Because I'm an artist I almost always design my character's appearance first and develop a character off the design. For my current game I drew a very cute looking tiefling with only one horn that had a very nervous expression on his face and not very combat-ready looking clothing. So I created a shy tiefling bard who is the cautious (cry) baby of the party so is often protected by them and helps solve their conflicts non-violently or supports them with buffing and healing spells when they can't. He had one of his horns cut off in a confrontation with some cons one of the first times he left his home where his grandmother sheltered him because she was scared how people would treat him for his ancestry. He also enjoys using disguises, he has about a dozen outfits by this point, a third of which are dresses because he can pass for a girl and most have hats that specifically cover up his one remaining horn. He's very fun to play and easy to interact with the other players with.
Hahahahaha. My students and I had long debates on Heavy Metal and it used to get them too... along with - what time of metal? Death metal sir... Death isn't a metal, I mean is it like Chromium, or Manganese? Possibly Mercury?
Im playing a dwarf who wants to be a chef, and isn't too fond of most elves. He has a good heart, but was scorned by an elf noble he was in love with as a younger man.
Solid Sloth Haha, that's great. I have a forest gnome barbarian who has lost his ability to control the minor illusion cantrip due to his insanity and thirst for direct combat. As such now it acts as a subconscious mood ring with music playing to indicate his thoughts.
I remember seeing so many players who wanted to play some strange race combined with a weird class build to make an interesting, unique character. I just kept seeing people try to make a shiny gem and realized I could make a dull pebble that would draw more attention than all those gems. Thus I created Fred Home, a simple Guide (Pathfinder Ranger variant) who was forced from his home and was separated from his family. He doesn't remember what major town they were going to, but he knows it was to the west. He was a very nice, respectful person who was always willing to listen and wasn't okay with being violent because it just wasn't something he had experience growing up. Plus there was some issues with how he was separated, so some people might believe he was lying about what happened.
Sorcerers are really fun to create unique physical quirks because you can really tie in his bloodline/powers. For example, my catfolk storm born sorcerer has stripes that flash like lightning, or fur that is constantly tossed by an under wind.
What if you already have a character made and a personality and stuff but you yourself are an introvert and everyone else in the party are extroverts and you kinda get overshadowed by everyone else
Talk it over with the DM and ask to get creative. I played DnD with my sister and some friends. Her friends were very “center stage” and she wasn’t, and got ignored somewhat. The DM agreed to change her alignment to evil and covertly adjust her backstory, as the game had only just started. She was quiet and unassuming, largely left to her own devices, acting like a ditz and leading us into traps and giving away info to enemies “accidentally”. Friends thought she was just bad at DnD, turns out she ended up murdering all of us in the name of her god, who was the campaign’s antagonist. It was so hard to not metagame and give away the twist, lol. This was a short campaign, only a couple months and obviously would be harder to pull off in a long campaign. But it sure got the other players to pay close attention to quiet players and NPCs. Maybe you can also work with your DM to make your introversion into a strength.
I'd make a list detailing stuff your character would do in certain situations. Not knowing what your class is, the list could include stuff like 1. Be the first/last to enter a room, 2. Search for traps on locked doors, 3. Buy a cute man/lady a drink when at the pub, 4. While on an adventure I always have my weapon drawn, keeping an eye out for ambushes. That's a pretty basic list, but you can go into as much detail as you want. Then share your list with the DM or give him a copy. Then when you're with the group you can quickly reference your list and announce your actions with confidence. I hope this makes sense!! And I realize it's 8 months after you commented. I hope you didn't leave the group as the first commenter suggested.
I know this video is a year old but I HAD to comment. I will absolutely be stealing "...just how heavy the metal can be.". Brilliant. I'm still giggling.
It's strange, I initially intended for my human fighter to be a pushover; he got kicked out of the army because he got tired of being messenger boy to his superior officers and their secret mistresses in other towns and cities, so he decided to charge them and the immediately discharged him. I imagined this to be a major blow to his confidence, as he joined the army to protect the diversity he grew up with, and instead got thrown out because he wouldn't allow himself to be exploited any longer. Strangely, instead of taking a shot to his self-esteem, he ended up becoming a quiet leader with a strong sense of right and wrong; acting as a moral compass to an amnesiac druid, two conmen magicians, a senile old fart, and an assassin. Weird how that turned out, but it worked.
I have this one character Who is a harpie, well shes mute so I have her comunivate though signs that appear suddenly and she holds them up, allowing her to show actions that she cant cause of her lack of hands. The other players try to teach her to speak yet it always ends up taken the wrong way.
i have a monk character named fin the hamfisted he is good aligned but knows when shit hits the fan he shouldnt be too afraid to fight and he refuses to kill someone intentionally without knowing there name cause in his words "allot of power comes from just a name"
Great video. My one sentence reminder always is: "We are all humans in reality, and there are plenty of interesting and distinct people around". Race has nothing to do with an outstanding character, the character of the character does, because that is what the other players will see and hear.
I agree. Although in a fantasy setting race is a big factor. In star wars or star trek too. In reality it shouldn't be. But stereotypes exist and we can learn to use them to challenge them and deconstruct them by proving against them.
I am sadly suffering from the opposite problem, being the tall poppy in a group in relatively new players. I've tried to find ways of engaging with them to encourage character growth, but they just aren't interested. So instead I have to do my best not to outshine them.
Bacon Battalion RPG Yes, but they've told me they're not interested. Admittedly, one of the players is a troll who hides behind "that's what my guy would do", another is playing the brooding loner whose alignment shifted to chaotic evil, and the final party member is the poster child for apathy.
Tom Greenfield Yeah it's not the best, but I tend to think that it is my failings as a player as well. Perhaps it is because they offer a different experience / approach than I expected, and I need to stop trying to change them.
ts25679 -it is far more easy to change yourself and then try to set the example. Trick is not to get bent out of shape if the example isn't followed. It took me a long time to develop that much grace, and it still isn't instinctive for me.
I've got a kenku wizard. Originally she was a pet raven for a great and powerful mystic. However, his tower was raided and he was slain after a great and destructive battle. In his last moments, he transfered the last remnants of his power into her, causing her to transform into a humanoid form and gain enhanced intelligence. Of course, she didn't suddenly gain knowledge, so she doesn't truly understand who he was or much about the world. She wears a natty old robe she found in the tower and travels with the only other thing she found intact: an old, mostly empty, spellbook. Her name is Pageflick after the sounds she made imitating her old master turning the pages of his tombs, and she communicates primarily through single word sentences imitating his limited utterances while researching. However, she is remarkably curious about the world and likes discovering what she can about it.
heres a question, what does it mean to be a paladin, or how about a claric or maybe a dark knight these classes seem like you have too be good or evil or you just cant play them but form what i see and in my opinion, good is retrospective, whats good to one person might be bad for another
Most of them share the same sort of mindset and usually alignment (If we're talking D&D or typical fantasy style systems) with the gods they worship. If you want to be a neutral character consider worshiping a neutral god etc etc. Hope this helps!
Ask lots of questions, take lots of notes, and discuss what you know with the group in front of the GM. Also, try and figure out the relationships and motivations of the NPCs you come across, they're usually there for a reason.
And that is how you do it - Rodney, Stranded Starfish - I totally agree with you. Nikola what you might find is your party lacks the - let's get together and share information - moment in your game. And that can be very hard to organize for some reason. I've seen parties get together to share, and before any sharing has happened, they're distracted with something totally irrelevant.
A good way to start is to make friends and allies of random npcs in various areas (bar keep, city guard, jailer, magistrate,etc). If your group has excess gold in the coffers giving them a small monthly fee for their information is a good idea. If you're not sure *how* to gather information, make a list of people who are in positions to know things. Break them down into groups like military, political, shadow, magic, social, etc. When you have something come up you need to gather info on figure out what area it falls under then you know who to talk to. How you ask your questions is up to you, just gotta make sure you have a way to pay them for it... but making friends and allies will eventually save you money and benefit you in ways that will be priceless.
I’ve actually got a drow bard. He’s a bard because he worships Eilistraee, who is a lunar goddess of music and some other qualities, who draws drow who come out of the underdark in the night, trying to seduce them to stay above ground. In this case, he’s one such drow, and worships his goddess with his songs.
So in this new Star Wars FFG game my friends and I will hopefully be playing soon, I’m making Mandalorian Human/Cathar hybrid. For those who don’t know, Cathar are cat-like humanoids (yes, Star Wars has Cat People). He has slightly pointed ears, green cat eyes, and claws. He’s a Heavy, so he uses large, repeating blasters and rocket launchers, and wears classic Mandalorian Armor. But I’m trying to figure him out on a personal level; what is his motivation, why is he out adventuring in the galaxy? What does he do when he’s not fighting, training, or maintaining his equipment? How does he fight? What other questions should I consider?
Im playing a gnome rogue that is evil, nur always happy and intrested in everything, but when the "serious" stuff starts he lights up an cigarr and starts to smoke with a evil grin..... every one in the party is kinda concerned what will happen when he starts to get a cigarr out of his pocket.
This is why I enjoy playing humans. Most people find humans boring and basic, but I see them as a fun challenge to find other things to make my characters interesting rather than relying on an exotic race to do the work for me, and as it turns out my human characters are the ones that are the most fun and memorable. My human witch works as a baker and uses Brew Potion to make magical cookies for the party for convenient and often sneaky magic use. My human bard is a court jester who uses Prestidigitation to turn her tambourine into a sinister jester's mask that rolls for Intimidate automatically, which she dons right before using her levels in Monk to run in and cause some damage. And now my campaign group is having fun telling all their friends about the clown in their party.
A character could also say that gods exist but question their divinity or intentions. For example, the people in D&D know there are life forms in other planes, perhaps the gods are just the heads of a plane that contacted the material plane to be worshiped, and/or they are hiding that they get more out of people than people get out of them or even have plans to take over the realm. The question in a setting like this is not whether the gods exist, it's their nature and intentions. Nice video btw
A skeptic. No Agent Mulder there are no other planes... lol. Yes you're totally right, and if it becomes something of a personal quest to prove it, that makes it very interesting!
That's generally how I tend to approach gods in my settings. Beings of sufficient power and alien nature to be akin to gods, but truly divine entities? Well, lets just say the debate rages.
I like the idea of rejection of the gods. You know they exist but they failed to answer your prayer or grant you your spell (for whatever reason) which caused you to be royally effed up and lose your faith. I guess like Mal from Firefly.
Optimism or pessimism about different things is a great way to make your character stand out. You could play a cheeky, affable rogue who greets the world with a cheery optimism. Or a hardbitten dwarf warrior, just waiting for the worst to happen (as always). It can link into their views and experience as week: That same rogue could be pessimistic about dealing with the local guards, and the warrior optimistic that 'We can beat those b*stards'
I wonder if you have tips for creating and playing interesting characters in LARP. I'm not shy at the table but I'm really having some major issues during LARP so far (3 events).
Ah the LARP situation - where you have to 'be' the character. What is the problem exactly? Is it staying in character? Is it sticking to what you put on paper? Is it being able to act out what you wanted your character to be?
I think 90% of the problem is that I didn't exactly know what I was doing back then when I wrote that character's background. The other 10% is, I guess, me being too shy to act. Yet, now I have to play this boring guy who has nothing intresting to say or to do with other players, except fighting zombies during the night shift. I guess I'll have to re-write a lot of details (if allowed by GMs) or change character completely.
Mr.Sarcastic Better than changing details, one could consider *expanding* on details. Things that are considered flaws regarding your character? Create a story around why your character has these flaws, follow a natural progression of storytelling and you'll soon have a character that is more interesting, with flaws and virtues, bonds and betrayals. Knowing *why* your character does what they do is important.
You are right! Expanding and explaining are always good strategies in rpgs! :) I think I should also write some "false memories" for my character. I mean specific and detailed events in his lifetime before moving in the city where we are playing now, so I have something to talk about with other characters.
To sum it up, He got betrayed by his superiors then captured by a psychopathic researcher who left my character's body open for couple of months while maintaining his life for research purposes. Then tossed him after he patched him up and ruining his mind since he was done from him. After that he got some help from Church of Eldath (not good with the lore so i might have messed up a little) to achieve inner peace (to teach him that not everyone in the world is lower than him) and to became a cleric then joined a group of adventurers since even the church didn't want him to stay for too long because he scared many people since he's a Yuan ti. (My English has a lot of flaws so i am sorry if you see a lot of mistakes)
I love this lmao the Spiritually part My Rogue has been super Edgy and taunting towards Bahamut as to reasons of removing some powers etc. Yet last session and before that but very much more so now is developing towards a "What if its ok or a good thing to believe in it what if Bahamut is actually not just being a dick but watching out for us as we work with the temple" and so a (for me at least) Interesting plot and forked road starts :D
So, there was a horror story where three players "stood out". Party was bickering about who would have dibs on whatever and That Guy pulled down his pants. The trio later explained to the confused GM that sometimes they do that among guys and "who has the biggest" would end the argument. Well, needless to say the GM refused to play with the trio which was so chill about pants dropping.
5:33 I wouldn't trust this exaggerated curious elf. He sounds like he wants to lure you into a trap; his bunch of bandit elf buddies are waiting down the road to take your scalp... 7:06 This vulcan instead sounds like the coolest pair of pointy ears in the galaxy. On the other hand, that's not hard if you're the only cool vulcan in the galaxy...
So I have this.."Issue" if anyone reads this about my DnD campaign im in. But, I feel like the GM NPCs are way more focused on and stand out way more then any of my characters or the others.. Advice? Because im making a character for his new campaign but im afraid he's just gonna get thrown in the shadows of his characters.
Are the NPCs taking up the spotlight too much, or are they just better designed? If the problem is the second, you should not worry too much about it, with time comes experience, you and your friends just need to improve little by little.
My DM had me end up with this character. A human immortal mystic-mutant bloodhunter whos entire motivation is derived from an event that left him resurrect as a revenant...
How About The Spiritual Approach For My Character, He Feels Betrayed By The Gods He Used To Worship, And Thus Started Worshipping Their Enemy Instead To Get Revenge On Them, But The Enemy Is An Unpopular God In The Area, Causing Him To Be Outcast From Society?
My current character was supposed to have a spy background, but she turned out to be such an attention seeker, that made no sense. So I decided she really did work guarding wagon trains (her supposed "cover") before joining the party.
I would really appreciate suggestions for my character since I just have the concept... tbh I don't even have anyone to play with so Idk when will I use it. I'm currently trying to make a Triton that looks for recognition of his own, something besides his race that he can feel proud of but he is still prideful of his heritage. He is always looking for adventures and achievements that will put his name out there. I decided not to made him egotistical since it would be annoying. Just a Triton with a childish dream.
honestly you just described the characters I least enjoy playing with. Just people trying to cram way too much detail into a character at level 1. I find better (and more cooperative) role play comes from characters that follow the mold but show how they are different over the course, instead of telling you "my character is special". Show don't tell.
In a general of course, but as long as a character is consistent moving forward leaving some of those details TBD is fine in my book (as a player and as a GM). Leaving design space in a character is very important in coop, it gives players flexibility, and is particularly important in games where characters aren't created as a group. Like good aligned (typically) evil races force a lot on the other players and on the story of the campaign. Like you have to do that "no im good I swear" bit at pretty much every new location, deal with constant mistrust of characters that cannot detect alignment etc. etc. Often I find it is better to discover the more unique qualities as you play. Alternatively adding unique qualities via small details such as taking profession, craft or perform skills, or adding drawbacks like addictions or allergies, things like this allow you to play someone interesting and unique without adding something that forces certain reactions from your fellow players and GM.
Ah kinda lahk tuh make mah Dwarf characters speak in a Texan or Louisiana accent. He'd be a real hillbilly and swagger around lahk a lumberjack wid a pair of throwin' axes that he can whip around afore he takes out his battleaxe to carve out the outlaws. Do ya get mah drift?
Selwyn Clyde Alojipan Dude. Hearing people suggest making dwarves Texans or prospectors is one of the best ideas ever. I think I will take that idea and combine it with the overall voices of the dwarves from Dragon Age Origins (thank you, Steve Blum!)
8:35 I've being thinking on how to properly do this right in D&D. So far without success. Real life atheism is focused on the lack of evidence for higher power, but in most D&D settings gods are fairly talkative and you can ignore only so many rays of light purging the land from "whatever the god is into". Regardless of what you believe you hae to accept that D&D gods are far more "unsublte" to put it midly xD The next one would be "is this god worthy of worship?", "do I really want to give my prayers to this being with this agenda?". But again, in every setting with politheism you have several to chose from, *and* as an added bonus worshipping them can be viewed more as a trade. "Worship me faithfully and I will give you X". And since you can chose one god that matched your own moral compass, it might be even be a good deal for the mortal. Even if I frame it as a demonic one "I will give you the ower to fight undead in exchange for your worship while you live and your soul when you die" it is a very good one if you are good and your country is full of undead killing people. Sure I could go the emotional route and have somethng bad happening in the character's past, or to just say that he just "doesn't have faith". Whatever that means. But those options make poor monologues
Just because there is a character in books who is something (as a "good drow"), it doesn't mean you can't do it interesting in your way. Nowadays I roleplay a dual wielding rogue drow and my character it's clearly very different to the typical drow rogue (he is neither bad or good).
THANK YOU! I play good drows pretty frequently and not a single one was anything remotely like D'rizzt. The whole mentality is pretty dumb anyways; It's like playing human LG rogue and everybody being like "Ooooh, you're playing Batman! Real original!"
Because I'm an artist I almost always design my character's appearance first and develop a character off the design.
For my current game I drew a very cute looking tiefling with only one horn that had a very nervous expression on his face and not very combat-ready looking clothing. So I created a shy tiefling bard who is the cautious (cry) baby of the party so is often protected by them and helps solve their conflicts non-violently or supports them with buffing and healing spells when they can't. He had one of his horns cut off in a confrontation with some cons one of the first times he left his home where his grandmother sheltered him because she was scared how people would treat him for his ancestry. He also enjoys using disguises, he has about a dozen outfits by this point, a third of which are dresses because he can pass for a girl and most have hats that specifically cover up his one remaining horn. He's very fun to play and easy to interact with the other players with.
"It might provide insight into just how heavy the metal can be." As a heavy metal fan, this killed me XD \m/
Hahahahaha. My students and I had long debates on Heavy Metal and it used to get them too... along with - what time of metal? Death metal sir... Death isn't a metal, I mean is it like Chromium, or Manganese? Possibly Mercury?
Chromium plated, boiling metal. A little Judas Priest reference there. ;)
Ok. My new favorite phrase is now 'sitting back, doing sweet bugger-all'. Thank you!
Im playing a dwarf who wants to be a chef, and isn't too fond of most elves. He has a good heart, but was scorned by an elf noble he was in love with as a younger man.
Solid Sloth Haha, that's great. I have a forest gnome barbarian who has lost his ability to control the minor illusion cantrip due to his insanity and thirst for direct combat. As such now it acts as a subconscious mood ring with music playing to indicate his thoughts.
I remember seeing so many players who wanted to play some strange race combined with a weird class build to make an interesting, unique character. I just kept seeing people try to make a shiny gem and realized I could make a dull pebble that would draw more attention than all those gems. Thus I created Fred Home, a simple Guide (Pathfinder Ranger variant) who was forced from his home and was separated from his family. He doesn't remember what major town they were going to, but he knows it was to the west. He was a very nice, respectful person who was always willing to listen and wasn't okay with being violent because it just wasn't something he had experience growing up. Plus there was some issues with how he was separated, so some people might believe he was lying about what happened.
Sorcerers are really fun to create unique physical quirks because you can really tie in his bloodline/powers. For example, my catfolk storm born sorcerer has stripes that flash like lightning, or fur that is constantly tossed by an under wind.
Hahahaha... ruffled kitty... love it.
What if you already have a character made and a personality and stuff but you yourself are an introvert and everyone else in the party are extroverts and you kinda get overshadowed by everyone else
When comes to that sort of deal, you maybe better off going to online forums and rping post-by-play. There's a few site that do that.
Talk it over with the DM and ask to get creative. I played DnD with my sister and some friends. Her friends were very “center stage” and she wasn’t, and got ignored somewhat. The DM agreed to change her alignment to evil and covertly adjust her backstory, as the game had only just started. She was quiet and unassuming, largely left to her own devices, acting like a ditz and leading us into traps and giving away info to enemies “accidentally”. Friends thought she was just bad at DnD, turns out she ended up murdering all of us in the name of her god, who was the campaign’s antagonist. It was so hard to not metagame and give away the twist, lol. This was a short campaign, only a couple months and obviously would be harder to pull off in a long campaign. But it sure got the other players to pay close attention to quiet players and NPCs. Maybe you can also work with your DM to make your introversion into a strength.
I'd make a list detailing stuff your character would do in certain situations. Not knowing what your class is, the list could include stuff like 1. Be the first/last to enter a room, 2. Search for traps on locked doors, 3. Buy a cute man/lady a drink when at the pub, 4. While on an adventure I always have my weapon drawn, keeping an eye out for ambushes.
That's a pretty basic list, but you can go into as much detail as you want. Then share your list with the DM or give him a copy. Then when you're with the group you can quickly reference your list and announce your actions with confidence.
I hope this makes sense!! And I realize it's 8 months after you commented. I hope you didn't leave the group as the first commenter suggested.
I know this video is a year old but I HAD to comment. I will absolutely be stealing "...just how heavy the metal can be.". Brilliant. I'm still giggling.
It's strange, I initially intended for my human fighter to be a pushover; he got kicked out of the army because he got tired of being messenger boy to his superior officers and their secret mistresses in other towns and cities, so he decided to charge them and the immediately discharged him. I imagined this to be a major blow to his confidence, as he joined the army to protect the diversity he grew up with, and instead got thrown out because he wouldn't allow himself to be exploited any longer. Strangely, instead of taking a shot to his self-esteem, he ended up becoming a quiet leader with a strong sense of right and wrong; acting as a moral compass to an amnesiac druid, two conmen magicians, a senile old fart, and an assassin. Weird how that turned out, but it worked.
OMG someone mentioned Romania , i'll mark it on my calendar
The Heavy Metal Vulcan killed me.. Keep the vids up, i really enjoy them and i share them with some RP writers i play with
I have this one character Who is a harpie, well shes mute so I have her comunivate though signs that appear suddenly and she holds them up, allowing her to show actions that she cant cause of her lack of hands. The other players try to teach her to speak yet it always ends up taken the wrong way.
I have a dancing elven barbarian that was a test project of a wizard so one or both eyes change to a random color each day
i have a monk character named fin the hamfisted
he is good aligned but knows when shit hits the fan he shouldnt be too afraid to fight
and he refuses to kill someone intentionally without knowing there name cause in his words
"allot of power comes from just a name"
Great video.
My one sentence reminder always is: "We are all humans in reality, and there are plenty of interesting and distinct people around".
Race has nothing to do with an outstanding character, the character of the character does, because that is what the other players will see and hear.
I agree. Although in a fantasy setting race is a big factor. In star wars or star trek too. In reality it shouldn't be. But stereotypes exist and we can learn to use them to challenge them and deconstruct them by proving against them.
I am sadly suffering from the opposite problem, being the tall poppy in a group in relatively new players. I've tried to find ways of engaging with them to encourage character growth, but they just aren't interested. So instead I have to do my best not to outshine them.
That can be difficult. Have you watched the videos on how to engage your fellow players and help new players?
Bacon Battalion RPG Yes, but they've told me they're not interested. Admittedly, one of the players is a troll who hides behind "that's what my guy would do", another is playing the brooding loner whose alignment shifted to chaotic evil, and the final party member is the poster child for apathy.
ts25679 -sounds like awesome chemistry-he said sarcastically
Tom Greenfield Yeah it's not the best, but I tend to think that it is my failings as a player as well. Perhaps it is because they offer a different experience / approach than I expected, and I need to stop trying to change them.
ts25679 -it is far more easy to change yourself and then try to set the example. Trick is not to get bent out of shape if the example isn't followed. It took me a long time to develop that much grace, and it still isn't instinctive for me.
He went full "Niko, lets go bowling!" mode right there
Awesome video Herr Doctor!
My thanks Herr Belgium pilot possibly British...
I've got a kenku wizard. Originally she was a pet raven for a great and powerful mystic. However, his tower was raided and he was slain after a great and destructive battle. In his last moments, he transfered the last remnants of his power into her, causing her to transform into a humanoid form and gain enhanced intelligence. Of course, she didn't suddenly gain knowledge, so she doesn't truly understand who he was or much about the world. She wears a natty old robe she found in the tower and travels with the only other thing she found intact: an old, mostly empty, spellbook.
Her name is Pageflick after the sounds she made imitating her old master turning the pages of his tombs, and she communicates primarily through single word sentences imitating his limited utterances while researching. However, she is remarkably curious about the world and likes discovering what she can about it.
heres a question, what does it mean to be a paladin, or how about a claric or maybe a dark knight
these classes seem like you have too be good or evil or you just cant play them
but form what i see and in my opinion, good is retrospective, whats good to one person might be bad for another
Most of them share the same sort of mindset and usually alignment (If we're talking D&D or typical fantasy style systems) with the gods they worship. If you want to be a neutral character consider worshiping a neutral god etc etc. Hope this helps!
Another great vid :) im passing this one on to my players. Trying to get them off the pure Crunch train ;)
Glad to be of help!
Can you make a video on how to gather information efficiently. Me and my party are really new and lack that skill a lot
Ask lots of questions, take lots of notes, and discuss what you know with the group in front of the GM. Also, try and figure out the relationships and motivations of the NPCs you come across, they're usually there for a reason.
And that is how you do it - Rodney, Stranded Starfish - I totally agree with you. Nikola what you might find is your party lacks the - let's get together and share information - moment in your game. And that can be very hard to organize for some reason. I've seen parties get together to share, and before any sharing has happened, they're distracted with something totally irrelevant.
A good way to start is to make friends and allies of random npcs in various areas (bar keep, city guard, jailer, magistrate,etc). If your group has excess gold in the coffers giving them a small monthly fee for their information is a good idea. If you're not sure *how* to gather information, make a list of people who are in positions to know things. Break them down into groups like military, political, shadow, magic, social, etc. When you have something come up you need to gather info on figure out what area it falls under then you know who to talk to. How you ask your questions is up to you, just gotta make sure you have a way to pay them for it... but making friends and allies will eventually save you money and benefit you in ways that will be priceless.
Didn't you already make a video about fleshing out characters?
Have you had any experience with a passive character one who doesn't fight and isn't designed for it
I'm literally drawing up a Drow Bard as this video plays.
Your alternate dwarf voice reminds me of General Burkhalter.
I’ve actually got a drow bard. He’s a bard because he worships Eilistraee, who is a lunar goddess of music and some other qualities, who draws drow who come out of the underdark in the night, trying to seduce them to stay above ground. In this case, he’s one such drow, and worships his goddess with his songs.
So in this new Star Wars FFG game my friends and I will hopefully be playing soon, I’m making Mandalorian Human/Cathar hybrid. For those who don’t know, Cathar are cat-like humanoids (yes, Star Wars has Cat People). He has slightly pointed ears, green cat eyes, and claws. He’s a Heavy, so he uses large, repeating blasters and rocket launchers, and wears classic Mandalorian Armor. But I’m trying to figure him out on a personal level; what is his motivation, why is he out adventuring in the galaxy? What does he do when he’s not fighting, training, or maintaining his equipment? How does he fight?
What other questions should I consider?
Im playing a gnome rogue that is evil, nur always happy and intrested in everything, but when the "serious" stuff starts he lights up an cigarr and starts to smoke with a evil grin..... every one in the party is kinda concerned what will happen when he starts to get a cigarr out of his pocket.
This is why I enjoy playing humans. Most people find humans boring and basic, but I see them as a fun challenge to find other things to make my characters interesting rather than relying on an exotic race to do the work for me, and as it turns out my human characters are the ones that are the most fun and memorable. My human witch works as a baker and uses Brew Potion to make magical cookies for the party for convenient and often sneaky magic use. My human bard is a court jester who uses Prestidigitation to turn her tambourine into a sinister jester's mask that rolls for Intimidate automatically, which she dons right before using her levels in Monk to run in and cause some damage. And now my campaign group is having fun telling all their friends about the clown in their party.
A character could also say that gods exist but question their divinity or intentions. For example, the people in D&D know there are life forms in other planes, perhaps the gods are just the heads of a plane that contacted the material plane to be worshiped, and/or they are hiding that they get more out of people than people get out of them or even have plans to take over the realm. The question in a setting like this is not whether the gods exist, it's their nature and intentions.
Nice video btw
A skeptic. No Agent Mulder there are no other planes... lol. Yes you're totally right, and if it becomes something of a personal quest to prove it, that makes it very interesting!
That's generally how I tend to approach gods in my settings. Beings of sufficient power and alien nature to be akin to gods, but truly divine entities? Well, lets just say the debate rages.
I prefer the Kratos school of theology. If it calls itself a god or thinks that gives it the right to mess up people's lives, kill it.
I like the idea of rejection of the gods. You know they exist but they failed to answer your prayer or grant you your spell (for whatever reason) which caused you to be royally effed up and lose your faith. I guess like Mal from Firefly.
Reminds me of the Goa'uld/Ori from Stargate SG-1
Optimism or pessimism about different things is a great way to make your character stand out.
You could play a cheeky, affable rogue who greets the world with a cheery optimism. Or a hardbitten dwarf warrior, just waiting for the worst to happen (as always).
It can link into their views and experience as week:
That same rogue could be pessimistic about dealing with the local guards, and the warrior optimistic that 'We can beat those b*stards'
I wonder if you have tips for creating and playing interesting characters in LARP. I'm not shy at the table but I'm really having some major issues during LARP so far (3 events).
Ah the LARP situation - where you have to 'be' the character. What is the problem exactly? Is it staying in character? Is it sticking to what you put on paper? Is it being able to act out what you wanted your character to be?
I think 90% of the problem is that I didn't exactly know what I was doing back then when I wrote that character's background. The other 10% is, I guess, me being too shy to act. Yet, now I have to play this boring guy who has nothing intresting to say or to do with other players, except fighting zombies during the night shift. I guess I'll have to re-write a lot of details (if allowed by GMs) or change character completely.
Mr.Sarcastic Better than changing details, one could consider *expanding* on details. Things that are considered flaws regarding your character? Create a story around why your character has these flaws, follow a natural progression of storytelling and you'll soon have a character that is more interesting, with flaws and virtues, bonds and betrayals. Knowing *why* your character does what they do is important.
You are right! Expanding and explaining are always good strategies in rpgs! :)
I think I should also write some "false memories" for my character. I mean specific and detailed events in his lifetime before moving in the city where we are playing now, so I have something to talk about with other characters.
Wish me luck making N/NG Yuan Ti cleric....
I'd be curious as to why and how he or she survived long enough to become an adventurer?
To sum it up, He got betrayed by his superiors then captured by a psychopathic researcher who left my character's body open for couple of months while maintaining his life for research purposes. Then tossed him after he patched him up and ruining his mind since he was done from him. After that he got some help from Church of Eldath (not good with the lore so i might have messed up a little) to achieve inner peace (to teach him that not everyone in the world is lower than him) and to became a cleric then joined a group of adventurers since even the church didn't want him to stay for too long because he scared many people since he's a Yuan ti.
(My English has a lot of flaws so i am sorry if you see a lot of mistakes)
I love this lmao the Spiritually part My Rogue has been super Edgy and taunting towards Bahamut as to reasons of removing some powers etc. Yet last session and before that but very much more so now is developing towards a "What if its ok or a good thing to believe in it what if Bahamut is actually not just being a dick but watching out for us as we work with the temple" and so a (for me at least) Interesting plot and forked road starts :D
That sounds awesome! I wonder how Bahamut will respond... lol.
While taunting one of the Paladins slapped me with a mace :P
And Bahamut has not killed me yet, but we shall see :D
The intro reminds me of Borodante's
So, there was a horror story where three players "stood out". Party was bickering about who would have dibs on whatever and That Guy pulled down his pants. The trio later explained to the confused GM that sometimes they do that among guys and "who has the biggest" would end the argument. Well, needless to say the GM refused to play with the trio which was so chill about pants dropping.
5:33 I wouldn't trust this exaggerated curious elf. He sounds like he wants to lure you into a trap; his bunch of bandit elf buddies are waiting down the road to take your scalp...
7:06 This vulcan instead sounds like the coolest pair of pointy ears in the galaxy. On the other hand, that's not hard if you're the only cool vulcan in the galaxy...
Anyone gonna talk about how much his Romanian Dwarf sounded like Doofenshmirtz?
So I have this.."Issue" if anyone reads this about my DnD campaign im in. But, I feel like the GM NPCs are way more focused on and stand out way more then any of my characters or the others.. Advice? Because im making a character for his new campaign but im afraid he's just gonna get thrown in the shadows of his characters.
Are the NPCs taking up the spotlight too much, or are they just better designed? If the problem is the second, you should not worry too much about it, with time comes experience, you and your friends just need to improve little by little.
Visual cues kinda fall short when u are playing online.
My DM had me end up with this character. A human immortal mystic-mutant bloodhunter whos entire motivation is derived from an event that left him resurrect as a revenant...
How About The Spiritual Approach For My Character, He Feels Betrayed By The Gods He Used To Worship, And Thus Started Worshipping Their Enemy Instead To Get Revenge On Them, But The Enemy Is An Unpopular God In The Area, Causing Him To Be Outcast From Society?
My current character was supposed to have a spy background, but she turned out to be such an attention seeker, that made no sense. So I decided she really did work guarding wagon trains (her supposed "cover") before joining the party.
I would really appreciate suggestions for my character since I just have the concept... tbh I don't even have anyone to play with so Idk when will I use it.
I'm currently trying to make a Triton that looks for recognition of his own, something besides his race that he can feel proud of but he is still prideful of his heritage.
He is always looking for adventures and achievements that will put his name out there.
I decided not to made him egotistical since it would be annoying.
Just a Triton with a childish dream.
honestly you just described the characters I least enjoy playing with. Just people trying to cram way too much detail into a character at level 1. I find better (and more cooperative) role play comes from characters that follow the mold but show how they are different over the course, instead of telling you "my character is special". Show don't tell.
Indeed show before telling is always the best option however you need to know your background for what you show.
In a general of course, but as long as a character is consistent moving forward leaving some of those details TBD is fine in my book (as a player and as a GM). Leaving design space in a character is very important in coop, it gives players flexibility, and is particularly important in games where characters aren't created as a group.
Like good aligned (typically) evil races force a lot on the other players and on the story of the campaign. Like you have to do that "no im good I swear" bit at pretty much every new location, deal with constant mistrust of characters that cannot detect alignment etc. etc.
Often I find it is better to discover the more unique qualities as you play. Alternatively adding unique qualities via small details such as taking profession, craft or perform skills, or adding drawbacks like addictions or allergies, things like this allow you to play someone interesting and unique without adding something that forces certain reactions from your fellow players and GM.
I live in Romania and I was shocked when he said that was supposed to be a Romanian accent XD
Ah kinda lahk tuh make mah Dwarf characters speak in a Texan or Louisiana accent. He'd be a real hillbilly and swagger around lahk a lumberjack wid a pair of throwin' axes that he can whip around afore he takes out his battleaxe to carve out the outlaws. Do ya get mah drift?
Selwyn Clyde Alojipan
Dude. Hearing people suggest making dwarves Texans or prospectors is one of the best ideas ever. I think I will take that idea and combine it with the overall voices of the dwarves from Dragon Age Origins (thank you, Steve Blum!)
Canadian lumberjack dwarf when?
Selwyn Clyde Alojipan no
8:35
I've being thinking on how to properly do this right in D&D. So far without success.
Real life atheism is focused on the lack of evidence for higher power, but in most D&D settings gods are fairly talkative and you can ignore only so many rays of light purging the land from "whatever the god is into". Regardless of what you believe you hae to accept that D&D gods are far more "unsublte" to put it midly xD
The next one would be "is this god worthy of worship?", "do I really want to give my prayers to this being with this agenda?". But again, in every setting with politheism you have several to chose from, *and* as an added bonus worshipping them can be viewed more as a trade. "Worship me faithfully and I will give you X". And since you can chose one god that matched your own moral compass, it might be even be a good deal for the mortal. Even if I frame it as a demonic one "I will give you the ower to fight undead in exchange for your worship while you live and your soul when you die" it is a very good one if you are good and your country is full of undead killing people.
Sure I could go the emotional route and have somethng bad happening in the character's past, or to just say that he just "doesn't have faith". Whatever that means. But those options make poor monologues
Well, poor monologues if you have the emotional spectrum of a rock like me xD
I wish my native language was English, it has so many cool accents to roleplay with
Bruh he sounds like Gru when he did the weird accent
"What if your dwarfs shave their head to cut off with their traditions?"
...you mean duergars.
I tried making a tiefling artificer who didn’t believe gods were gods and just more powerful and advanced beings and she wanted to prove she was right
A "good" drow? oh you mean D'rizzt. waaaaaaay to late on that front.
Just because there is a character in books who is something (as a "good drow"), it doesn't mean you can't do it interesting in your way. Nowadays I roleplay a dual wielding rogue drow and my character it's clearly very different to the typical drow rogue (he is neither bad or good).
THANK YOU! I play good drows pretty frequently and not a single one was anything remotely like D'rizzt. The whole mentality is pretty dumb anyways; It's like playing human LG rogue and everybody being like "Ooooh, you're playing Batman! Real original!"