Habits
1) Stereo typing my characters off movies and books
2) Making dark heroes
A few things you can try:
There are tables you can use to roll random traits for your characters. Also, remember to use your imagination!
Remember you can refluff a lot of things without needing to change any rules.I guess the last option would be to stop reading and watching movies so you have nothing to rip-off... :P hehe
There. Now you have neither.
That is how to make a character w/o sterotypes.
I guess the last option would be to stop reading and watching movies so you have nothing to rip-off... :P hehe
Hey, that one works for me.
A hero with both parents still alive, maybe a wife and kids, a stable home life, on good terms with his lord, from a completely mundane childhood, never betrayed by his best friend (they still meet every other friday at the local pub), no past family members were extraplanar beings, or elementals, or undead (now, of course), or were more then just normal, no prophesies have been written about the hero, no family weapons/armor/items have been handed down over the generations because it was reportedly used to kill something important once.
That is how to make a character w/o sterotypes.
In addition - does not have a lost twin or sibling but can have siblings who have no rivalry about anything. Inheritance or potential inheritance is not contested. He is not descended from some Great Person in history. He has no birthmark or any particular distinguishing characteristic. He does not resemble anyone. He liked his education growing up but had no particular master/teacher/guardian who gave him special attention and likewise there's no such person still keeping in touch. He is not adopted. He does not have amnesia. His memory was not altered. He has not been polymorphed. He is exactly whom he claims to be. He does not have a dream that keeps repeating.
There's nothing wrong with a stereotype. If you want to break out of the habit of it, then here's something you can do: take the most identifiable trait of the hero you've made out of your stereotype and turn it around.
If your stereotype is a Guild Mage, then turn that around and make him into a Hedge Mage, reinterpreting all other attributes accordingly.
Is your stereotype a certain Dark Elf hero? Well, then now he's a Dwarven Hero. With twin Scimitars.
Is your hero angsty because his family was killed? Well then, now he's a goody-two shoes who's exiled from his family of assassins because he doesn't like the family business.
If you concentrate more on how you are going to fit your PC into the game setting, an how he wll behave once there then you are less likely to build a rip off clone of a movie or book, since those characters seldom fit into the actual game world. Complicated backstories, while they look great, are generally written with very little insight to the story the DM does, and at best only results in a small footnote in the adventure he writes. Remember the DM not only has his own story, but there is the other PCs in the group to consider, so only elements of backgrounds that fit into the gears can be easily incorperated.
I suggest the KISS method, of Keep It Simple, Stupid! Start with a bland character. Pick a single class, draw him up with the standard starting package and a name. Thats all, nothing more then that.
Now instead of having your character driven by preconceived concept, you start with an ordinary character and then allow him to develop and grow in the game by the chalenges and events that occur while he adventures. You may quickly discover that character concepts, backgrounds etc can be alot of dead wait.
In addition - does not have a lost twin or sibling but can have siblings who have no rivalry about anything. Inheritance or potential inheritance is not contested. He is not descended from some Great Person in history. He has no birthmark or any particular distinguishing characteristic. He does not resemble anyone. He liked his education growing up but had no particular master/teacher/guardian who gave him special attention and likewise there's no such person still keeping in touch. He is not adopted. He does not have amnesia. His memory was not altered. He has not been polymorphed. He is exactly whom he claims to be. He does not have a dream that keeps repeating.
Neither does he have a beautiful but helpless girlfriend to be kidnapped or placed in peril. He does not have a crush on a strong female warrior princess whom he is desperately trying to impress with his deeds. Nor does anyone's little sister have a crush on him. He is not about to fall in love with the evil wizard's daughter, become the love interest of the amazon sorceress, or anything like that. In fact, the chance of any past or future romantic entanglements is about zilch.
Why is he playing this character again? What is the roleplaying motivation here?
Why is he playing this character again? What is the roleplaying motivation here?
He's the straight man.
He's not the most brilliant mind, nor the best pilot with the fastest ship in the galaxy.
Nor is he a farmboy with a unique skill with firearms, or weapons, just because on the frontier, you need those skills.
In addition - does not have a lost twin or sibling but can have siblings who have no rivalry about anything. Inheritance or potential inheritance is not contested. He is not descended from some Great Person in history. He has no birthmark or any particular distinguishing characteristic. He does not resemble anyone. He liked his education growing up but had no particular master/teacher/guardian who gave him special attention and likewise there's no such person still keeping in touch. He is not adopted. He does not have amnesia. His memory was not altered. He has not been polymorphed. He is exactly whom he claims to be. He does not have a dream that keeps repeating.
In addition, none of his siblings or relatives are also adventurers. They also haven't mysteriously disappeared, and the PC isn't out looking for them. Even if they had, said sibling has NOT become the BBEG nor one of his lieutenants.
Also, the PC's family is financially stable, so he's not required to adventure to get money to save the family farm/house/gazebo/anything like that.
).Try real life.
-That weird guy down the way on your lunch break. Make something up to accent his eccentricities and motivate him as an adventurer. My neighbor should've been a ranger in a past life. All he needs is the favored enemy.
-A melange of character traits from different ex's, brothers, sisters, etc. The coy humor of one w/ the laizze fare attitude of another wrapped around a very methodical core. Sounds like a scoundrel PC in the making.
-Insane ppl often provide loads of inspiration. My boy Johnny made this schizoidtypal gnomish professor ("Blabby Smokestack", techsmith) who was so terribly original, we'd just give him the floor for huge chunks of time.
Of course, he would borrow from movies alot too ("Frank" Rog/Asn...as in "Frank" (Dennis Hopper in "Blue Velvet"). That was a very trying campaign...
-A stream of consciousness approach; don't plan anything. Immediately sieze upon 1st instincts/impressions. Don't edit, just write, keep moving, don't stop. Don't worry if it doesn't make sense. YOu can trim the fat later. When you're done (satisfied), then, look back, fine tune if you must.
Random generation for each PC out of character traits (PHB II or Hero Builders Handbook) might work. Or, you can simply insist to your players/self to go through a DMG and pick out a few quirks, have someone else do it for you (that knows you), etc.
You may be pleasantly surprised to find this new chaotic element to an otherwise, dare-I-say, lawful (very systematic/controlled) character generation, be refreshing. It's very liberating to try something very new. Best way to learn is hands-on, yes? The more you dwell on it like a project, the more it will feel like a science and character gen should feel like an art. You'll find it's way more satisfying and will drive a game way better.
A hero with both parents still alive, maybe a wife and kids, a stable home life, on good terms with his lord, from a completely mundane childhood, never betrayed by his best friend (they still meet every other friday at the local pub), no past family members were extraplanar beings, or elementals, or undead (now, of course), or were more then just normal, no prophesies have been written about the hero, no family weapons/armor/items have been handed down over the generations because it was reportedly used to kill something important once.
That is how to make a character w/o sterotypes.
Don't go too far with this, however. People need flavour, otherwise there's nothing heroic about them. Really, when was the last time you read about a questing paladin who did it "for the luls"? Obviously characters need motivation, and to assume that you can simply play an "average Joe" takes a fair portion of metagaming because the only reason you're therefore playing that person is because you need a character.
I call this the "Bland Oatmeal" approach. Conversely, the prophesied-about ancestral-weapon-totting antihero-vigilante questing to appease his broken sense of justice from the loss of his family is a real burden on a campaign, too.
Don't go too far with this, however. People need flavour, otherwise there's nothing heroic about them. Really, when was the last time you read about a questing paladin who did it "for the luls"? Obviously characters need motivation, and to assume that you can simply play an "average Joe" takes a fair portion of metagaming because the only reason you're therefore playing that person is because you need a character.
I call this the "Bland Oatmeal" approach. Conversely, the prophesied-about ancestral-weapon-totting antihero-vigilante questing to appease his broken sense of justice from the loss of his family is a real burden on a campaign, too.
It only starts as bland. And really, a PC is a level 1 nobody. He's green and inexpereinced. So why no start bland and let the character develope from thre as he gains expreince and builds character?
1) Make a character that's the opposite of your last character.
2) Let someone else roll/pick all mechanical aspects of your character.
3) Generate a random character (this method doesn't work all that well with D&D 4e, since it doesn't have any tables for random character generation.)
3) Generate a random character (this method doesn't work all that well with D&D 4e, since it doesn't have any tables for random character generation.)
I made a table that randomly generates a race and a class from all sources. Works for 3.5 too.
Play him like a samurai, excepting the asian flavor. You know, code of honor, respectful to authority, yada yada.
There. Now you have neither.
Now you have a Knight. :P
Or, the world is a terrible place. Your family survived THIS attack, but many young people are left to tend the farms on thier own. YOU'RE going to make sure this doesn't happen again. YOU'RE going to go out into the world.. and be a hero, because that's what the world needs.. people to stand between those evil armies.. and all the farmers.
How about, your sister's dream was to be a great wizard.. she studied her heart out, went to school.. and a year later she was returned to the family home in a catatonic state. What happened to her? Why won't the wizards tell your family? So you enter the mage school yourself determined to unlock the secret behind your sister's illness.
People remove "weaknesses" from their characters. Family = weakness, Happy = Weakness (so I must be emo-dark-conflicted), Non-exotic = weakness (if you need a PC race to make your character interesting.. chances are, your character still isn't very interesting)).
So, try adding weakness.
It only starts as bland. And really, a PC is a level 1 nobody. He's green and inexpereinced. So why no start bland and let the character develope from thre as he gains expreince and builds character?
I agree fully. Go back and watch the first few episodes of any long-running popular TV show. The characters almost always seem one-dimensional and stereotypical. It's only through the shared experiences of the show that the characters gain depth.
What makes a character memorable and unique are the simple little things, not the obvious categories of race, class, and weapon. One guy in my Star Wars group recently picked up a really nice watch as loot, and now uses it to full roleplaying advantage. He didn't start out the game by putting "uses expensive loot to impress women" on his character sheet. He saw the opportunity and he grabbed it and ran with it.
Afteral, the stereotype of the "I wanna be an adventurer" is usualy, in known media, the first guy who bites he dust or the perpetual noobie who becomes the buttmonkey or load for the rest of the group.
There are ways to make original and interesting characters that aren't god made casanova demi gods mary sues with enough angst for all the Final Fantasy and mecha anime main characters combined.
A few examples:
Commissar Ciaphas Cain, Hero of the Imperium: Orphan. While he is a not too shabby fighter and leader (sort of), his unique trait is the fact that his choices are all a conflict between his need to be safe from all the nastiness of the universe and his need to enjoy the perks of his underserved reputation as hero. Comedy gold.
Sagara Sousuke (Full Metal Panic): Started as a child soldier and now working as a mercenary. Emo ? Certainly not. While indeed, his life as a soldier has made him a great fighter, it has however crippled his ability in social situations with normal people. His job is to fake being a student to protect a girl in a highschool. Hilarity ensues... a lot. He learns the hard way that using bomb disposal technqiues when he thinks his locker has been tampered is a good way to get chewed out.
Mincs (Baldurs Gate II): mignature giant space hamster as pet.... need we say more ?
The whole casting of Disgaea: a short prepubescent overlord, a love freak, a loli fatale, exploding pinguins, chainsaw princess....
Heck, anyone from Planescape torment too. (Morte, I'm looking at you)
And Discworld...
The whole point of these examples is that making abnormal characters is good, as long as you do a unusual combination and avoid angst (or at least, avoid it becoming 24/7). In my mind, the most memorable characters ar the weird ones, the funny ones. So instead of going for the overdone heroic character types of the boring normal types, go the complete other way and go crazy. Garantied fun.
For the most part you have a good idea of what you want to do by the time you're up to "bat." Have your dice ready, and go. I play in one group and DM in the other and I run across this problem a lot, it really saves time if you roll ahead of time if your DM allows it or at least have the dice in your hand and are ready to go.
I'm getting back on topic here, one of the biggest bad habits I come across in D&D with about everybody I've played with is lack of being ready when your turn comes up.
Maybe not the "biggest" (per group 'x' to 'z') problem, but certainly noteworthy. That is, I can totally identify w/ this issue as a good many of my players take their sweet ass time...which in turn, takes up everyone else's. I'm of the opinion, if it's not your turn, you should be planning it ahead of time. Can't stand it when it gets to them, "Wait, I gotta' look up this spell." or, "Why didn't anyone wait, now I can't do this."
Probably cuz' you couldn't remember to take a Free Action to say in game, "Let me know who's doing what so I can plan accordingly."
ex) My Bro: constantly writing down every little hit (DM's too), spell, all bells and whistles mechanically speaking. Card board cut out PC is the result.
All this effort spent on scrutinizing every damn move all PCs/DM make made him forget himself; no character history, no depth of field, nothing.
What's funny is, he can tell me exactly how much damage ogre 'x' took 3 rnds back on his turn (and his math isn't 100% either), etc., but he can't remember when they broke camp, what day it is, the weather for the day, or if he took off his daily food & water. Selectively recording what he thinks is important, only to find from neglect of other details, he didn't budget his spells/day correctly cuz' he forgot/assumed he'd get his full 8 hrs to rest/meditate.
Anyway, wasting so much time on details I already have covered in my campaign log = when it's finally his turn, he's been so busy dbl checking everyone else's crap that he had no foresight of his own...and then we wait. "Hey, don't rush me!" To which I usually reply, "Hey, you had your chance...you're screwing everyone else, so now you default into a Delayed Action...let me know when you're finally ready to intervene."
Now, I understand alot can change in 1 PC action to compromise what you think you shoudl do on your turn. But when you're only writing down what's going on, you're not fully paying attention and communicating, thusly, you are unprepared when it's your "at bat"...so you strike out as it were.
A hero with both parents still alive, maybe a wife and kids, a stable home life, on good terms with his lord, from a completely mundane childhood, never betrayed by his best friend (they still meet every other friday at the local pub), no past family members were extraplanar beings, or elementals, or undead (now, of course), or were more then just normal, no prophesies have been written about the hero, no family weapons/armor/items have been handed down over the generations because it was reportedly used to kill something important once.
That is how to make a character w/o sterotypes.
I have all my PCs with family. It's great. One has the parents trying to arrange his marriage and he's dodging that the best he can. Another is reluctant knight who's father was a knight and is trying to pass the mantel on to him. The 3rd has an aging father with a lot of unfinished business. The adventure just seems roll out of the families backgrounds. It's great.
As far as avoiding making dark heroes, I'm all for that. In fact, if stereotypes really bother you, avoiding dark heroes will nix 90% of them right off. Remember, tortured heroes live in the past - well adjusted heroes live in the present. Trim down your backstory and focus on what's in front of you and you'll manage.