I once created a silver tongued scoundrel, to whom truth was merely a thing to play with. I quickly noticed I had to lay out some rules to keep him consistent. So he, although an excellent liar, prefers to stay to the truth as close as possible, without really telling the whole story. Unto this I hadn’t realized how evil a left out part and/or misleading wording could be. Really an eye opener. Also, to sharpen his creativity, he tends to make up details of his “past”. And every party member gets a different story. That part was the most fun, but also exhausting at times, because I had to make detailed notes to keep every story straight. Overall, the occasions when I can play him, are fun but demanding, especially when I have to conceal the low information content of his speeches with vocal flourishes and big words… Awful politician like, if I think about it.
I once played a barbarian human, who was both stoic and angry. She view Anger as a sacred emotion, which has to be expressed only in sacred situations (such as protecting a friend, save our life etc.), so in order to rage, she has to bottle up every single expression of anger in everyday life. She was a stoic every-time, but then, when she was angry (and damn that was not a cheerful anger, but mixed with despair, frustration of being not being able to express her emotions, etc.) that really was an awefull sight for the party. I worked on making her stoic side so lovable and usefull to the party that there was always a moment of hesitation and fear about my character's rage. This lead to really touching moments when the entire party was trying to make sure my character was feeling okay and was achieving her goals, so she can remains the lovable stoic one of the group. Even tough the rage was clearly an advantage for the group (insane heavy damage, etc.), they always preferred not to use it very often. What wonderful memories.
A a guy who wishes he was a lot smarter than he is, I have been looking forward to advice like this. I am struggling with my mastermind right now since...I'm not.
It really is hard to play up to mental stats 🙁 if you don't have a DM that works with you on that. I'm currently DM'ing for a charismatic character played by a person who isn't particularly charismatic and we're working on how to make that work well in game. A decent part of it is meeting them half way with rolls just like we do with physical stats
My favourite character I've played was a 60 year old annoyed wizard lady. She only had a charisma of 8 (upped by old age benefits in Pathfinder) she ended up having 26+ intelligence by level 6. The way I always portrayed her was as a self assured, over-confident, but stunningly clever bitch. The way I did the stunningly clever thing was mostly by paying VERY close attention to the stuff that the GM gave us, and working with that information. Because of that I frequently appeared much more "intelligent" than I actually am, since I saw things coming before they arrived (just through paying attention), another thing was by confidently claiming "I knew that" even when I in fact didn't, but hey. She probably did. Having plans that develop over multiple sessions (doing prep work for a job or whatever) also makes you and your character appear much more smart than they actually are. **Always be preparing for something**, if nothing comes up nobody will ever remember that you were doing it. If something DOES come up then suddenly you and your character are the smartest motherfuckers around the table who were apparenly playing 4d chess with the BBEG while they were playing checkers. Additionally I did the thing mentioned in the video, while she was an argumentative bitch (and I love her for it), she ultimately cared about the wellbeing of people around her. And whenever things got serious she'd enter "Mother of 3" mode and make sure arguments were resolved, people were happy and no blood was spilled when it didn't have to.
Often being a pinch more social than others in my party, I often accidentally take charge. To counter this I like playing low INT PCs who, instead of making bad decisions, gets distracted, forcing others to make the important decisions. I'll get silly when I know the outcome won't destroy the party. (Or when I think it won't, lol)
My version of Wisdom versus Intelligence is the Warner Brothers cartoon series: Pinky and the Brain. The Brain thinks of elaborate plots and actually figures out the nitty gritty of making them work. And Pinky ALWAYS sees at least one way, in real life, that it can go wrong. Book smarts versus common sense. Pinky is "insane," because he's all about happiness and fun time, but then again, how is that NOT wise? They're living a nice enough life in their lab, and he's content with it. And he finds joy in the small things, so he is almost always cheerful and unafraid. The Brain is all about conquering the world (because he believes he's smart enough to rule it all), and because of his ambition, he is not content in his life, but is always pushing for more. More power, and more information to help him get it. In a fantasy realm, he would be the wizard, searching for "the perfect spell" to allow him to have ultimate power. Basically, he's looking for Unlimited Wish. Pinky is willing to help him, as a loyal friend, but he knows that Brain will never be happy, he'll never find Unlimited Wish, but he also knows that he can be there to help and encourage his friend, and keep him from giving in to despair.
I prefer playing the reluctant hero, a person that does what's needed but actually does not want to be there. The character that was happy with their life but was uprooted by circumstance and is making the best of things. Sometimes falling into a funk wishing to be back to their normal life but giving everything to the CAUSE knowing that that cause is the only way back to anything like normal again.
The face of the party is very seldom the brains of the party, me looking back at my 18 Cha, 8 Int goblin paladin with the personality of a labradoodle cosplaying as batman...yep that checks out
The Face is also often the one who negotiates for the party - if there is something they desperately need from someone, the face can make themselves useful by using their people skills to parley. In campaigns where everyone in the group are mercenaries or criminals, this becomes doubly important as you will probably be the one who sells your crew to the various potential clients who want to employ your services, and keeps in communique with them.
I loved the character arch of Bellona Torres. I had a player who was quite a bit smarter than his character. He would tell the group, out of character, what he thought would help the situation, then go back in character, to do something entirely different. I didn't mind the out of character conversation. It allowed that player to stay engaged with puzzles, while helping the smart character be smarter, whose player would usually find a way to work that in as their idea.
I think the hardest thing for a lot of ayers to convey (if it's a trait they lack) is confidence. So many PC's come off as insecure, 'cause the player behind them is so eager to prove how cool/strong/smart their character is. Relax, confidence is all about being in control of yourself.
What's fun is playing the stoic and heart at the same time. With my rouge/monk dark elf he'll call out someone for giving up on their ideals in one mission, and then calming an old woman the party saved in another. (Then checking in on the old woman when no one else did.) He's like seemingly cold, yet helpful counselor. Not for everyone, but good at getting to the heart of an issue.
I routinely play high Int characters, because i always come up with the good ideas that the other players like to pursue. Now i am playing a really stupid Int 8 character and ... the players are starting to realize that my ideas are now really bad. Really bad ideas, but i keep managing to convince the party at times. hahahaha
I enjoy constantly changing what character I am playing. I suppose that's why I like to GM! Thanks for the tips. I like to be a player as well and no one ever has any idea what I am going to make. I admit I use your channel to help me frame my actions as a character. With my Pirate captain based on Dr.Doom and Aguirre. I changed every instance of the character saying " I " to " we ." So instead of saying a selfish "I will take over the world" he would say the more inspiring "we will take over the world." Your videos helped me come up with my characters evil yet harmonious philosophy.
Out of curiosity, wouldn’t that lead to a class change due to how barb is? I’m probably wrong, been a while since I looked at the phb, plus optional rules and all.
@@DimkaSulegnaa It could lead to a class change, but not necessarily, Barbarians do more than JUST Rage. I would work with a player and figure out something they might gain for having lost the Rage. Some kinda monkish inner tranquility stuff or something, depending on whatever else that Character is into.
I am currently in a long time game with friends. I play a Kobold Rogue. Who somehow became the Hero of the game. I started this character as selfish and fickle and almost a joke character, but as the adventure progressed he became more selfless and began to realize he has more to offer than as a thief. Big part of that probably has to do with the party adopting a dragon egg. Responsibility changes people. I didn't originally plan to go for a Swashbuckler, but the way the character evolved it just sort of made sense. I am lucky to have a group of players who are all really good with the role play side of the game. Because without them playing their characters amazingly, mine probably never would have grown. I am also planning a campaign for them. A thank you sort of for making my first ever in person game so amazing.
As the face, I used Sense Motive far more than Diplomacy or Bluff. I actually gave the DM a few problems, as I found out things way earlier than he had planned. As the wise character, I tend to not speak much. It is far better to be silent and be thought a fool, than to speak up and remove all doubt. I take the time to think before I speak. It helps. As for the intelligent character, the Branson idea is pretty sound. It is somewhat difficult as a Wizard or suchlike, because tey commonly get to a very high int, well into the 20s in D&D, and that's pretty much supergenius level. But the other players know that, too...so...there should be some slack given. One of my favorites is the Brute. Big, dumb, a little stubborn. I played a Brute with a heart of gold..a big Ogre that loved children and would let them use him as a jungle gym. Grok. His name was Grok. Generally good hearted, but not the guy to go to for advice. "What do you think, Grok?" "Smash?" "No, we shouldn't smash that." Takes a moment to think.."Eat?" "No Grok, we can't eat it." Takes another, longer moment. "Smash?" Comedy! But, at heart, he always did what was good for the group, always protected the more squishy members, and was nice to the townsfolk. The Sorceress would walk into town holding his hand just to keep the guys from hitting on the high Charisma woman. (And yes, she was played by a woman) Grok never understood why, but...if it made her happy, he was happy. He also had a CHA of about 5, so I played him as socially inept. Well meaning, but rather uncouth. Like I said...a lot of fun in the Brute.
great video. I've recently found great joy in playing 'intelligent' characters who are social and friendly, but don't always know when/where/how to interact with people.
My favorite characters to play are either the stoic or the grumpy character. I like the stoic, because I love playing the straight man and the voice of reason. The grumpy character is also very fun; they are gruff and ready for a scrap, but leaning into their soft side often leads to some amazing character moments.
This is really damn good advice. My character (pathfinder 2e) is the heart of the group, in a less conventional way. He is cordial and polite and manages party healing, but rarely asks, or even speaks for that matter and just does the thing that needs doing. Injured? Already healed. No arrows? Heres my crossbow and bolts, give it back later. Need potions? Brewed some during our last pitstop. His biggest sort of flaw is that he does things that make him look bad. BBEG is Urgathoa, God of Necromancy. My character? Witch who specializes in healing magic... What school of magic does that belong to? Necromancy. Resident curse collector, Rarely speaks, Knows dark magic and can speak to the BBEGs minions. Reasons to keep him around? Hes the only reason the party is alive in more ways than one. Really fun watching them scramble to figure out whats going on tbh
I often play… all of them. Because I’m the DM. These are great archetypes to remember when creating deep NPCs, especially ones the party will really get to know!
I once played a fun spin on a Stoic. It was a cold, calculating, seemingly emotionless character who *wanted* to empathize and have feelings, but was struggling to understand and find them. Thus, the character would engage socially with the more colorful and charismatic members of the party, trying to learn from them. The character would also "come alive" in battle, because pain was proof that they were capable of feeling something. Pain gave hope of someday feeling something more. I think the Stoic is a cool idea, but it quickly becomes boring to play unless you give the character at least one emotional trigger like that -- whether the trigger is a trait, bond, or flaw. Then, the contrast between the character's usual stoicism versus isolated bursts of emotion makes those emotional moments more engaging for everybody.
I played a grouchy elven rogue once and the watching of the balance is super duper important there. Sure, he was a dick and a thief which got him into headbutting with the paladin of the group, but he also had a soft side for the party's half-elf sorceress and enjoyed doing crime stuff with her bc he felt smth like fatherly instincts in his own weird loner way. And with the rest of the group he was up for banter and didn't mind being the butt of the joke all that much, so he was an entertaining guy to play (until he got smashed into pieces by an ogre). Don't get me wrong, he looked and acted mostly like he was that loner type edgy rogue but he stuck around bc he by chance joined a group that seemed powerful enough to seek refuge in from the mob that almost got him killed and got attached to them and what they could do for him, because his endgoal was actually just finding his sister that he got seperated from decades ago (bc he did have that soft spot). So you can be edgy, you can be grouchy and you can be a dick (to NPCs mind you) and still create a fun character to play with if you are mindful of what your character wants and how the party fulfills these needs they have. Sidenote, the character died at level 5 or so and the lesson I learned from that is that if you play a slowburn-warmup sort of character make sure your people know that thats what you are doing, because that rogue pretty much died before he could get an ingame opening up scene and that loss just feels a bit emptier when that familiar bond hasn't been expressed ingame yet. He got a small scene in the afterlive where he joined another dead party member so it was a nice moment, but that story felt cut short a bit so if possible try to express what you are doing at some point, can't go wrong with that really.
I always make my characters based off the idea of another character that way I get to play a different person every time… right now I’m playing a character inspired by obi wan Kenobi if I ever get stuck with how to react or what to do I can think about the character that inspired my character and it makes it a lot easier to play!
I like to play characters that are The Relutant Hero. And them because of the adventure they grow in some way, i already made them be Relutant and Angsty or Scared.
The last game I ran the party started as 1st level NPC classes in a major disaster. It forced some character development relatively early in the campaign as they fled and as they were in the refugee camp.
So happy I got to watch this before playing a character I've got going on my head. He is a dwarf sorcerer, his family is black smiths and soldiers, so before joining the military, he learned how forge weapons, and I was planning on having him work on party member's weapons but now I'm going to add on to this with your helpful friendly type.
I recently have been playing a character who I consider to be intelligent, curious, and maybe a little naive. Watching this has not only made me feel more confident playing him, but also has made me consider how I run ally npc characters as the dm. Very helpful, so thank you!
I would love to watch this play out. Sounds like it could be funny. If it helps, I had a character in another game who was a complete lunatic with little grasp of reality named as leader and face of the group.
@@dalekreject7324 It has been pretty wholesome at times the party support her and she builds up enough courage to do things like go forward to ask for things like information and the NPCs usually end up really helpful because shes just so damn sweet. Her name is Kuutamo but everyone has ended up giving her the nickname Cuteamo out of game.
@@mazzyelf that truly sounds awesome! And seriously like a great group. It sounds line it would be great top watch it play out. I love how group dynamics among players form and grow.
In the RPG Im writing I have a character trope section to help people with finding inspiration on how they might want their interparty relationships to work, and they are surprisingly close to yours. I even have 8 of them! -The Face: The out of party face that talks to other people. -The Rogue: In my RPG the Rogue-Like class is called a Thief. The Rogue of the party is a more independent character who is often at odds with the party, but comes around due to some deep ties or bonds with the party. -The Heart: The emotional interpersonal support structure and moral compass for the party. -The Muscle: An often quirky individual who is there to bring some highly specialized skill or set of abilities that can save the party in an area the rest of them are lacking. Personality wise they are usually deeply loyal to the party as since they are so specialized they have the most to lose from the party splitting up. -The Brain: The one who remembers everything, structures plans, and solves everything around them with a very intelligent perspective. -The Mentor: Someone who is less interested in the Party goal as much as the party's success. They are there to help teach the party and give wisdom. -The Child: This is the most reliant character on the rest of the party and makes the largest change over time to learn to come into their own. While I say most reliant on the party, this doesn't mean not useful, the Child should be testing the waters in the most areas and therefore is able to help everyone in the party, just not having their own specialty. -The Turncoat: This is the character who used to be on an opposing side to the party, and now has joined the party due to a change of heart. They provide a different perspective and insight into what opposes the party.
Ah, the talker time slot reminded me of one of my favorite characters I've ever played. It was a lying jerk, he cared about the party, but mocked and insulted the party enemies. Never really treating a single opponent with respect, which never worked out well for him. More often than not it got him shot. But once the guns were put away, he would get information and even outright lie to NPCs to give them false information. Getting the party as many jobs as possible, with as little of the truth given to everyone. Only blew up in his face, when he was outplayed and a client neglected to tell him a /very angry/ Jedi was waiting for the party at the sight of their next job. Lol.
Omg a Voyager reference 😍 B'Elanna Torres is a perfect example of the angry character with a redemption arc! It really helps put these ideas into perspective with a specific character arc to reference.
I made a Rocket Racoon like Artificer with high intelligence. He's not necessarily smart about everything, but he definitely will start slapping together tubes and gears until he's got a gun or an explosive.
So for years I have been the default healer in the group, I enjoy being a support character. I don't want to sound like I am bragging or anything, but having played alot of support roles, I found that at one time or another, I have touched on a bunch these. Its alot of fun just to help out the crew, not just through buffs or heals but by improving situations and being "that guy" however you very eloquently put into words something I have noticed a couple of folks in my former group do not really understand or participate in. Thank you, it was very insightful.
This video just reminds me of the most frustrating player I've had to play with. in combat they where fine, great even. But every time we went into a social interaction they had to say something. and they played a woefully un charismatic dwarf. Now it may have been in character and all but it made it so difficult for me, who played a charisma rogue, and or the sorcerer to get any information from NPCs or de-escalate situations. I think the worst situation it ever personally put me in was when I purposefully stayed out of an alchemist shop while the rest of the party failed to gather info on a crime. I wait till they left, head in, and try my hand at it, and I was doing well. And then the dwarf jaunts back in trying to be all buddy buddy with me and I have to take disadvantage on any further rolls because this shop keep lady hates the dwarf for accusing her of being a murderer not 5 min earlier and now knows we work together. "And no the alchemist lady wasn't the would be murderer, though she did make the poison"
Been playing a ranger who doesnt really like people in general (theyre complicated and hard to understand compared to beasts) ...and he is surrounded by people person/s ...part of his character development is learning to be friendly and accepting of those outside his 'pack.' ....its been intriguing so far
For those using 5th edition D&D, much of the "Face" dissonance between player and character is resolved by the Attitude rules in the DMG. Make sure your DM knows about it!
Done some basic timestamps, feel free to take a refresher and click on them. 02:12 The Face 05:00 The Friendly Helpful 06:57 The Gruff Grouchy Grump 08:46 The Stoic 11:02 The Angry 13:50 The Wise 16:42 The Intelligent 18:41 The Hero (The Leader)
I came across your videos recently while i was doing research for a couple of characters i will be playing soon and can't say how happy i am that i did! You've really helped me get more in depth with character concept and fleshing them out! So thank you for all your wisdom!
Another way to come off as wise, is watch these sorts of videos. If you see another player getting frustrated with how to integrate and succeed, perhaps your character could offer theirs some advice, in a mentorship/counselor sort of way. I realize it sounds a bit "meta," but it can be a good way to help other players correct their character issues through in-game roleplay. Who cares if you got the idea from a UA-cam video and went "hey, that looks like a struggle that X who plays Y is dealing with, maybe my character can present some of these suggestions to theirs." With any luck, their character gets a redemption arc, and your character comes off as wise. Of course this won't work with real "problem players," who have to be handled out-of-game, but it might work.
My role playing experience is rather limited. So far I think I always ended up as the intelligent character. Though I don't think I was the arrogant type. Being myself a rather analytic person with a decent amount of general knowledge but quite shy I often found myself observing what happened without commenting much until someone in the party asked what I thought. I guess I was never really acting that much since my character usually had a close personality to mine
If I am playing an angry character, here's what I do. I think about the situations that would really trip my trigger and precisely what I might do in my fit of rage. I brainstorm various hypothetical situations. So then I know what I'm going to do. When the triggering sitation arises, I get really angry, rage and carry out my preplanned actions against the hapless target. Prior to these fits of uncontrollable rage, I am as calm and serene as a Zen reflecting pond. This Jekyll like demeaner makes my Hyde-like rage unpredictable and all the more volcanic when it finally and eventually erupts. I do the same with every other negative emotion. It works great. You dont have to be angry (or whatever) all the time. Just some of the time and when you are your performance should be memorable if not legendary. That's my advice.
In my naivety, being a new player of about a year. My first character ended up being an emotionally blunted and relatively detached hexblade Warlock with 18 cha and 8 int. Trying to integrate all into a plausible role for that character to embody naturally, has been very difficult. He is in a position as possibly the most suitable face of the party, something I wasn't aware of till I became more experienced. Another character I made, just touching on the int vs wis thing. He is a curious tabaxi way of the cobalt soul monk called Book's Wish who excels in knowledge acquisition, and naturally, many things skill oritentated. Highly perceptive and insightful too, he is also a naturally playful character but his antics usually involve some ulterior motive of satisfying his desire to test something or examine some effect (incomprehensibly trivial to most others). He enjoys these things as a light hearted prank but will always use the pretense of it being a harmless experiment for example and will not elaborate further. Although if he admitted it to himself, it's a bit of both. He's not particularly charismatic so this aloof tactlessness or propensity to be blunt or intense in his strong fixations with different fancies, messing around with people unwittingly to them, often rubs people the wrong way outside of those who understand him well enough to pick up the subtext and the harmless intent behind it ultimately. You've got me thinking of how to combine the intellect with the wisdom in his role in a believable way. He is smart 14 int but his wisdom outstrips that quite a bit. Curious anyone's thoughts with rp'ing these characters better.
What about conflicted characters? Morally or otherwise? I played a cleric who was against necromancy and dark magics but two of the other players consistently used dark magics throughout the campaign. It actually made me want to quit because it was so stressful trying to roleplay someone who wouldn't tolerate other players' actions... Thanks!
I was in a similar spot myself. party even had the gall to say my chara was the leader/moral centre of the group but would never take what I had to say into account :( if there's any way of working through this kind of scenario I'd love to hear it
Then you must probably change the mind of your character. You are not a slave to your original concept, and its not worth fighting your party members over it. You can speak to your group outside the game, but dont expect everyone else to change just so you can keep playing your character, it is a team game and everyone must adapt to the group. If you have two people using dark Magic, you cannot play someone who has sworn to kill every dark Magic user on sight. Alter your character to maybe frown upon using dark Magic(and to point it out often), but strive to prove to them how the light is the better path instead. Never put ultimatons on your fellow party members. You control your character. To avoid this in the future be sure to have a proper session zero and make sure everyone knows you are playing this character and ask if they can do you the favor and not play dark Magic users. If they wont, you either change your concept or find a new group.
Have them evolve in character through exposure to the dark magics, they start off angry and aggressive to the necromancer, "How can you use such dark evil magic?!" But over time come to learn that just because it's "dark magic" doesn't make it evil and can be a force for good if applied correctly. That way they end up angry to those that use it for evil instead of just anyone who uses it.
I've read a story about how a cleric disapproves of the bad apples of the party so much, they left the party and joined a lawful faction they would align with that also happened to be somewhat antagonistic to the party. At that point, the player made a new PC but their old character remained relevant
Never be afraid to play a hypocrite, "ends justify the means" or "fight the dark with the dark" or "you'll help me kill the others like you so you can live until you are all that's left".
I like this character idea, especially since I get tired of people saying that Bards only have the entertainer background. People who say that are uncreative I feel like. You can make any background work for any class if you put a little effort in. I had a bard that basically had the Sage background (though slightly altered) and another that had the Acolyte background. Not to mention a Criminal Paladin.
I do like characters that play as "trope"-y, but against the grain. Kind of like Sir Terry Pratchett's characters. I tend to gravitate to charismatic characters, just due to personality. I think one of my favourites is my Oracle of Whimsy. Who seems to be both Wise and a Socialite. He's not a good person, but loves outplaying the field. Definitely a kind of "magnificent bastard" trope, and I often feel by the end of each time I play him, the party starts out "this damn bastard" and ends up "he is a damn bastard, but glad he's on our side". I have to say, reluctant heroes are good too. I have two; my Druid and my multiclassed Rogue-Bard. The druid is a very anxious First World origin Druid hiding out on the material plane due to family drama. He's a little shy at first, but generally Friendly and Helpful. The Rogue Bard complains a lot. But he's seen way too many things. Less in a stoic way, and more in an anxious way. He's the kind of Bard who believes in luck (in fact the deity he worships is the goddess of luck), and he courts this luck at every opportunity. Not so much reckless as "Well shit, this plan has gone arse over end, time for plan Z. And pray harder!" Singing a hymn to his goddess (I personally headcanon that Lucky Star by Madonna is a holy hymn to Desna amongst certain Varisians) usually gets her on side. He never really wants to be there, but he's often a necessary part of the "frontliners" in both support he can provide (eg. Inspire Courage, flanking etc) but he also hits hard. Not through strength, but just cause he's good at Improvising (heehee, Shikigami Style feat tree).
A Character type I like to play, but is very hard is the trouble maker. In my long-running group, we play a family of Half-Elf siblings, and I am the mischievous problem child. It is fun just with the comedy and the pranks I can pull (one of my friends unprompted, gave me a list of smutty romance novels I would find under her character's mattress and told me "Make of that as you will" It was a fun time). That being said, my character has to balance a line between careful and stupid. Yes, his penchant for pranks and mischief is funny, but it can cause trouble for the party if he does not have a line. I think this is a popular character type, but it is hard to do with a table you have not built a good rapport with
When i play a diplomat or socialite here is what I do. I say some controversial things that I know will get a rise out of the people that I am talking to, something that I may have heard or not, a rumor that is circulating. I'm careful not to say whether I'm in favor or against the idea and attempt to hold loosely to the dominant position if pressed. The purpose of this is to probe and then get them to do all the talking. I then listen and collect data as you suggest. At the end of the evening, I have told them nothing but learned a great deal from them.
Last character I really played was supposed to be angry at the world, and she was. In her backstory she was training to be a druid, multiple rather horrible events happened and so became a barbarian using rage to release her pent up anger. She effectively went back to being a druid within a few levels, even opening up to the rest of the party, getting less and less angry. Not the most friendly but more of a stoic. So, I had given the DM a decent outline of her backstory so we could start the game and he could start working elements in and was working with the DM's wife to get insight into some of those horrible things to flesh out the whole story... and forgot to hand the revised history. So its just me and the DM's wife who knew her complete, and significantly darker, backstory. DM knew she had been a part of an underground brawling circuit that ended badly on her last fight and that she was setup to have some horrible thing happen. I don't really feel like getting into details, use your worst imagination of what might happen in an illegal fighting ring where someone might pay for more of a show. Fast forward nearly a year and a half later, same campaign, we're level 14 or 15. Honestly at this point she was pretty mellow, a bit willing to dish out California level firestorms by compounding spells but proportional to the situation. DM is trying to hook us into an arc for my character and we're at a party in the middle of the city. My character is avoiding the majority of it, brooding a bit in the corner and an npc walks up, starts talking, tries to peak her interest by saying he was there at the last fight and chuckles. My character immediately ran him through and threw his corpse through a window. Thankfully we were in a city where that wasn't totally unheard of and where we were popular enough to get away with it after hiding out for a few days. It was so unexpected it almost derailed the session. But it also a huge window into the character for the other players, and in game she only opened up to one of the other characters about why. The others had seen her angry, seen her rage, they hadn't seen her pushed past her edge and show her full and direct hatred. The thing about being angry is that you don't have to be that all the time. Its usually more impactful if you're not. ------------------ Another story about this same character. At some point something happened, level 17, 18 or 19, where she couldn't remember the last 5 years or something; in essence she was herself without the harshness of her backstory. For a session I got to play her as the woman she would have grown up as had her life been different. In my backstory I said she was fun loving, cheerful, curious, playful, most of all happy with life. As a player, it honestly felt good to play her as she should have been(as a person) and a real fun story element. You could feel the tragedy as the effect wore off and she remembered her trauma. In character, that moment Details like this bring so much to the game and having a plan gives you a structure to build off of. It doesn't take much, her backstory was 873 words.
I am currently trying to play an intelligent stoic character. (Similar to Grand Admiral Thrawn) my DM says I end up making dumb decisions. This helped. I hope to improve this weekend.
I never noticed how my paranoid and socially awkward rogue gobbo was pretty much the friendly one in the party (with a part of intelligence in it). Yes, he is paranoid with people he doesn't know, but he always tries his best to make sure the few people he does trust are taken care of. After all, in a world that wants you dead, you need to make sure that the few that don't, keep wanting you alive
I like playing ruthless characters. Not evil, but willing to do some pretty messed up stuff if it serves the greater good. Sociopaths are also fun, but that's harder to do.
My intelligent character is clever, innovative, ingenious and thinks outside the box. They think of workable alternatives that no one else but them could conceive. I would assign your what are the best options and what are the consequences of those options to the role of the stoic and the wise. I like playing the genius. DMs hate that type because players alternative plans that are outside the box spoil and foil their villains carefully conceived counter plans.
One intellegent thing a charecter could do is use magic mouth on a single grain of sand to make it scream profanities when it's exposed to sunlight/moonlight and the caster has the tips of two of their fingers on one hand touching to use as a distraction. No one would be able to find the source
i play my "intelligent" characters as : they know stuff on specific field (scientist or else). Very intelligent people are often Akward or in their bubble solving the problems they want. Sometimes they aren't even witty or anything else. They are juste experts on their field and that's already good for me : )
My character's the grouchy guy. Everyone at my table loves him, because he's the party's watchdog, big brother, fall guy and wisecracker. The way one guy at my table put it is that he's a mix of Dirty Harry and Daffy Duck.
I was surprised when you describe how to play an intelligent character, because that's pretty much what I did when I played one. I felt like I was failing my party by not being as intelligent as my character 'should be.' I figured that the constant questions made me seem unfit for my character. Though, I guess I should reexamine how I play my grouchy/angry/edgy character. I don't want to be disruptive, even if it is at times 'it's what my character would do.' I don't want to be that kind of player.
My favorite way to play characters that are smart is that they know most things. But are incredibly emotional. Throwing reason out the window in high stress scenerios. They are not the plan guys. Because their answer to someone attacking the party "HOW DARE YOU?! FIREBALL"
I once played a one shot as a Swashbuckler that was the party’s face and scout, but also a pathological liar. It was established before the game that the rest of the party knew about his flaw. I scouted ahead and then reported back, “There’s nobody in there.” The samurai, exasperated, asked, “How many nobodies are there?” Swashbuckler: “...Definitely not seven.”
I am playing a neutral good druid in a party that just shifted. Basically the DM decided to Homebrew because he got bored with the adventure. All but two of us changed characters. Now, my issue is that one of the players is now playing a self-serving halforc (my character hates orcs. Wild elf just learning about all these crazy races, half races etc..). I'm just trying to figure the appropriate way to deal with the orc thing. He took slaves, my character is against slavery. He then traded them for food and water, something my character easily gets having the Outlander background. It seems like his Endeavors were pointless or to prove he is selfish and unneeding of anyone's help --not a team player. To my wild elf he is dumb and self serving and will most likely betray us and help the evil if it suits him. However, the party is just following along. I am a bit perplexed at the moment. I suppose, I should ask about the other players intentions and goals. I need to discern a good tactic in dealing with the situation as I would like to help the people of the area. Then then again my character would probally not mind if the halforc died. I am friends with the player, But my character hates his. 🥴
If you're friends with the player talk to them about the situation and see whether you can come to an agreement together about the direction of your rp together. Maybe a redemption arc, or for your character, the opposite. Maybe he fully understands the charter he's playing is someone that is undesirable and he's fine with knowing said character may get stabbed up by yours for betraying the party or just being an utter jerk one too many times. That sort of thing does require some buy-in from other players though so some discussion is definitely warranted.
*Thanks for watching!* Let us know in the comments below what player character type you most enjoy playing.
I'm most impressed you predicted that you would be talking for 20 minutes exactly
I once created a silver tongued scoundrel, to whom truth was merely a thing to play with. I quickly noticed I had to lay out some rules to keep him consistent.
So he, although an excellent liar, prefers to stay to the truth as close as possible, without really telling the whole story. Unto this I hadn’t realized how evil a left out part and/or misleading wording could be. Really an eye opener.
Also, to sharpen his creativity, he tends to make up details of his “past”. And every party member gets a different story. That part was the most fun, but also exhausting at times, because I had to make detailed notes to keep every story straight.
Overall, the occasions when I can play him, are fun but demanding, especially when I have to conceal the low information content of his speeches with vocal flourishes and big words… Awful politician like, if I think about it.
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So... you Roleplayed Loki.
@@mr.fluffyface431 I guess that depends on what version of Loki we are talking about ;)
I once played a barbarian human, who was both stoic and angry. She view Anger as a sacred emotion, which has to be expressed only in sacred situations (such as protecting a friend, save our life etc.), so in order to rage, she has to bottle up every single expression of anger in everyday life. She was a stoic every-time, but then, when she was angry (and damn that was not a cheerful anger, but mixed with despair, frustration of being not being able to express her emotions, etc.) that really was an awefull sight for the party. I worked on making her stoic side so lovable and usefull to the party that there was always a moment of hesitation and fear about my character's rage. This lead to really touching moments when the entire party was trying to make sure my character was feeling okay and was achieving her goals, so she can remains the lovable stoic one of the group. Even tough the rage was clearly an advantage for the group (insane heavy damage, etc.), they always preferred not to use it very often. What wonderful memories.
A a guy who wishes he was a lot smarter than he is, I have been looking forward to advice like this. I am struggling with my mastermind right now since...I'm not.
I feel that^^
If nothing else, you have a killer beard. Respect.
Self awareness seems pretty smart to me
It really is hard to play up to mental stats 🙁 if you don't have a DM that works with you on that. I'm currently DM'ing for a charismatic character played by a person who isn't particularly charismatic and we're working on how to make that work well in game. A decent part of it is meeting them half way with rolls just like we do with physical stats
Ask a lot of questions. Your gm will probably be happy to tell you what you would know or have you roll for it
2:12 Face of the Party
4:59 Friendly Helpful Type
6:43 Gruff, Grouchy Grump
8:44 Stoic
11:02 Angry
13:50 Wise
16:43 Intelligent
18:42 Action Hero
My favourite character I've played was a 60 year old annoyed wizard lady. She only had a charisma of 8 (upped by old age benefits in Pathfinder) she ended up having 26+ intelligence by level 6.
The way I always portrayed her was as a self assured, over-confident, but stunningly clever bitch. The way I did the stunningly clever thing was mostly by paying VERY close attention to the stuff that the GM gave us, and working with that information. Because of that I frequently appeared much more "intelligent" than I actually am, since I saw things coming before they arrived (just through paying attention), another thing was by confidently claiming "I knew that" even when I in fact didn't, but hey. She probably did.
Having plans that develop over multiple sessions (doing prep work for a job or whatever) also makes you and your character appear much more smart than they actually are. **Always be preparing for something**, if nothing comes up nobody will ever remember that you were doing it. If something DOES come up then suddenly you and your character are the smartest motherfuckers around the table who were apparenly playing 4d chess with the BBEG while they were playing checkers.
Additionally I did the thing mentioned in the video, while she was an argumentative bitch (and I love her for it), she ultimately cared about the wellbeing of people around her. And whenever things got serious she'd enter "Mother of 3" mode and make sure arguments were resolved, people were happy and no blood was spilled when it didn't have to.
Often being a pinch more social than others in my party, I often accidentally take charge. To counter this I like playing low INT PCs who, instead of making bad decisions, gets distracted, forcing others to make the important decisions. I'll get silly when I know the outcome won't destroy the party. (Or when I think it won't, lol)
"This is where you can makea fool of yourself-"
YES! I CAN DO THAT!
My version of Wisdom versus Intelligence is the Warner Brothers cartoon series: Pinky and the Brain.
The Brain thinks of elaborate plots and actually figures out the nitty gritty of making them work. And Pinky ALWAYS sees at least one way, in real life, that it can go wrong.
Book smarts versus common sense.
Pinky is "insane," because he's all about happiness and fun time, but then again, how is that NOT wise? They're living a nice enough life in their lab, and he's content with it. And he finds joy in the small things, so he is almost always cheerful and unafraid.
The Brain is all about conquering the world (because he believes he's smart enough to rule it all), and because of his ambition, he is not content in his life, but is always pushing for more. More power, and more information to help him get it. In a fantasy realm, he would be the wizard, searching for "the perfect spell" to allow him to have ultimate power. Basically, he's looking for Unlimited Wish.
Pinky is willing to help him, as a loyal friend, but he knows that Brain will never be happy, he'll never find Unlimited Wish, but he also knows that he can be there to help and encourage his friend, and keep him from giving in to despair.
Good stuff! Pinky and the brain, one is a genius, the other's insane.
No-one ever thinks it's Brain who's the nut.
Brain is the insane one, Pinky is the genius. I don't know how anyone could call Pinky insane.
I prefer playing the reluctant hero, a person that does what's needed but actually does not want to be there. The character that was happy with their life but was uprooted by circumstance and is making the best of things. Sometimes falling into a funk wishing to be back to their normal life but giving everything to the CAUSE knowing that that cause is the only way back to anything like normal again.
The face of the party is very seldom the brains of the party, me looking back at my 18 Cha, 8 Int goblin paladin with the personality of a labradoodle cosplaying as batman...yep that checks out
I'd follow him to Hell and back!
"You have my sword."
The Face is also often the one who negotiates for the party - if there is something they desperately need from someone, the face can make themselves useful by using their people skills to parley. In campaigns where everyone in the group are mercenaries or criminals, this becomes doubly important as you will probably be the one who sells your crew to the various potential clients who want to employ your services, and keeps in communique with them.
I loved the character arch of Bellona Torres.
I had a player who was quite a bit smarter than his character. He would tell the group, out of character, what he thought would help the situation, then go back in character, to do something entirely different. I didn't mind the out of character conversation. It allowed that player to stay engaged with puzzles, while helping the smart character be smarter, whose player would usually find a way to work that in as their idea.
I think the hardest thing for a lot of ayers to convey (if it's a trait they lack) is confidence. So many PC's come off as insecure, 'cause the player behind them is so eager to prove how cool/strong/smart their character is. Relax, confidence is all about being in control of yourself.
What's fun is playing the stoic and heart at the same time. With my rouge/monk dark elf he'll call out someone for giving up on their ideals in one mission, and then calming an old woman the party saved in another. (Then checking in on the old woman when no one else did.) He's like seemingly cold, yet helpful counselor. Not for everyone, but good at getting to the heart of an issue.
I see what you did there
I like this concept
I routinely play high Int characters, because i always come up with the good ideas that the other players like to pursue. Now i am playing a really stupid Int 8 character and ... the players are starting to realize that my ideas are now really bad. Really bad ideas, but i keep managing to convince the party at times. hahahaha
The best ideas all around
Good ideas, bad ideas, dangerous ideas, ridiculous ideas, all topnotch quality
@@hugofontes5708, topnotch quality bad ideas... Hahaha!
I’m currently playing a Bard/spy PC who is a Face for the party, and I’m glad to know that I stumbled my way into playing a Face right lol
I enjoy constantly changing what character I am playing. I suppose that's why I like to GM! Thanks for the tips. I like to be a player as well and no one ever has any idea what I am going to make. I admit I use your channel to help me frame my actions as a character. With my Pirate captain based on Dr.Doom and Aguirre. I changed every instance of the character saying " I " to " we ." So instead of saying a selfish "I will take over the world" he would say the more inspiring "we will take over the world." Your videos helped me come up with my characters evil yet harmonious philosophy.
Great. My Barbarian took your advice in not being Angry all the time. Worked past his issues... now he has lost the ability to rage.
Great Idea. I love it ^_^
Out of curiosity, wouldn’t that lead to a class change due to how barb is? I’m probably wrong, been a while since I looked at the phb, plus optional rules and all.
@@DimkaSulegnaa It could lead to a class change, but not necessarily, Barbarians do more than JUST Rage. I would work with a player and figure out something they might gain for having lost the Rage. Some kinda monkish inner tranquility stuff or something, depending on whatever else that Character is into.
I'd re-flavor it as "battle meditation" - a dissociative state in which you hyper-focus in such a way that the rage mechanics still make sense.
I am currently in a long time game with friends. I play a Kobold Rogue. Who somehow became the Hero of the game. I started this character as selfish and fickle and almost a joke character, but as the adventure progressed he became more selfless and began to realize he has more to offer than as a thief. Big part of that probably has to do with the party adopting a dragon egg. Responsibility changes people. I didn't originally plan to go for a Swashbuckler, but the way the character evolved it just sort of made sense. I am lucky to have a group of players who are all really good with the role play side of the game. Because without them playing their characters amazingly, mine probably never would have grown. I am also planning a campaign for them. A thank you sort of for making my first ever in person game so amazing.
As the face, I used Sense Motive far more than Diplomacy or Bluff. I actually gave the DM a few problems, as I found out things way earlier than he had planned.
As the wise character, I tend to not speak much. It is far better to be silent and be thought a fool, than to speak up and remove all doubt. I take the time to think before I speak. It helps.
As for the intelligent character, the Branson idea is pretty sound. It is somewhat difficult as a Wizard or suchlike, because tey commonly get to a very high int, well into the 20s in D&D, and that's pretty much supergenius level. But the other players know that, too...so...there should be some slack given.
One of my favorites is the Brute. Big, dumb, a little stubborn. I played a Brute with a heart of gold..a big Ogre that loved children and would let them use him as a jungle gym. Grok. His name was Grok. Generally good hearted, but not the guy to go to for advice. "What do you think, Grok?" "Smash?" "No, we shouldn't smash that." Takes a moment to think.."Eat?" "No Grok, we can't eat it." Takes another, longer moment. "Smash?" Comedy! But, at heart, he always did what was good for the group, always protected the more squishy members, and was nice to the townsfolk. The Sorceress would walk into town holding his hand just to keep the guys from hitting on the high Charisma woman. (And yes, she was played by a woman) Grok never understood why, but...if it made her happy, he was happy. He also had a CHA of about 5, so I played him as socially inept. Well meaning, but rather uncouth. Like I said...a lot of fun in the Brute.
My friends tend to make me the face cause I have a huge, friendly personality in real life and Paladin is my favorite class, and I really enjoy it
Prince Zuko is a great example of an angry character done well...
It's all about the redemption arc.
great video. I've recently found great joy in playing 'intelligent' characters who are social and friendly, but don't always know when/where/how to interact with people.
My favorite characters to play are either the stoic or the grumpy character. I like the stoic, because I love playing the straight man and the voice of reason. The grumpy character is also very fun; they are gruff and ready for a scrap, but leaning into their soft side often leads to some amazing character moments.
This is really damn good advice. My character (pathfinder 2e) is the heart of the group, in a less conventional way. He is cordial and polite and manages party healing, but rarely asks, or even speaks for that matter and just does the thing that needs doing. Injured? Already healed. No arrows? Heres my crossbow and bolts, give it back later. Need potions? Brewed some during our last pitstop. His biggest sort of flaw is that he does things that make him look bad. BBEG is Urgathoa, God of Necromancy. My character? Witch who specializes in healing magic... What school of magic does that belong to? Necromancy. Resident curse collector, Rarely speaks, Knows dark magic and can speak to the BBEGs minions. Reasons to keep him around? Hes the only reason the party is alive in more ways than one. Really fun watching them scramble to figure out whats going on tbh
I often play… all of them. Because I’m the DM. These are great archetypes to remember when creating deep NPCs, especially ones the party will really get to know!
I once played a fun spin on a Stoic. It was a cold, calculating, seemingly emotionless character who *wanted* to empathize and have feelings, but was struggling to understand and find them. Thus, the character would engage socially with the more colorful and charismatic members of the party, trying to learn from them. The character would also "come alive" in battle, because pain was proof that they were capable of feeling something. Pain gave hope of someday feeling something more.
I think the Stoic is a cool idea, but it quickly becomes boring to play unless you give the character at least one emotional trigger like that -- whether the trigger is a trait, bond, or flaw. Then, the contrast between the character's usual stoicism versus isolated bursts of emotion makes those emotional moments more engaging for everybody.
I played a grouchy elven rogue once and the watching of the balance is super duper important there. Sure, he was a dick and a thief which got him into headbutting with the paladin of the group, but he also had a soft side for the party's half-elf sorceress and enjoyed doing crime stuff with her bc he felt smth like fatherly instincts in his own weird loner way. And with the rest of the group he was up for banter and didn't mind being the butt of the joke all that much, so he was an entertaining guy to play (until he got smashed into pieces by an ogre). Don't get me wrong, he looked and acted mostly like he was that loner type edgy rogue but he stuck around bc he by chance joined a group that seemed powerful enough to seek refuge in from the mob that almost got him killed and got attached to them and what they could do for him, because his endgoal was actually just finding his sister that he got seperated from decades ago (bc he did have that soft spot). So you can be edgy, you can be grouchy and you can be a dick (to NPCs mind you) and still create a fun character to play with if you are mindful of what your character wants and how the party fulfills these needs they have.
Sidenote, the character died at level 5 or so and the lesson I learned from that is that if you play a slowburn-warmup sort of character make sure your people know that thats what you are doing, because that rogue pretty much died before he could get an ingame opening up scene and that loss just feels a bit emptier when that familiar bond hasn't been expressed ingame yet. He got a small scene in the afterlive where he joined another dead party member so it was a nice moment, but that story felt cut short a bit so if possible try to express what you are doing at some point, can't go wrong with that really.
*party fighting dragon in the background*
*The mayor* "what was that?"
*The face, trying to distract* "A u r o r a. B o r e a l i s."
I always make my characters based off the idea of another character that way I get to play a different person every time… right now I’m playing a character inspired by obi wan Kenobi if I ever get stuck with how to react or what to do I can think about the character that inspired my character and it makes it a lot easier to play!
I am still learning too play a specific character, so far I barely manage to play myself
I like to play characters that are The Relutant Hero. And them because of the adventure they grow in some way, i already made them be Relutant and Angsty or Scared.
Character tripe? That's what the monsters eat after the arrogant hero dismisses the team and goes off on his own.
The last game I ran the party started as 1st level NPC classes in a major disaster. It forced some character development relatively early in the campaign as they fled and as they were in the refugee camp.
So happy I got to watch this before playing a character I've got going on my head. He is a dwarf sorcerer, his family is black smiths and soldiers, so before joining the military, he learned how forge weapons, and I was planning on having him work on party member's weapons but now I'm going to add on to this with your helpful friendly type.
I recently have been playing a character who I consider to be intelligent, curious, and maybe a little naive. Watching this has not only made me feel more confident playing him, but also has made me consider how I run ally npc characters as the dm. Very helpful, so thank you!
My Sorcerer is shy and curious and has accidentally landed the role of being the face of the party.
I would love to watch this play out. Sounds like it could be funny. If it helps, I had a character in another game who was a complete lunatic with little grasp of reality named as leader and face of the group.
@@dalekreject7324 It has been pretty wholesome at times the party support her and she builds up enough courage to do things like go forward to ask for things like information and the NPCs usually end up really helpful because shes just so damn sweet.
Her name is Kuutamo but everyone has ended up giving her the nickname Cuteamo out of game.
@@mazzyelf that truly sounds awesome! And seriously like a great group. It sounds line it would be great top watch it play out. I love how group dynamics among players form and grow.
In the RPG Im writing I have a character trope section to help people with finding inspiration on how they might want their interparty relationships to work, and they are surprisingly close to yours. I even have 8 of them!
-The Face: The out of party face that talks to other people.
-The Rogue: In my RPG the Rogue-Like class is called a Thief. The Rogue of the party is a more independent character who is often at odds with the party, but comes around due to some deep ties or bonds with the party.
-The Heart: The emotional interpersonal support structure and moral compass for the party.
-The Muscle: An often quirky individual who is there to bring some highly specialized skill or set of abilities that can save the party in an area the rest of them are lacking. Personality wise they are usually deeply loyal to the party as since they are so specialized they have the most to lose from the party splitting up.
-The Brain: The one who remembers everything, structures plans, and solves everything around them with a very intelligent perspective.
-The Mentor: Someone who is less interested in the Party goal as much as the party's success. They are there to help teach the party and give wisdom.
-The Child: This is the most reliant character on the rest of the party and makes the largest change over time to learn to come into their own. While I say most reliant on the party, this doesn't mean not useful, the Child should be testing the waters in the most areas and therefore is able to help everyone in the party, just not having their own specialty.
-The Turncoat: This is the character who used to be on an opposing side to the party, and now has joined the party due to a change of heart. They provide a different perspective and insight into what opposes the party.
My current character is definitely the Action Hero, and I am pleased that I am playing her in line with your suggestions!
This is one of those videos I will have to watch over and over to keep getting ideas for characters! Thanks Guy!
Ah, the talker time slot reminded me of one of my favorite characters I've ever played. It was a lying jerk, he cared about the party, but mocked and insulted the party enemies. Never really treating a single opponent with respect, which never worked out well for him. More often than not it got him shot.
But once the guns were put away, he would get information and even outright lie to NPCs to give them false information. Getting the party as many jobs as possible, with as little of the truth given to everyone. Only blew up in his face, when he was outplayed and a client neglected to tell him a /very angry/ Jedi was waiting for the party at the sight of their next job. Lol.
Omg a Voyager reference 😍 B'Elanna Torres is a perfect example of the angry character with a redemption arc! It really helps put these ideas into perspective with a specific character arc to reference.
In my current campaign I keep Roll playing as the helpful support guy but always get pushed into party leader.
I made a Rocket Racoon like Artificer with high intelligence. He's not necessarily smart about everything, but he definitely will start slapping together tubes and gears until he's got a gun or an explosive.
So for years I have been the default healer in the group, I enjoy being a support character. I don't want to sound like I am bragging or anything, but having played alot of support roles, I found that at one time or another, I have touched on a bunch these. Its alot of fun just to help out the crew, not just through buffs or heals but by improving situations and being "that guy" however you very eloquently put into words something I have noticed a couple of folks in my former group do not really understand or participate in. Thank you, it was very insightful.
This video just reminds me of the most frustrating player I've had to play with. in combat they where fine, great even. But every time we went into a social interaction they had to say something. and they played a woefully un charismatic dwarf. Now it may have been in character and all but it made it so difficult for me, who played a charisma rogue, and or the sorcerer to get any information from NPCs or de-escalate situations. I think the worst situation it ever personally put me in was when I purposefully stayed out of an alchemist shop while the rest of the party failed to gather info on a crime. I wait till they left, head in, and try my hand at it, and I was doing well. And then the dwarf jaunts back in trying to be all buddy buddy with me and I have to take disadvantage on any further rolls because this shop keep lady hates the dwarf for accusing her of being a murderer not 5 min earlier and now knows we work together. "And no the alchemist lady wasn't the would be murderer, though she did make the poison"
Been playing a ranger who doesnt really like people in general (theyre complicated and hard to understand compared to beasts) ...and he is surrounded by people person/s ...part of his character development is learning to be friendly and accepting of those outside his 'pack.' ....its been intriguing so far
For those using 5th edition D&D, much of the "Face" dissonance between player and character is resolved by the Attitude rules in the DMG. Make sure your DM knows about it!
Being the grumpy mom of the group i can relate to several points from this video
Thanks for all the useful examples and tips for playing/DMing. Been bingeing your vids these past few days and they've been super insightful.
Done some basic timestamps, feel free to take a refresher and click on them.
02:12 The Face
05:00 The Friendly Helpful
06:57 The Gruff Grouchy Grump
08:46 The Stoic
11:02 The Angry
13:50 The Wise
16:42 The Intelligent
18:41 The Hero (The Leader)
What a shock: First 5 seconds of ANGRY character - thought I'd clicked on Shadiversity by mistake.
I came across your videos recently while i was doing research for a couple of characters i will be playing soon and can't say how happy i am that i did! You've really helped me get more in depth with character concept and fleshing them out! So thank you for all your wisdom!
Another way to come off as wise, is watch these sorts of videos. If you see another player getting frustrated with how to integrate and succeed, perhaps your character could offer theirs some advice, in a mentorship/counselor sort of way. I realize it sounds a bit "meta," but it can be a good way to help other players correct their character issues through in-game roleplay. Who cares if you got the idea from a UA-cam video and went "hey, that looks like a struggle that X who plays Y is dealing with, maybe my character can present some of these suggestions to theirs." With any luck, their character gets a redemption arc, and your character comes off as wise. Of course this won't work with real "problem players," who have to be handled out-of-game, but it might work.
In other words, you become the wonderful
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Me distractedly writing that down
My role playing experience is rather limited. So far I think I always ended up as the intelligent character. Though I don't think I was the arrogant type.
Being myself a rather analytic person with a decent amount of general knowledge but quite shy I often found myself observing what happened without commenting much until someone in the party asked what I thought.
I guess I was never really acting that much since my character usually had a close personality to mine
If I am playing an angry character, here's what I do. I think about the situations that would really trip my trigger and precisely what I might do in my fit of rage. I brainstorm various hypothetical situations. So then I know what I'm going to do. When the triggering sitation arises, I get really angry, rage and carry out my preplanned actions against the hapless target. Prior to these fits of uncontrollable rage, I am as calm and serene as a Zen reflecting pond. This Jekyll like demeaner makes my Hyde-like rage unpredictable and all the more volcanic when it finally and eventually erupts. I do the same with every other negative emotion. It works great. You dont have to be angry (or whatever) all the time. Just some of the time and when you are your performance should be memorable if not legendary. That's my advice.
You have woven an incredible mental social roadmap in my head of how the different types interact
In my naivety, being a new player of about a year. My first character ended up being an emotionally blunted and relatively detached hexblade Warlock with 18 cha and 8 int. Trying to integrate all into a plausible role for that character to embody naturally, has been very difficult. He is in a position as possibly the most suitable face of the party, something I wasn't aware of till I became more experienced.
Another character I made, just touching on the int vs wis thing. He is a curious tabaxi way of the cobalt soul monk called Book's Wish who excels in knowledge acquisition, and naturally, many things skill oritentated. Highly perceptive and insightful too, he is also a naturally playful character but his antics usually involve some ulterior motive of satisfying his desire to test something or examine some effect (incomprehensibly trivial to most others). He enjoys these things as a light hearted prank but will always use the pretense of it being a harmless experiment for example and will not elaborate further. Although if he admitted it to himself, it's a bit of both. He's not particularly charismatic so this aloof tactlessness or propensity to be blunt or intense in his strong fixations with different fancies, messing around with people unwittingly to them, often rubs people the wrong way outside of those who understand him well enough to pick up the subtext and the harmless intent behind it ultimately.
You've got me thinking of how to combine the intellect with the wisdom in his role in a believable way. He is smart 14 int but his wisdom outstrips that quite a bit.
Curious anyone's thoughts with rp'ing these characters better.
Thank you for this video. I am actually running a character creation class for my group. This will be great to assist with that
What about conflicted characters? Morally or otherwise? I played a cleric who was against necromancy and dark magics but two of the other players consistently used dark magics throughout the campaign. It actually made me want to quit because it was so stressful trying to roleplay someone who wouldn't tolerate other players' actions...
Thanks!
I was in a similar spot myself. party even had the gall to say my chara was the leader/moral centre of the group but would never take what I had to say into account :( if there's any way of working through this kind of scenario I'd love to hear it
Then you must probably change the mind of your character. You are not a slave to your original concept, and its not worth fighting your party members over it. You can speak to your group outside the game, but dont expect everyone else to change just so you can keep playing your character, it is a team game and everyone must adapt to the group. If you have two people using dark Magic, you cannot play someone who has sworn to kill every dark Magic user on sight. Alter your character to maybe frown upon using dark Magic(and to point it out often), but strive to prove to them how the light is the better path instead. Never put ultimatons on your fellow party members. You control your character.
To avoid this in the future be sure to have a proper session zero and make sure everyone knows you are playing this character and ask if they can do you the favor and not play dark Magic users. If they wont, you either change your concept or find a new group.
Have them evolve in character through exposure to the dark magics, they start off angry and aggressive to the necromancer, "How can you use such dark evil magic?!" But over time come to learn that just because it's "dark magic" doesn't make it evil and can be a force for good if applied correctly. That way they end up angry to those that use it for evil instead of just anyone who uses it.
I've read a story about how a cleric disapproves of the bad apples of the party so much, they left the party and joined a lawful faction they would align with that also happened to be somewhat antagonistic to the party. At that point, the player made a new PC but their old character remained relevant
Never be afraid to play a hypocrite, "ends justify the means" or "fight the dark with the dark" or "you'll help me kill the others like you so you can live until you are all that's left".
This was a good one, I've already forwarded it to a few of my players. Thanks for your content
I've always been a fan of the strong voiced brute thats actually gentle towards friends. Goliath is my favorite race.
I'd like to play a stoic. He was once a soldier but sworn to never touch a sword again and decided to become a bard that sings of his years in war
So, are you playing Kurt Vonnegut or Tim O'Brian?
@@adahnliegl740 Hmm. I did not thought about that
I like this character idea, especially since I get tired of people saying that Bards only have the entertainer background. People who say that are uncreative I feel like. You can make any background work for any class if you put a little effort in. I had a bard that basically had the Sage background (though slightly altered) and another that had the Acolyte background. Not to mention a Criminal Paladin.
I do like characters that play as "trope"-y, but against the grain. Kind of like Sir Terry Pratchett's characters.
I tend to gravitate to charismatic characters, just due to personality.
I think one of my favourites is my Oracle of Whimsy. Who seems to be both Wise and a Socialite. He's not a good person, but loves outplaying the field. Definitely a kind of "magnificent bastard" trope, and I often feel by the end of each time I play him, the party starts out "this damn bastard" and ends up "he is a damn bastard, but glad he's on our side".
I have to say, reluctant heroes are good too. I have two; my Druid and my multiclassed Rogue-Bard. The druid is a very anxious First World origin Druid hiding out on the material plane due to family drama. He's a little shy at first, but generally Friendly and Helpful.
The Rogue Bard complains a lot. But he's seen way too many things. Less in a stoic way, and more in an anxious way. He's the kind of Bard who believes in luck (in fact the deity he worships is the goddess of luck), and he courts this luck at every opportunity. Not so much reckless as "Well shit, this plan has gone arse over end, time for plan Z. And pray harder!" Singing a hymn to his goddess (I personally headcanon that Lucky Star by Madonna is a holy hymn to Desna amongst certain Varisians) usually gets her on side. He never really wants to be there, but he's often a necessary part of the "frontliners" in both support he can provide (eg. Inspire Courage, flanking etc) but he also hits hard. Not through strength, but just cause he's good at Improvising (heehee, Shikigami Style feat tree).
A Character type I like to play, but is very hard is the trouble maker. In my long-running group, we play a family of Half-Elf siblings, and I am the mischievous problem child. It is fun just with the comedy and the pranks I can pull (one of my friends unprompted, gave me a list of smutty romance novels I would find under her character's mattress and told me "Make of that as you will" It was a fun time). That being said, my character has to balance a line between careful and stupid. Yes, his penchant for pranks and mischief is funny, but it can cause trouble for the party if he does not have a line. I think this is a popular character type, but it is hard to do with a table you have not built a good rapport with
When i play a diplomat or socialite here is what I do. I say some controversial things that I know will get a rise out of the people that I am talking to, something that I may have heard or not, a rumor that is circulating. I'm careful not to say whether I'm in favor or against the idea and attempt to hold loosely to the dominant position if pressed. The purpose of this is to probe and then get them to do all the talking. I then listen and collect data as you suggest. At the end of the evening, I have told them nothing but learned a great deal from them.
Last character I really played was supposed to be angry at the world, and she was. In her backstory she was training to be a druid, multiple rather horrible events happened and so became a barbarian using rage to release her pent up anger. She effectively went back to being a druid within a few levels, even opening up to the rest of the party, getting less and less angry. Not the most friendly but more of a stoic.
So, I had given the DM a decent outline of her backstory so we could start the game and he could start working elements in and was working with the DM's wife to get insight into some of those horrible things to flesh out the whole story... and forgot to hand the revised history. So its just me and the DM's wife who knew her complete, and significantly darker, backstory.
DM knew she had been a part of an underground brawling circuit that ended badly on her last fight and that she was setup to have some horrible thing happen. I don't really feel like getting into details, use your worst imagination of what might happen in an illegal fighting ring where someone might pay for more of a show.
Fast forward nearly a year and a half later, same campaign, we're level 14 or 15. Honestly at this point she was pretty mellow, a bit willing to dish out California level firestorms by compounding spells but proportional to the situation. DM is trying to hook us into an arc for my character and we're at a party in the middle of the city. My character is avoiding the majority of it, brooding a bit in the corner and an npc walks up, starts talking, tries to peak her interest by saying he was there at the last fight and chuckles.
My character immediately ran him through and threw his corpse through a window. Thankfully we were in a city where that wasn't totally unheard of and where we were popular enough to get away with it after hiding out for a few days.
It was so unexpected it almost derailed the session. But it also a huge window into the character for the other players, and in game she only opened up to one of the other characters about why. The others had seen her angry, seen her rage, they hadn't seen her pushed past her edge and show her full and direct hatred.
The thing about being angry is that you don't have to be that all the time. Its usually more impactful if you're not.
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Another story about this same character. At some point something happened, level 17, 18 or 19, where she couldn't remember the last 5 years or something; in essence she was herself without the harshness of her backstory. For a session I got to play her as the woman she would have grown up as had her life been different.
In my backstory I said she was fun loving, cheerful, curious, playful, most of all happy with life.
As a player, it honestly felt good to play her as she should have been(as a person) and a real fun story element. You could feel the tragedy as the effect wore off and she remembered her trauma. In character, that moment
Details like this bring so much to the game and having a plan gives you a structure to build off of. It doesn't take much, her backstory was 873 words.
I am currently trying to play an intelligent stoic character. (Similar to Grand Admiral Thrawn) my DM says I end up making dumb decisions. This helped. I hope to improve this weekend.
I never noticed how my paranoid and socially awkward rogue gobbo was pretty much the friendly one in the party (with a part of intelligence in it). Yes, he is paranoid with people he doesn't know, but he always tries his best to make sure the few people he does trust are taken care of. After all, in a world that wants you dead, you need to make sure that the few that don't, keep wanting you alive
I like playing ruthless characters. Not evil, but willing to do some pretty messed up stuff if it serves the greater good.
Sociopaths are also fun, but that's harder to do.
My assassins and thieves are always very helpful and friendly, at least initially and often for some time.
Great advice for playing an intelligent character which I do. I will 1000% be using this in future sessions!
I’m going to try Role playing for the first time this weekend. So this should help me my character will have a stoic/intelligent personality.
Great video! It helped me a lot with fleshing out recruit NPCs for my party.
Action heros should simply prepare themselves mentally, equipment and skillwise for whatever actions might be needed. They are ready willing and able.
My intelligent character is clever, innovative, ingenious and thinks outside the box. They think of workable alternatives that no one else but them could conceive. I would assign your what are the best options and what are the consequences of those options to the role of the stoic and the wise. I like playing the genius. DMs hate that type because players alternative plans that are outside the box spoil and foil their villains carefully conceived counter plans.
Bold of you to assume my party has personalities beyond selfish!
And how I wish you were right.
Fantastic topic! Wondered this myself for so long!
One intellegent thing a charecter could do is use magic mouth on a single grain of sand to make it scream profanities when it's exposed to sunlight/moonlight and the caster has the tips of two of their fingers on one hand touching to use as a distraction. No one would be able to find the source
Simply express the outcome you desire, then roll an appropriate attribute and/or skill.
Every game I just wanna be an edgy loner rogue for once, but I always end up being the token party glue.
tablemates just dont like working together
i play my "intelligent" characters as : they know stuff on specific field (scientist or else). Very intelligent people are often Akward or in their bubble solving the problems they want. Sometimes they aren't even witty or anything else. They are juste experts on their field and that's already good for me : )
My character's the grouchy guy. Everyone at my table loves him, because he's the party's watchdog, big brother, fall guy and wisecracker. The way one guy at my table put it is that he's a mix of Dirty Harry and Daffy Duck.
I was surprised when you describe how to play an intelligent character, because that's pretty much what I did when I played one. I felt like I was failing my party by not being as intelligent as my character 'should be.' I figured that the constant questions made me seem unfit for my character.
Though, I guess I should reexamine how I play my grouchy/angry/edgy character. I don't want to be disruptive, even if it is at times 'it's what my character would do.' I don't want to be that kind of player.
What do you think of Runesmith's video on making your character fun to play?
My favorite way to play characters that are smart is that they know most things. But are incredibly emotional. Throwing reason out the window in high stress scenerios.
They are not the plan guys. Because their answer to someone attacking the party
"HOW DARE YOU?! FIREBALL"
The non-claric healer who because of weird perks and feats i am almost always way stronger then what a Clarice can get
I heard tsundere when he said "grumpy outside, soft inside"
I think there is a very good distinction between being intelligent and being clever and I believe people confuse being clever with being intelligent
Great advice! I see this done both well and poorly in the different PCs I've seen over various games.
I once played a one shot as a Swashbuckler that was the party’s face and scout, but also a pathological liar. It was established before the game that the rest of the party knew about his flaw. I scouted ahead and then reported back, “There’s nobody in there.” The samurai, exasperated, asked, “How many nobodies are there?”
Swashbuckler: “...Definitely not seven.”
Interesting information, thanks!
Great content! Very helpful!
That intro made me chuckle :-)
A very helpful video. Thank you.
I am playing a neutral good druid in a party that just shifted. Basically the DM decided to Homebrew because he got bored with the adventure. All but two of us changed characters. Now, my issue is that one of the players is now playing a self-serving halforc (my character hates orcs. Wild elf just learning about all these crazy races, half races etc..). I'm just trying to figure the appropriate way to deal with the orc thing. He took slaves, my character is against slavery. He then traded them for food and water, something my character easily gets having the Outlander background. It seems like his Endeavors were pointless or to prove he is selfish and unneeding of anyone's help --not a team player. To my wild elf he is dumb and self serving and will most likely betray us and help the evil if it suits him. However, the party is just following along. I am a bit perplexed at the moment. I suppose, I should ask about the other players intentions and goals. I need to discern a good tactic in dealing with the situation as I would like to help the people of the area. Then then again my character would probally not mind if the halforc died. I am friends with the player, But my character hates his. 🥴
If you're friends with the player talk to them about the situation and see whether you can come to an agreement together about the direction of your rp together. Maybe a redemption arc, or for your character, the opposite. Maybe he fully understands the charter he's playing is someone that is undesirable and he's fine with knowing said character may get stabbed up by yours for betraying the party or just being an utter jerk one too many times. That sort of thing does require some buy-in from other players though so some discussion is definitely warranted.
This is really good!
Ran into an issue regarding one of my pcs being intelligent and not acting their backstory, working with my guys to resolve it.