Anyways, I really, really, want to find a character concept and stick with it for as long as possible. So, the real question here is, does anyone know any great way to make a character memorable or special? I'd love to hear about your most memorable characters, how you came up with them, and how you made them stick out in your mind more than any other build/archetype/character out there.
Thanks in advance.
-Poseph
She began her career as a Wizard who took the Alienist prestige class.
When she reached her Alien Transcendence, she realized that her sanity was waning away and that she was becoming the very thing she hunted.
With the help of a Psion relative, she reformed herself into a Druid with the Abolisher prestige class (re-made to work against evil outsiders instead of aberrations), and she continued on her quest to stop her plane from being taken over by being from the far realms.
Unfortunately, she failed in her task and died at the hand of her adversaries. However, she was not done yet. The Gods of the plane decided she was the perfect too to use in order to stop their realm from being taken over, so they resurrected her as a Cleric / Crusader / Ruby Knight Vindicator (except without needing to worship Wee Jas) so that she may continue her work.
So that was it. With a single character, I ended up playing three completely different mechanical builds, and it all fit in perfectly with the storyline (though, there was much more complex storyline than I explained).
I have an idea. How about you use the same character but have him change over time? He has epiphanies that change his destiny and whatnot. This is actually what happened to my most memorable character, Tulzscha Sincroft.
She began her career as a Wizard who took the Alienist prestige class.
When she reached her Alien Transcendence, she realized that her sanity was waning away and that she was becoming the very thing she hunted.
With the help of a Psion relative, she reformed herself into a Druid with the Abolisher prestige class (re-made to work against evil outsiders instead of aberrations), and she continued on her quest to stop her plane from being taken over by being from the far realms.
Unfortunately, she failed in her task and died at the hand of her adversaries. However, she was not done yet. The Gods of the plane decided she was the perfect too to use in order to stop their realm from being taken over, so they resurrected her as a Cleric / Crusader / Ruby Knight Vindicator (except without needing to worship Wee Jas) so that she may continue her work.
So that was it. With a single character, I ended up playing three completely different mechanical builds, and it all fit in perfectly with the storyline (though, there was much more complex storyline than I explained).
First of all, thanks for the input, every idea helps. But there is one tiny problem to this, in my case. The characters I want to play are almost always of different race, I often drift between dwarf, dragonborn, and warforged fighters, but like I said, I can never keep focus on one for more than a short amount of time. I'm sorry, as I probably should have detailed this in the first post, but at least I have it said now.
1. My Cleric of Wee Jas in a campaign about a cult of Tharizdun. One of the "big reveals" in the story was that Wee Jas was the mother of Tharizdun (along with whatever Wee Jas' lover's name is, some god of luck/chaos I think). This was not done on purpose, it just happened that I chose a deity that was intimately involved in the story.
2. My sorcerer who awoke after centuries of temporal statis. Long story short, his self-appointed quest to resurrect his long-dead master (an ancient and powerful wizard) became realized as the world's #1 best chance to survive the invasion of Githyanki.
He was a pyro, afraid of water, and liked to start race wars for a kick on a Friday night.
His father was a pirate... and he was his hier... and he was deathly afraid of water. Crossing a bridge caused major psychological trauma to this guy, and when the rest of the party is in combat and your guy fails his will save... and he's the party's arcane caster... oh my...
He was a lot of fun.
My current character is Marek. He's a Tiefling Warlock who has the overwhelming desire to be an elf. So much so, he took the fey pact. With the addition of an archer ranger elf to the party, Marek has now decided to mimic him to be more elflike. Including buying a cloak and bow identical to the elf's. For roleplaying purposes, he doesn't actually know how to use a bow, but he has developed an interesting way of using his eldrich blast with the bow. Think Hank from the D&D cartoon. In addition to this, he has a fetish for anything that is called elven, even if it's not. (Hawking an elven comb? Sold!). Oh, did I mention he plans to pick up a pair of obviously fake elf ears (like those worn at times at Renassaince festivals) and will be wearing them all the time? A tiefling, with huge horns and fake elf ears. A bow, with no arrows.
Anyway, sometimes its not about what the character is, but who he is and how you make use of him and his powers.
I have a problem, and, while it used to be only a minor annoyance, has become a real issue and detriment to the fun I have while playing D&D. You see, I am unable to play a character for more than a month. No, this is not because I keep dying (the character I dream up is usually pretty good), but it is simply because I always manage to find some other build/archetype/character that I 'think' would be much more fun to play.
Anyways, I really, really, want to find a character concept and stick with it for as long as possible. So, the real question here is, does anyone know any great way to make a character memorable or special? I'd love to hear about your most memorable characters, how you came up with them, and how you made them stick out in your mind more than any other build/archetype/character out there.
Thanks in advance.
-Poseph
Your problem seems to stem from wanting something fresh and new.
I've found that my best and most memorable characters had nothing to do with race, class, stats, or anything at all to do with game mechanics.
Memorable character's are about personality.
One of my favorites was a 2nd Edition Wizard with a strength of 3.
This meant he could not carry his own spell book without being encumbered. The stat gave me reason for buying a pack animal and for staying out of combat completely. He was completely useless without his magic.
I don't even remember his stats other than that crappy one, I don't remember his race either. I just remember that Alundrin had many interesting situations concerning his inability to lift more than 10lbs on a good day with plenty of rest.
I remember the banter about his pansyness and how he would counter with threats of fireballing the fighter while he slept.
It doesn't matter what you build it's all in how you play em.
However, here are some character's of repute (or ill-repute!)...
Richard Lee, Attorney at Law - in a homebrew Bladerunneresque/Shadowrun world - I was stumped with charater names and picked his out of the local newspaper...he's named after a "kinda crummy" local attorney. He was the party bane...as everywhere he went, he always introduced himself as "Richard Lee, attorney at law". He was gutsy, frugal, very strong-headed and independent, and fought very differently compared to the rest of the team (he chose to call-shot head opponents and had crafted very delicate yet agile battle armor versus automatic weapons and thick heavy armor. He also chose to remain pure and not get any cybernectics (which was damned hard cause a lot of players had several limbs blown off, he was lucky). He fought with the bushido code (sorta) and in the end was probably the most honorable of the motley crew.
Ran - in a fantasy homebew game - again I was stumped for names, so I picked the name Ran, which was translated as devil in one of the cultures. As a joke, I basically had him raised in a wickerbasket (Albedo reference)... he was born with the the Ran symbol tattoo'd to his back and was raised by monks in a mountain monestary...eventually, they kicked him out to face his destiny. Ran was quite stupid (Int 7) and constantly pronounced ALL the homebrew racial names, god names, peoples' names, etc. wrong, and he systmatically collected more and more weapons, often calling upon the power of his "Vel Blade" (Vel were like orcs, or ratmen orcs...and yeah, his main weapon was from a Vel after their very first battle...). He was hopelessly gullible, and well, made for a LOT of roleplaying fun.
Lyta - ah, Lyta...she was a halfling rogue in a 3.0 D&D game where she was severely tortured and picked on as a child by the neighborhood halfling noble's son. She was very dark and brooding and would be considered unaligned...struggling between light and darkness. In her early levels, she struggled with becoming more and more brutal in her killings, but yet was disqusted by how vile her teammates were... eventually I was going to prestige her into a Shadowdancer, and have her use her shadow to makes more shadows, and eventually create an army of shadows as she succumbs into the madness of her dementia (this is before the Shadowdancer Errata). However, there was always hope and redemption if the other PCs stepped in to prevent her from becoming consumed by her bitterness. Unfortunately, I left the campaign before I could ever finish, although she did come back in a few different incarnations in one shot games I played in.
All in all, it was the distinct and unique personalities (and backgrounds) that really made the characters for me. I wasn't so much stuck on a "class/racial concept" or even a power trick combo that made them effective in combat. Instead, I was focused on who they were as characters, how they interacted with the world, and I was curious to see how their lives would change and how they would develop as the campaign progressed. I'm still waiting to see how Dhalia pans out...I think it's going to be a LOT of run and rich roleplaying especially since the party found out that she is more than some stupid little maid girl (who carries a great axe and halberd). Her past now comes to haunt her...
In the end, I think it's more about falling in love with the soul of the character versus stats, powers, and combos etc.
Just some food for your discussion...
Fox
I have a problem, and, while it used to be only a minor annoyance, has become a real issue and detriment to the fun I have while playing D&D. You see, I am unable to play a character for more than a month. No, this is not because I keep dying (the character I dream up is usually pretty good), but it is simply because I always manage to find some other build/archetype/character that I 'think' would be much more fun to play.
Anyways, I really, really, want to find a character concept and stick with it for as long as possible. So, the real question here is, does anyone know any great way to make a character memorable or special? I'd love to hear about your most memorable characters, how you came up with them, and how you made them stick out in your mind more than any other build/archetype/character out there.
Thanks in advance.
-Poseph
Well, usually it starts with some traumatizing event that takes place in a campaign for me. Or because there's a motif that I shoot for that just screams "I am awesome play me" Or you could do what I do, make them as spare characters, secondary characters, or make them Npcs and start dming with your supporting cast.
You could also just remake the same character over and over again like I did until something sticks within his or her core concept and then go from there. (Only -one- of my characters merited this... he was my guinea pig for all things rogue magey)
Try to write one page including your upbringing, goals, personality and physical description. You will probably be attached to that character afterward.
If the DM is willing to work with your backstory and put it into the game, then that will be another strong incentive for you to want to keep using that character.
Making a point to roleplay the character -- speech and actions -- also lends a strong degree of attachment, because you feel more of a connection and also a bit of pressure to not continually change your behavior in front of the other players.
Also try to keep in mind it is annoying for the other players and DM to have a new character constantly showing up. It strains the believability of the game world when only one PC keeps changing.
Another potential issue is how fast you level up and get new things in your campaigns. If (you feel that) there is not enough new treasure or level ups, you may believe that the character you built stagnates. So, changing to a new character would be the most expedient way to get "new abilities." Maybe look at whether your DM stretches out levels longer than by the book, and ask him/her to maybe speed up the XP gain.
Avoiding threads about character builds and reading the different class and race descriptions "just because" will probably help a little bit to keep you focused as well.
If your DM is OK with it, you could consider just handwaving away your actual "build" but retaining the character's identity in the game. It's still a bit straining that one character keeps being different things, but if the game world and other PCs/NPCs act like your character was always X even though he was Y last week, then some degree of familiarity and storyline is retained.
See, I have the same problem in one of the campaigns I play in. I come across different builds or ideas, either in the forums or through perusing the books, and I get bored with my current character for wanting to play this other awesome really cool character idea over here. This is in our 3.5 ed campaign.
Maybe a not-quite-what-you-asked-for solution is what I've found. I DM a 4th edition campaign, and I LOVE it. I jokingly tell my players that I've found the perfect gig. They only get to play one character, while I get to play potentially hundreds! I can create NPCs, for use in towns, dungeons, cities, or even as BBEGs, but they're stuck playing the same character throughout. Might be something to look into for you.
Just my two cp.
2) Play a Changeling Factorum. The Changeling can look like any race you want to be. The Factorum has the ability to cast magic, heal, open locks, and swing swords, provide you choose which direction you go in the morning. Plus, you can train in any skill you want with no penalty.
It seems like the kind of character most resistant to change.
Edit: I agree with Katherose completely. Now if only the PCs would stop killing all my characters...
I'll offer a slightly different perspective since you have so much good advice already.
See, I have the same problem in one of the campaigns I play in. I come across different builds or ideas, either in the forums or through perusing the books, and I get bored with my current character for wanting to play this other awesome really cool character idea over here. This is in our 3.5 ed campaign.
Maybe a not-quite-what-you-asked-for solution is what I've found. I DM a 4th edition campaign, and I LOVE it. I jokingly tell my players that I've found the perfect gig. They only get to play one character, while I get to play potentially hundreds! I can create NPCs, for use in towns, dungeons, cities, or even as BBEGs, but they're stuck playing the same character throughout. Might be something to look into for you.
Just my two cp.
You know, I just might give this a try.
If that's not your thing, then, I know it's hard, but stop making characters. I really want to have my first 4e character last as long as possible, and I'm resisting the urge to make him because the game is a month-and-a-half away (when I go back to college). I have made a detailed backstory, (all you need is race and class for that, and it makes them feel more alive, and thus harder to get rid of on a whim) and I'm spending my time on another one of the previously mentioned solutions, I'm creating a campaign (so my DM gets a chance to play too). Creating villains is immensely rewarding and, more importantly, time consuming so you don't spend time dreaming up new characters to replace the one you have.
EDIT: Btw, the factotum is not much of a spellcaster, so I like to pump up the arcane abilities by giving him nothing but fey heritage feats till level 12. If you float more towards magic item creation, you could do that as well, since they can cast any sor/wiz spell of the levels they can cast. Wands are super useful.