth and multiply!
batmanjr
12-14-06, 12:02 PM It's been my experience that with the people I've gamed with that their characters have been almost their exact opposite, or at least something that they wish they were.
Cainin
12-14-06, 01:04 PM Art is an expression of self. While most would not go so far as to categorize DnD as "art", it is a form of self-expression. From my observations, all DnD characters that have been truly brought to life (as in, not just numbers & papers) are an expression of some aspect of the player's personality.

Most players build characters based of their hopes, dreams, the various positive things that they perceive about themselves. Whether or not these may be actually true.

Others unconciously use DnD to explore the darker sides of themselves. The parts of themself that you don't like. Their fears and inadaquencies are manifested in a physical form. Depending on the player's mental state and what level of depression they are experiencing, they either revel in the negative about themselves (thus why they're playing it) or they are simply to gain an unconcious insight into the nature of their own soul (as their own form of psycho-therapy).

Yeah, I'm sure that most of this sounds overly deep. But I've come to find after about 3 long standing RPG campaigns, I can tell a lot about you a person is built inside.
High Octane
12-14-06, 01:53 PM I have recently noticed that, RP-wise, my players tend to create characters that reflect some aspect of their personalities. A player with ADD and a loud mouth often creates a somewhat obnoxious, easily distractable PC. Another who is outspoken and often angry has created a character that tends to speak out... rather rudely.

Has anyone else noticed these trends among their players?
Trend?

Um, I'm betting that since the beginning of RP that players have created characters reflective of their personality.
Board_Rider
12-14-06, 01:59 PM I play different facets of myself with a mixture of things that I can fantasize doing that is not possible in RL.
Mock26
12-14-06, 02:09 PM I frimly believe that every player infuses his character with some of his own personality, be it just a tiny bit or nearly an identical clone to the player. I've noticed this for 20+ years. So, to me it isn't anything new.
Eled_the_Worm_Tamer
12-14-06, 02:18 PM Oddly I tend to do the oposite. Im painfuly shy in RL, ans I preffer to play savy, debonair manipulators. Im an atheiest with strong anti thetical leanings, If I have fath at all for a charicter I tend to play a zealot. I hate crouds, but enjoy playing leaders. Im a very ordered, organised person, my last 3 chars were chayotic, and so on. This isnt realy intentional, just that I like to get away from being me when I game.
TheWerg
12-14-06, 07:03 PM Well, by trend I mean a general inclination towards it, and not a new thing by any means.

Now, since most people are agreeing with what I've hypothesized, should I be concerned that one of my friends has made a character who acts friendly when it benefits him but will betray someone as soon as it seems that that is the best course of action?
Einvaldurinn_mikli
12-14-06, 07:30 PM Well, by trend I mean a general inclination towards it, and not a new thing by any means.

Now, since most people are agreeing with what I've hypothesized, should I be concerned that one of my friends has made a character who acts friendly when it benefits him but will betray someone as soon as it seems that that is the best course of action?

That is no reason to be afraid. Just make sure you get him before he gets you.
darcdante
12-14-06, 07:44 PM I tend to play good (and I mean good) characters. I once had a druid that died because he and his animal companion were both poisoned, and we only had one antidote. I gave it to my riding dog and rolled up a new character (he was a CG gnome druid - lvl 4 or something). I've played other alignments before, pretty effectively I think, but I still most enjoy being the good guy. I'm currently playing a LG paladin and trying to make him at least a tiny bit of a prick. He'll occasionally snap at other characters if they're being obnoxious, but in general he's still uber good. He collected a bunch of loot last session, and bought a mount with it, but donated 80% to the church and party fund. In fact, the only rude thing he's done was snap at the potato of the group. Yes, one of my friends is playing a walking, talking, onee-eyed potato. The player tends to be the type who likes to cause some chaos at the table, and when he was being extremely stubborn about not going along with what the adventure plothook obviously was, my character snapped at him - but that could have easily been ooc agression as well. :P

I played a halfling rogue once in a Ravenloft campaign named Rosco. He turned evil pretty quickly and did some messed up stuff. Did you know that, in Ravenloft, you can turn people into vampires with vampiric touch? Man, that was cool.

Anyhoo, I've noticed that most players have preferences, and oftentimes it represents their personality. I have a friend that ALWAYS plays short characters, and most of the time it's a dwarf. He's fully aware of why he does it (he's a short, stubborn, proud guy) and it's more amusing than anything else. Another guy always has characters that have a slight meanstreak. He's CN, but when a guard spit on the ogre thrall that was in the party, he summoned an allip on him on the way out. The rest of the group is still a little new for me to say anything definitive, but I have certainly noticed this trend both in myself as well as in others.
Thubby
12-14-06, 10:26 PM everyone does this, some more obvious than others. but people wont create things completely seperate from themselves. if they did, they would have nowhere to start from for personality, and they couldnt use them.
Invoker47
12-14-06, 11:59 PM I know someone who is a christian minister, and is very good at playing evil characters. Evil to the point of you getting creeped out in real life from it.
Magetastic
12-15-06, 12:18 AM I think they do it for the +2 bonus on roleplaying skill for acting in character. Oh wait real life isn't based on numerical bonuses i forgot.:P
CryoSilver
12-15-06, 01:05 AM I know that all of my characters have distinct personalities, but tend to reflect certain facets of my personality as well.

Most of them are morally neutral, and tend toward lawfulness, since that rmeoves my need to pause and think "What would someone else do in this situation?" They also tend to be pragmatic and unscrupulous, though not always.

When I play spellcasters or other intelligent characters, they tend toward philosophy more than book smarts (though I've a fair amount of both).
Gilean
12-16-06, 10:46 AM Playing online after I moved away from home changed this trend wrt one of my players. Normally very introverted and just not that skilled characters, but online his first char was Baram (http://z14.invisionfree.com/Tablets_of_Dleinr/index.php?showtopic=197&view=findpost&p=1156175), a very skilled warden.

I was positively surprised.
theotherdraxen
12-16-06, 07:55 PM Well, by trend I mean a general inclination towards it, and not a new thing by any means.

Now, since most people are agreeing with what I've hypothesized, should I be concerned that one of my friends has made a character who acts friendly when it benefits him but will betray someone as soon as it seems that that is the best course of action?

Just having fun. All of the characters I play like to kill stuff for one reason or another (fighting is fun!), but I'm not a violent person. I have also played a racist character before (tried to kill a tiefling just for being a tiefling), but I'm not personally racist.

The only thing you need to worry about is how this mofo is going to work with everyone else.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
TheWerg 12-14-06, 02:02 AM	I have recently noticed that, RP-wise, my players tend to create characters that reflect some aspect of their personalities. A player with ADD and a loud mouth often creates a somewhat obnoxious, easily distractable PC. Another who is outspoken and often angry has created a character that tends to speak out... rather rudely. Has anyone else noticed these trends among their players?
IdleAltruism 12-14-06, 02:17 AM	One of my players plays most of his characters(pretty much all of them even barbarians) as a not so sneaky guy that tries to be really sneaky and once anything so much as scuffs his characters boots hes up in arms swearing revenge. Just so happens hes an idiot, a loveable idiot, but none the less an idiot.
Invoker47 12-14-06, 02:21 AM	People tend to play what they're good at I suppose. I'm a fairly introverted and shy person, and even when I play high charisma characters such as a paladin, I end up being taciturn. One of my players has bi-polar disorder, and many of his characters end up being N or CN. He plays good characters well, but there was the infamous incident when he first played a paladin, and as a player he was having a bad day, and his character ended up falling. Another one of my players was a U.S. Army Ranger, and he always plays a druid that's really good at grappling. Somehow I find some relation.
Sphyre 12-14-06, 02:48 AM	I would think that unless you take the time to actually make a distinct personality for your character, you're going to gravitate heavily towards what your own personality is. Hence why I enjoy making up distinct personalities when I make a character. I don't like being myself in game - this is my chance to be someone who I'm not!
UnrelentingHoror 12-14-06, 04:22 AM	I usually find that even if its not apparent at first, there is at least a small bit of the persons personality in each of their characters. <insert heartwarming "aaaawwww">
Catra 12-14-06, 11:06 AM	Most players aren't experienced enough to even want to play characters that don't mirror their own personality. Most players, especially ones who don't read much or get into the character's heads when they watch movies, don't feel comfortable playing opposite alignments. Often they're not confident they could do it right. Once players have a few satisfying experiences playing out their own personality type, they should start wanting to branch out and try playing 'unorthodox' characters and using play styles they haven't tried yet. You should encourage them; in fact, write up a few characters for them to try out and see how they respond. If they don't warm up to what you've prepared, you have some new NPC's. :) As the DM it's hard to see why the players wouldn't want to try out new styles because you have to play so many by necessity. That's probably one of the main reasons you're the DM of the group--you feel comfortable creating and acting out multiple personalities and they don't. So, gradually encourage them to develop skills you already have and use, and perhaps some of them will become DM's one day as well! Go forth and multiply!
batmanjr 12-14-06, 12:02 PM	It's been my experience that with the people I've gamed with that their characters have been almost their exact opposite, or at least something that they wish they were.
Cainin 12-14-06, 01:04 PM	Art is an expression of self. While most would not go so far as to categorize DnD as "art", it is a form of self-expression. From my observations, all DnD characters that have been truly brought to life (as in, not just numbers & papers) are an expression of some aspect of the player's personality. Most players build characters based of their hopes, dreams, the various positive things that they perceive about themselves. Whether or not these may be actually true. Others unconciously use DnD to explore the darker sides of themselves. The parts of themself that you don't like. Their fears and inadaquencies are manifested in a physical form. Depending on the player's mental state and what level of depression they are experiencing, they either revel in the negative about themselves (thus why they're playing it) or they are simply to gain an unconcious insight into the nature of their own soul (as their own form of psycho-therapy). Yeah, I'm sure that most of this sounds overly deep. But I've come to find after about 3 long standing RPG campaigns, I can tell a lot about you a person is built inside.
High Octane 12-14-06, 01:53 PM	I have recently noticed that, RP-wise, my players tend to create characters that reflect some aspect of their personalities. A player with ADD and a loud mouth often creates a somewhat obnoxious, easily distractable PC. Another who is outspoken and often angry has created a character that tends to speak out... rather rudely. Has anyone else noticed these trends among their players? Trend? Um, I'm betting that since the beginning of RP that players have created characters reflective of their personality.
Board_Rider 12-14-06, 01:59 PM	I play different facets of myself with a mixture of things that I can fantasize doing that is not possible in RL.
Mock26 12-14-06, 02:09 PM	I frimly believe that every player infuses his character with some of his own personality, be it just a tiny bit or nearly an identical clone to the player. I've noticed this for 20+ years. So, to me it isn't anything new.
Eled_the_Worm_Tamer 12-14-06, 02:18 PM	Oddly I tend to do the oposite. Im painfuly shy in RL, ans I preffer to play savy, debonair manipulators. Im an atheiest with strong anti thetical leanings, If I have fath at all for a charicter I tend to play a zealot. I hate crouds, but enjoy playing leaders. Im a very ordered, organised person, my last 3 chars were chayotic, and so on. This isnt realy intentional, just that I like to get away from being me when I game.
TheWerg 12-14-06, 07:03 PM	Well, by trend I mean a general inclination towards it, and not a new thing by any means. Now, since most people are agreeing with what I've hypothesized, should I be concerned that one of my friends has made a character who acts friendly when it benefits him but will betray someone as soon as it seems that that is the best course of action?
Einvaldurinn_mikli 12-14-06, 07:30 PM	Well, by trend I mean a general inclination towards it, and not a new thing by any means. Now, since most people are agreeing with what I've hypothesized, should I be concerned that one of my friends has made a character who acts friendly when it benefits him but will betray someone as soon as it seems that that is the best course of action? That is no reason to be afraid. Just make sure you get him before he gets you.
darcdante 12-14-06, 07:44 PM	I tend to play good (and I mean good) characters. I once had a druid that died because he and his animal companion were both poisoned, and we only had one antidote. I gave it to my riding dog and rolled up a new character (he was a CG gnome druid - lvl 4 or something). I've played other alignments before, pretty effectively I think, but I still most enjoy being the good guy. I'm currently playing a LG paladin and trying to make him at least a tiny bit of a prick. He'll occasionally snap at other characters if they're being obnoxious, but in general he's still uber good. He collected a bunch of loot last session, and bought a mount with it, but donated 80% to the church and party fund. In fact, the only rude thing he's done was snap at the potato of the group. Yes, one of my friends is playing a walking, talking, onee-eyed potato. The player tends to be the type who likes to cause some chaos at the table, and when he was being extremely stubborn about not going along with what the adventure plothook obviously was, my character snapped at him - but that could have easily been ooc agression as well. :P I played a halfling rogue once in a Ravenloft campaign named Rosco. He turned evil pretty quickly and did some messed up stuff. Did you know that, in Ravenloft, you can turn people into vampires with vampiric touch? Man, that was cool. Anyhoo, I've noticed that most players have preferences, and oftentimes it represents their personality. I have a friend that ALWAYS plays short characters, and most of the time it's a dwarf. He's fully aware of why he does it (he's a short, stubborn, proud guy) and it's more amusing than anything else. Another guy always has characters that have a slight meanstreak. He's CN, but when a guard spit on the ogre thrall that was in the party, he summoned an allip on him on the way out. The rest of the group is still a little new for me to say anything definitive, but I have certainly noticed this trend both in myself as well as in others.
Thubby 12-14-06, 10:26 PM	everyone does this, some more obvious than others. but people wont create things completely seperate from themselves. if they did, they would have nowhere to start from for personality, and they couldnt use them.
Invoker47 12-14-06, 11:59 PM	I know someone who is a christian minister, and is very good at playing evil characters. Evil to the point of you getting creeped out in real life from it.
Magetastic 12-15-06, 12:18 AM	I think they do it for the +2 bonus on roleplaying skill for acting in character. Oh wait real life isn't based on numerical bonuses i forgot.:P
CryoSilver 12-15-06, 01:05 AM	I know that all of my characters have distinct personalities, but tend to reflect certain facets of my personality as well. Most of them are morally neutral, and tend toward lawfulness, since that rmeoves my need to pause and think "What would someone else do in this situation?" They also tend to be pragmatic and unscrupulous, though not always. When I play spellcasters or other intelligent characters, they tend toward philosophy more than book smarts (though I've a fair amount of both).
Gilean 12-16-06, 10:46 AM	Playing online after I moved away from home changed this trend wrt one of my players. Normally very introverted and just not that skilled characters, but online his first char was Baram (http://z14.invisionfree.com/Tablets_of_Dleinr/index.php?showtopic=197&view=findpost&p=1156175), a very skilled warden. I was positively surprised.
theotherdraxen 12-16-06, 07:55 PM	Well, by trend I mean a general inclination towards it, and not a new thing by any means. Now, since most people are agreeing with what I've hypothesized, should I be concerned that one of my friends has made a character who acts friendly when it benefits him but will betray someone as soon as it seems that that is the best course of action? Just having fun. All of the characters I play like to kill stuff for one reason or another (fighting is fun!), but I'm not a violent person. I have also played a racist character before (tried to kill a tiefling just for being a tiefling), but I'm not personally racist. The only thing you need to worry about is how this mofo is going to work with everyone else.