Character Weaknesses [Archive] - Wizards Community

Character Weaknesses [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Mock26
09-26-05, 08:54 PM As a DM, do any of your characters have weaknesses or phobias? If so, what are some of the favorites that you've seen? Or, if you've been a player with weaknesses/phobias, what are some of your favorites?

As a DM my favorite was a gnome illusionist/lock smith who was deathly afraid of spiders. During one adventure in a cemetary they opened up a crypt and there was a very big spider inside (about 2' in diameter). The little gnome started screaming like a little girl and ran away across the cemetary. This, of course, alerted the grave robbers to the group's presence and they were able to slip away without getting caught. Of course, they were hunted down the next night, but it made the adventure a lot more memorable and enjoyable.

Take care and have a great day....

ciao,
john.
Moon-Lancer
09-26-05, 09:02 PM my charicter is afraid of girls.
BladeMage_1
09-26-05, 09:20 PM One of my players' characters is afraid of not being an A**H***.
20goingon1232
09-26-05, 09:22 PM A wizard runned by a friend that faints in impossible situations.

DM: 20 guards rush through the door at the girl's screams and point their crossbows at you.
Him: I faint.
DM: Dude, you are standing by the low open window and you are about 100ft above the ground... Roll me a d20...

He got lucky and rolled the correct 50% :D
Matafleous
09-26-05, 09:46 PM I once had a character who was terrified of elves. It was quite a bit of fun to roleplay. None of the NPCs ever had any idea what was going on. Elves are not exactly used to people screaming and running from them. Although my character eventually faced his fear fighting a BBEG drow in mortal combat and ended up marying in elf later in his life. He was my favorite character of all time.
windscar18
09-26-05, 10:00 PM Oh, it SO had to have been the ranger that had the extreme urge to kick little children, even though he was Chaotic Good. When my DM said that isn't a particuarly good alignment, I said that kicking little children helps them get stronger after they heal. Thankfully, no one in my party was a paladin.
LordHumungus
09-26-05, 11:00 PM I once made a claustrophobic kobold bard who also had a morbid fear of getting dirty. The Dm had told us we should make characters focusing on outdoor/urban type abilites, as we probably wouldn't be doing much dungeon delving. He was rather irritated with me when, during the 1st adventure, he tried to get us into a dungeon.
SneakyPetey
09-26-05, 11:46 PM [We play 2e.]

In our "filler" campaign, one of the key characters is a 6'7" half-orc with a 18/76 strength, a 19 constitution, and a 16 dexterity. All his other scores are pretty good too. "This character is way to good," I think to myself, "he needs at least one weakness!"

So I gave him two:

1) His appearance is such that he frightens women and children, but not half-orcs, who see him as the "paragon of half-orcdom!" This is a double whammy, as humans and demi-humans flee in terror before him and he is mobbed by any and all available half-orc females who want to breed.

2) He is extremely near-sighted, so most missile weapons are out of the question for the sake of his own party member's safety!

It makes for some humorous role playing... :D
weasel fierce
09-27-05, 12:36 AM Any character should have at least one weakness or flaw of some kind, IMO
20goingon1232
09-27-05, 12:49 AM Any character should have at least one weakness or flaw of some kind, IMO
So long as you don't deride people that don't believe in your opinion, that is fine. RP elitists tend to die horrible deaths in my campaigns. Not because they RP. Because their attitudes invariably brings them into conflict with others in the party that is there for fun and giggles.
weasel fierce
09-27-05, 12:59 AM I'll likely never play at the same table as you, so no skin off my nose, whatever way you do things.

For me, roleplaying a character IS the fun and giggles. To others, it may be something else. Thats fine.
Deflare
09-27-05, 01:04 AM Hmm, it wouldn't be too hard to work some into my current characters.

First, my elven bard- he's charming, dextrous, and smart. Hmm... A quick shot of 'cautious pragmatism' should work. He'd rather talk his way out of trouble, rather than get mixed up in combat. Yep, a little cowardice ought to work.

Second, my gnomish rogue. Hmm... He just can't help irritating druids, barbarians, rangers, and other nature-lovers. He's a city-born fellow, and is therefore largely asking for trouble when he meets someone from the wild. This ought to be fun.

Free flaw for a Barbarian player: They absolutely hate the undead, especially zombies. If you want to mechanize it, they need to succeed a Will save to avoid Raging at the first sight of a zombie and chopping them into bite-sized bits.
Mock26
09-27-05, 03:16 AM Remember that a character with one or more weaknesses (and a weakness generally isn't funny, though it can result in some funny situations) is a LOT more realistic than a walking tank who is well nigh impossible to kill. One thing that I like in some other roleplaying systems (such as Mechwarrior and Vampire: The Masquerade) is that you can take weaknesses and get some bonus points to be used elsewhere. I once had a mechwarrior with a glass jaw who was an incredible sniper. However, do even the slightest amount of damage to him and he would practically faint on the spot. Yes, it got annoying at times, but it certainly was realistic. I knew a guy in the marines who was tough as nails and a hell of a soldier, but he would start to sweat and shake if he saw a snake, even a harmless garden snake. That, folks, is reality, and I like to bring a bit of reality into my fantasy roleplaying. But, that is just me. I will never look down upon someone who doesn't include weaknesses into their characters. However, given a choice between playing with people who like weaknesses and people who like walking tanks I'll take the weakness fans every day of the weak. Granted, I treat weaknesses seriously. I'll never make a character who is afraid of something like gold or pants or ears or anything silly.

Take care and have a great day....

ciao,
john.
CzarGarrett
09-27-05, 10:24 AM I played a traditional "Scared to Death of Magic Barbarian"

It was interesting, because I was the only melee character. There was a pair of wizards, a bard, and a druid. Man, I was constantly freaking out when they cast new spells. Outside of the druids wildshaping, I played it that the casters literally had to waste 2 or 3 casting of a spell to get me 'acclamated' to the spell, otherwise, I considered them evil spirits and would run away.
ErinLyger
09-27-05, 10:31 AM One of my favorite characters was an exceptionally flighty Sorceress/Fighter. I actually rolled an Intelligence check to see if she remembered that she had spells at the begining of each encounter. Otherwise, it was all about the leather armor and longsword for her. Of course, she eventually polymorphed herself into a polar bear, and wandered off into the wilderness. I may bring her back as an NPC. She was fun.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Mock26 09-26-05, 08:54 PM	As a DM, do any of your characters have weaknesses or phobias? If so, what are some of the favorites that you've seen? Or, if you've been a player with weaknesses/phobias, what are some of your favorites? As a DM my favorite was a gnome illusionist/lock smith who was deathly afraid of spiders. During one adventure in a cemetary they opened up a crypt and there was a very big spider inside (about 2' in diameter). The little gnome started screaming like a little girl and ran away across the cemetary. This, of course, alerted the grave robbers to the group's presence and they were able to slip away without getting caught. Of course, they were hunted down the next night, but it made the adventure a lot more memorable and enjoyable. Take care and have a great day.... ciao, john.
Moon-Lancer 09-26-05, 09:02 PM	my charicter is afraid of girls.
BladeMage_1 09-26-05, 09:20 PM	One of my players' characters is afraid of not being an AH*.
20goingon1232 09-26-05, 09:22 PM	A wizard runned by a friend that faints in impossible situations. DM: 20 guards rush through the door at the girl's screams and point their crossbows at you. Him: I faint. DM: Dude, you are standing by the low open window and you are about 100ft above the ground... Roll me a d20... He got lucky and rolled the correct 50% :D
Matafleous 09-26-05, 09:46 PM	I once had a character who was terrified of elves. It was quite a bit of fun to roleplay. None of the NPCs ever had any idea what was going on. Elves are not exactly used to people screaming and running from them. Although my character eventually faced his fear fighting a BBEG drow in mortal combat and ended up marying in elf later in his life. He was my favorite character of all time.
windscar18 09-26-05, 10:00 PM	Oh, it SO had to have been the ranger that had the extreme urge to kick little children, even though he was Chaotic Good. When my DM said that isn't a particuarly good alignment, I said that kicking little children helps them get stronger after they heal. Thankfully, no one in my party was a paladin.
LordHumungus 09-26-05, 11:00 PM	I once made a claustrophobic kobold bard who also had a morbid fear of getting dirty. The Dm had told us we should make characters focusing on outdoor/urban type abilites, as we probably wouldn't be doing much dungeon delving. He was rather irritated with me when, during the 1st adventure, he tried to get us into a dungeon.
SneakyPetey 09-26-05, 11:46 PM	[We play 2e.] In our "filler" campaign, one of the key characters is a 6'7" half-orc with a 18/76 strength, a 19 constitution, and a 16 dexterity. All his other scores are pretty good too. "This character is way to good," I think to myself, "he needs at least one weakness!" So I gave him two: 1) His appearance is such that he frightens women and children, but not half-orcs, who see him as the "paragon of half-orcdom!" This is a double whammy, as humans and demi-humans flee in terror before him and he is mobbed by any and all available half-orc females who want to breed. 2) He is extremely near-sighted, so most missile weapons are out of the question for the sake of his own party member's safety! It makes for some humorous role playing... :D
weasel fierce 09-27-05, 12:36 AM	Any character should have at least one weakness or flaw of some kind, IMO
20goingon1232 09-27-05, 12:49 AM	Any character should have at least one weakness or flaw of some kind, IMO So long as you don't deride people that don't believe in your opinion, that is fine. RP elitists tend to die horrible deaths in my campaigns. Not because they RP. Because their attitudes invariably brings them into conflict with others in the party that is there for fun and giggles.
weasel fierce 09-27-05, 12:59 AM	I'll likely never play at the same table as you, so no skin off my nose, whatever way you do things. For me, roleplaying a character IS the fun and giggles. To others, it may be something else. Thats fine.
Deflare 09-27-05, 01:04 AM	Hmm, it wouldn't be too hard to work some into my current characters. First, my elven bard- he's charming, dextrous, and smart. Hmm... A quick shot of 'cautious pragmatism' should work. He'd rather talk his way out of trouble, rather than get mixed up in combat. Yep, a little cowardice ought to work. Second, my gnomish rogue. Hmm... He just can't help irritating druids, barbarians, rangers, and other nature-lovers. He's a city-born fellow, and is therefore largely asking for trouble when he meets someone from the wild. This ought to be fun. Free flaw for a Barbarian player: They absolutely hate the undead, especially zombies. If you want to mechanize it, they need to succeed a Will save to avoid Raging at the first sight of a zombie and chopping them into bite-sized bits.
Mock26 09-27-05, 03:16 AM	Remember that a character with one or more weaknesses (and a weakness generally isn't funny, though it can result in some funny situations) is a LOT more realistic than a walking tank who is well nigh impossible to kill. One thing that I like in some other roleplaying systems (such as Mechwarrior and Vampire: The Masquerade) is that you can take weaknesses and get some bonus points to be used elsewhere. I once had a mechwarrior with a glass jaw who was an incredible sniper. However, do even the slightest amount of damage to him and he would practically faint on the spot. Yes, it got annoying at times, but it certainly was realistic. I knew a guy in the marines who was tough as nails and a hell of a soldier, but he would start to sweat and shake if he saw a snake, even a harmless garden snake. That, folks, is reality, and I like to bring a bit of reality into my fantasy roleplaying. But, that is just me. I will never look down upon someone who doesn't include weaknesses into their characters. However, given a choice between playing with people who like weaknesses and people who like walking tanks I'll take the weakness fans every day of the weak. Granted, I treat weaknesses seriously. I'll never make a character who is afraid of something like gold or pants or ears or anything silly. Take care and have a great day.... ciao, john.
CzarGarrett 09-27-05, 10:24 AM	I played a traditional "Scared to Death of Magic Barbarian" It was interesting, because I was the only melee character. There was a pair of wizards, a bard, and a druid. Man, I was constantly freaking out when they cast new spells. Outside of the druids wildshaping, I played it that the casters literally had to waste 2 or 3 casting of a spell to get me 'acclamated' to the spell, otherwise, I considered them evil spirits and would run away.
ErinLyger 09-27-05, 10:31 AM	One of my favorite characters was an exceptionally flighty Sorceress/Fighter. I actually rolled an Intelligence check to see if she remembered that she had spells at the begining of each encounter. Otherwise, it was all about the leather armor and longsword for her. Of course, she eventually polymorphed herself into a polar bear, and wandered off into the wilderness. I may bring her back as an NPC. She was fun.