Yoooo I have a similar one, it’s my fav build. A harengon/dhampir, poke-paladin build (using bags of holding and enlarge/reduce to smuggle them around in stealth situations and throw them into combat. My holy hand grenade, if you will
This inspired me to make a character who isn’t a chosen one themselves, but believes that one of the other party members is, in a similar way to Stilgar from Dune.
I love that in Fantasy High, they have half the party as chosen ones for their own factions/faiths. I mean, Fig only sort of, but Kristen and Adaine, definitely. And Gilear, obviously. Side-note: Aang didn't kill anyone at the North Pole, he was legit possessed by the ocean spirit. His body was basically just a weapon being wielded in that moment, he wasn't even there. He DID kill a buzzard wasp later tho
currently playing in a legend of zelda game where my character is the next incarnation of Gannon. the one chosen to cause chaos and destroy in hyrule. but due to shinanigans he wasnt raised with such intentions but the evil forces of the world want to make him their evil ruler all the while my character just wants to be a bard and has join'd the party to fight these evil groups. just felt like this was fitting to share here.
I like the idea of making a comedic character who was "chosen" for something but never sayswhat, but eventually he reveals he was chosen to say do the most spins in his life
I played that character once, it took 2 years for the reveal. He was a womanizer half-elf Swashbuckler-like character. His whole personality was a facade, acted like an impulsive fool with more heart than brain, always with a smile exuding charisma and very generous and passionate about everything. There was a bunch of new players on our group and I'm usually the quarterback on the table, but I was very tired of playing support characters, so I've decided to play the foolish inconsequential that make things happen so we wouldn't be stuck with every choice and keep them grounded. That was the extend of the character, I didn't wanted to lead, didn't wanted to solve every problem and manage resources, I just wanted to be the one that cause the headaches instead of solving them. But along the history the character started to gain some depth, he was very simple, just wanted to be around pretty ladies, proficiency in dancing made him a good asset to get along with daughters of lords as a dancing teacher, the night houses he usually visited were a good network of information for the party, he was passionate about fencing, tournaments, jewels, gems, fabric, well-crafted weapons, so he influenced the party to do something with the mountains of gold that started pilling up. Very insightful, often he could pick up on the changes of mood on someone and knew exactly what to say, several times we had a player with problem to fit or the character was facing a difficult choice (you know, warlock patreons making a character to betray the party, or a character have an objective that goes against what the party need to do, or simply can't feel part of the current plot). He would eventually do very flashing feats I made sure to always make his actions to be very performative, but not so much on the "look at me, I'm the center of attention", but more on "here he goes again... Keep an eye on him so he doesn't get himself killed, or worse.... expelled". But my focus was always to make everyone to have a good time and shine, talked with the players a lot to know what their characters wanted and like to grab any opportunity to make that happen in the most memorable way possible. Along the table, I built his background in short stories told in the downtime of the session and between conversations, and one day they just snapped together like it was meant to be. He had a lover when younger that didn't end up well, but both had a very strong magnetic connection that shouldn't happen, one of those scenarios of being the dance instructor of the daughter of a very important and dangerous magician, once they got caught, he fled with nothing but an earring of her that he always uses. Even tho I'd love to go into details of how everything played out, it's already too long. So just believe me when I said that I sowed the table for 2 years with meaningless stuff that the DM made blossom in one scene without noticing what he was doing. Let's go over two points... - He carried a scar on his chest (he was stabbed on the heart when baby and "killed" in a ritual, but he reborn from an archfairy druid of life that managed to screw up with that ritual and steal his soul to birth him again.) That story was told when he bed a high-priestes of a kingdom that was about to sacrifice their princess and for the surprise of everyone in the table, I was ready to kill my character putting an stop to that while the party was pretty busy with a lot on their plate and the task was pretty much impossible, so I told them to leave the city and focus on the mission and had my way with the princess to make the ceremony fail. Most impulsive inconsequential behavior possible. Would love to tell the whole story, since it's relevant but my character wasn't the chosen one there, I was very supportive to the party and end up becoming a king there while buying a fight with a cosmic entity, singlehandedly stopping a major ritual. ] - Tiamat sent a cult to attack my kingdom and kidnap my baby. [Homebrew scenario, Tiamat was sealed for centuries by 5 warriors and only their blood could break their seal, 60 years prior they killed the last remnant of them (my character's grandfather), but that didn't broke the seal, they needed the blood of one of them alive to do a sacrifice under specific conditions, another 3 decades go by until they found my character's family, things don't end well and he got saved by that archfairy, but he is raised hidden between some recluse woods that blend in with a subspace that enters feywild, (recluse without much social contact besides the fairy a lots of books, told to hid his identity and trained from birth. The books were to study on how to behave on society and coincidentally were books similar to works of Alexandre Dumas, with a lot of swashbuckler action and romance, so he crafted a persona inspired by those characters and once he was about 12, he left the woods to live among people, being alone for so much time without any contact with anything made him value social contact way too much and turn the mundane into extraordinary). But that failed ritual actually worked somehow, but not to the fullest effect. For a brief period of time, Tiamat influence managed to sip in the mortal realm and took possession of one cult member that was in charge of the ritual, that cult member became a very proeminent figure and had a daughter that became the vessel of Tiamat, a daughter with a very familiar description) So, yeah, long story short, my character was the last of a lineage of warriors that sealed Tiamat, for his safety and to keep the seal, he had to change his identity a live like a bumbling fool, but in doing so, destiny puts him in a strong affection with the vessel of Tiamat and makes her his muse of luck that makes his stabbed heart beats faster everytime he remembers her, and everything was unplanned, the only thing that was planned was for the character to be the "chosen one" of the current arc, but when the DM described the cult head and his daughter when the party finally met them... "Remy, you feel your heart exploding when your eyes meet her's... Her dark slightly curly hair contrasts with her fair skin that brings attention to a beauty spot under her left eye... You know those eyes... Drenched in malice and desire, feeling like a flame inviting moths... Which is a natural thought since even though they're dark as a cold ocean at night, there's a slight reddish caramel tint inside of them like campfire under the moon, she was tall with a fit body and you know you are both attracted to each other as if it was something supernatural..." I tried my best to keep a poker face, but I couldn't help but to have a big grim on my face and I was happy that rhe DM make that hook for my character. "-- its been a long time.... Lazielle... 13 years I believe..." And the whole table flipped, the other players were going nuts and the DM kinda got stunned for a seconds, very confused. So I suspected that I read it wrong but decided to roll with it anyway. *Remy tries to keep a brave facade with a large grim and letting only his passion, desire and longing for her to surface while getting very conflicted about what he should do, so he just kept his bravato.* " I knew that your father wouldn't forgive me for crossing the line in our 'dancing lessons'... But it's been over a decade, it's a bit too much to spend all this time tracking her daughter's boyfriend down!" And the DM's jaw dropped like a cartoon, he connected the dots and couldn't believe how things played out. He just aaid: alright, the cult master reaction was pretty much my reaction right now, her eyes almost pop with the realization and we are ending the session with that because now I have a loooooot of work to do. We spent the whole week talking about how unbelievable it was that this wasn't scripted. Tbh, this happened a lot, I was the quarterback of the table, so I was always looking for hooks and setting hooks, but that one was the culmination of my character. Even tho I wrote a lot of gibberish here, there's a lot I left out, but pretty much, before that event, my character bloodline was important to break the seal of Tiamat and the seal got weak 30 years prior to this event and she was gathering power and influence until she was strong enough to sense the connection between the seal and the key, but since my character was an hermit and never stayed for too long in one place, only after he became a king and got stationed for some years in the same place, they were able to track him and set up a plan, pretty much, just a maggufin. But that revelation put him as the center of a profecy, revealed his lineage as heir of an elven kingdom, put his muse of luck in the center or history (her figure was mentioned here and there sometimes, she was a source of inspiration for the character and it was his dream to meet her again). And for the table, it was implied that my character had royal blood, he was hiding from something, he was hoping to meet a certain woman and he was kind of sacrificed when baby, but that's it. Everyone knew about it, but no one expected for this to pay out in some way someday and I made it just to fill the gaps when I needed to make up something about the character. Our campaign lasted for almost 3 years, it was very important for me to make everyone feel good about the party and their characters, so we had a lot of chosen ones, so I couldn't say that "I made the chosen one that never talks about it and just pretends to be a comedic character", but I feel like it gets pretty close. I tried to make things shorter, but there's a lot of good moments and attachment. I've been blessed with good friends that made a lot of memorable moments possible, so I have a lot of stories about this group and every character in it, so it's very hard to try not to delve into details and paint the whole picture with every detail of a good master piece.
So, a character I've wanted to play for a long time is the standard Isekai Protagonist. For those not familiar, it's a trope in anime and manga where someone from Earth is whisked away to a (typically) fantasy world to be a hero, most commonly through summoning magic or reincarnation, often with the direct intervention of a god or goddess. Said character is usually granted special powers and sent out to defeat some great evil. How would you play that in D&D? Well, something many people aren't aware of is that pretty much all official D&D settings (I actually don't know any that aren't, but I'm hedging my bets) share a connected multiverse. People can and _do_ travel between different settings - in fact, the Curse of Strahd module specifically starts with a group of adventurers being transferred from their own setting (presumably the Forgotten Realms) to the Ravenloft campaign setting. Where this relates to isekai is that among the planes of this connected multiverse that all these campaign settings share...is Earth. _Our_ Earth. Elminster the Wise, the Sage of Shadowdale, the Great Oversorcerer, Chosen of Mystra, yes _that_ Elminster, canonically vacations at Yellowstone, and collaborated with Ed Greenwood to write the Forgotten Realms books. All of this is a long way around to say that, from a _canon_ standpoint, it's totally valid to have a deity summon someone from Earth into an official D&D setting. How do you make it work at the table, though? Well, first thing's first..."protagonist powers" is a standard of the genre, but you don't want to step on any toes. That one was easy to figure out - just play a Warlock with a Celestial patron, and the powers the god(des) gives them are their Warlock powers. How to avoid being the Main Character? Well, this is a world with many adventurers, and like many isekai protagonists, my character can be some loser nerd. They're genre savvy enough to know that they're _a_ hero, not _the_ hero. Go with the "reincarnated after an untimely death" trope, and now you have a character who wasn't "chosen" at all. A sympathetic D&Deity saw their unfortunate end, and the regrets they died with, and gave them another chance to do something meaningful with their life...but it's only that. A chance.
I think having a character that starts believing that he is THE hero and his character development is to stop believing himself to be the main character and apretiate the contributions of others as he takes this second chance he was given in stride could be a good and interesting character Of course to avoid stepping on any toes you would need to play it very well
To be fair, you don't even need to be a warlock, like normal humans don't really reach even a single level by 5e logic. So realistically, you could play any class
Concept: the chosen one is a whimp and a weakling, but they WANT to fulfill their destiny, because it's the right thing to do. So they look for people who are actually capable and happend to align with their goal (they may not even tell them about the chosen one thing). As a player character this would mpst likely translate to being full support, barely any offense.
My favorite iteration of the Chosen One is Evan Kelmp from Magic and Misfits (a dark chosen one, even funnier). Brennan Lee Mulligan gets a lot of praise as DM, but he's also a friggin spectacular player at anyone's table.
@@leoma2454 Several of my friend and I share a subscription. Dropout is encouraging password sharing and so far, is very much worth it for us. Not that I'm advocating for anything that will be bad for your budget.
I'm currently playing the 'thrust upon them' version; some poor kid chosen to be a sacrifice to their god, somehow survives, and kills their god in the process... allegedly. In reality, the god is still alive and contained inside them, and they've run away from home to avoid anyone finding out. It doesn't help that their society is still a cult, now centered around them instead of their old god. She's been hailed as a god since she was 12. She could really use a hug right now.
Hear me out on a character idea im thinking of. A chosen one, a child who was destined to bring their people into a new age, but as it turns out, that new age isnt good. It wasnt a prophecy, it was a warning, and his village is slaughtered where he then ends up in the party. The culprit of the slaughter? The BBEG. Of course you should talk to your DM about this, but this way you have clear motive to stay with the party, are technically a chosen one, but are by no means the main character, but instead just a survivor.
Another aspect I’m surprised you didn’t touch on more (given you spoke about ATLA) is Zuko. While not a chosen one exactly, the ideas around destiny play as much a role in his story as it does Aang (if not more). Except in his case it’s not following the destiny he’s been given, but instead how he turns his back on what he’s been told he must do. Which is already interesting an interesting story. But in his case he arguably gets his initial destiny by rejecting it. His “destiny” was to become fire Lord (after capturing the avatar, regaining his honour and his fathers favour to once again become his heir). He ends up rejecting that method, siding with the avatar against his father and….. becomes the fire Lord. Arguably (to steal another famous quote) he met his destiny on the path he took to avoid it. I think this style could translate really well over to TTRPG. Because by having a predetermined destiny, it may make players feel like they lack some agency because “this outcome must happen”. But this method of (for another quote) “all paths lead to Rome” means that players are able to chose how they get there and what that means in the world going forward. Had Zuko stayed to his fathers path, the world going forward would have been very different to the world where he joins the gang, despite him being fire Lord in both. Hell, not just the world but Zuko himself would likely be a very different man. Not saying you are wrong or that this method will always work, but it’s an alternative method that may work really well in some situations.
I played a character like this in my last long term campaign. He was chosen by his goddess to deal with the problem. However, in the forgotten realms, none of the gods are omniscient or all powerful. Thus, while he was called by a god to delve into the jungle and solve the problem plaguing the world, there was no guarantee that he would be successful. As we got closer to the source of the problem, his goddess was even prevented from communicating with him by the BBEG. He knew that he had his goddess's blessing and command to face great evil, but he also knew that going alone would be certain death. In the end, he did die during the fight with the BBEG (though he was resurrected through magical shenanigans).
While watching this video I had an idea of a chosen one character. Basically, ever since he was born, he was nutrtured and made to beleave that he would be the chosen one and the savior of a local legend of his village. That when he is old enough he would leave the village and (I still don't know what he'd do bug I'd try to leave it as abstract or open ended as possible so that it'd make sense for him to adventure in any adventure he's supposd to be played in). So basically, this character is arrogant because he thinks he has been told he would win no matter what for his whole life, and he acts like it, and during the adventure he has to learn that 1. Maybe the legend is just that, a legend, and he isn't as invulnarable as it was fortold, and 2. If he wants to make it reality, he will have to change because his arrogance onlyturns people around him and makes his achievement of his legend less likely. So eventually he may or may not filfill the prophecy, but if he does it is because he has grown as a person and not because he was destined to do so
You could play the heir of a conquered kingdom, and be destined to one day reclaim your kingdom. However, fist you must travel the lands and hone your skills, in order to become a warrior worthy of ruling your kingdom.
I once played a game in which my character being explicitly not the chosen one was a defining trait among the party of chosen ones. set in modern times, the characters discovered a secret world and were given powers, chosen by the secret world to protect it essentially. One of the characters was essentially chosen to be the world's representative at one point. My character, a druid while in secret world, in particular appeared to be especially attuned to the secret world, able to read the forgotten language of the land (druidic) and its magic. Around level 10 it was revealed my character was not actually chosen by the secret world, but instead there was a chip, with components from the secret world, embedded into his body that forced a connection into the secret world when the rest of the party was brought in. It was a technology that his mother had created because my character was genetically predisposed for great magic in the secret world, but for some reason the secret world inherently rejected their family. The chip also was built to help character defend against the BBEG, to protect him if the bbeg ever got his hands on my character. We used the chip to capture the bbeg so the others can deal final blow.
I do wonder if someone out there has taken inspiration from LoL's Poppy for a "chosen one" archetype. For any unfamiliar with the lore, the short version is that Poppy's weapon was passed to her by her mentor, and he told her is was destined for the true hero of their nation, so she seeks to find said true hero and give them their destined weapon, but her own humility prevents her from seeing that she might just be that hero herself. That'd be a neat way to do things I feel. Character is carrying an artefact or weapon that is destined for a chosen one, and they don't realize that they are that chosen one.
For another example of this idea of a chosen one: The Dune series. Is Paul Atreides the big cheese? Yeah, sure. But there's like 30 other people who are extremely important to how things work out who get plenty of screen time.
In a modern setting where we were at "Adventurer School", I played a "Chosen One" that was heavily inspired by Avatar. The way I ran her was she figured if she is the Avatar then she already had that kind of entitlement to the power and glory. In her mind she was Level 20 but in reality, she started at Level 1. Her arc was heavily about her learning humility and that shes not this all powerful and respected being...yet.
We had a chosen one story in or World of Darkness game. One of the players was a Caitiff and kind of annoying. But as a mixed group of Vamps, Lycanthropes and a Mage we found out she was "Special" and it turned out she was a lost Salubri.
The iteration I'm working with for my current character: My character isn't chosen to do anything in particular, rather they were chose to be the next incarnation of fate. What that means, how it affects the world, and how little it matters is something my character gets to decide on a personal level, in conjuction with talks with the party and GM. He's a literal embodiment of the concept of fate in a world where fate can be changed, and his fate is unchangable. so he acts as an anchor for the party without needing to actively do things to protect them. Which allows his chosen one nature to be a plot point when needed, and a passive boon to everyone in the party at the same time! more specifically, about the being an embodiment of fate: he's the embodiment of the ability to make ones own fate.
(Spoilers for Percy Jackson!!!) On of my favorites favorites chosen one is Percy Jackson, he's not actually destined to save or destroy Olympus, he's destined to make a choice that will determine Olympus's fate, and that leads to characters doubting him and even thinking it would be smarter to just kill him so it doesn't come to that. At the end the choice he faces is to give the only weapon he has to the villain, hoping that the person who shares the body with the villain (the guy who betrayed them, helped the villain restore his power in the first place and is the only who knows where his weak point is) will make the right choice and k*ll himself alongside with the villain.
6:36 - THANK YOU!! I have said that for YEARS. That said, you are 100% right about this video. This trope is a great one, if handled properly. How is it proper? When the ones who aren't Chosen don't feel left out. Or borrow from Dragon Quest 4 and make the entire party the Chosen and they NEED each other to succeed.
So one cool thing to do with the archetype is to have them be the facilitator of the prophecy by bringing together a group that does the deed. Not a main character but a “heart of the party” styled good person who keeps the party together. Dalinar kolin from the storm light archives is a good example of this but realistically you can work this in a bunch of different ways.
Designed a chosen one, meant to be a resource of knowledge for party but also a glass cannon, now my most anxious player gets paranoid anytime they're not near by...
My Tiefling was told that he was "the Key to fixing the eternal blizzards". However, Alibi (my tiefling) doesn't want that responsibility, so now he's trying to be a leader, but learning and making mistakes along the way
As a DM I had someone having what I call "Main character syndrome' where they always thought they were the only character and everyone else was NPC. I tried to get them to see everyone was equal but it never worked. Finally I did a chosen one thing. She smiled the whole time continued to interrupt what others said or did (like she did before). During a battle she shouted "I am the chosen one. I will defeat you". The BBEG gave out a sigh looking back at her "Do you know how many 'chosen ones' I have slain. Over and over she sends me more 'chosen ones' maybe she hopes one of you shall be it, maybe she hopes I will get too distracted, or maybe... she does so now since she has no other idea what to do. Now I will slaughter you like I have done so, so many other times. Yes, my dear you are chosen... chosen by a goddess to be slain". The party did escape (it was not his real form fighting them). It did humble her and her character right out. She still had fun playing and is still with the group, but it got her to stop seeing everyone as an NPC and more as others playing the same game.
I like to use the 'chosen one' trope as a macguffin for the story. A character that can be corrupted and threaten the balance of the world, and be passed around. It leads to chaos, splintering and lots of fun roleplay. He often stays in the background, afraid of himself which leads to a lot of emotional outbursts, which makes him very vulnerable to manipulation because of this fear, they tend to stay as a pacifist and often choose to ignore their destiny/ deed until it is absolutely necessary because doing so pushes them more to something they dont want.
I'm in my first DnD group, and our DM - who's absolutely amazing so far - has done a hell of a thing. Of the 5 of us, the DM has revealed things about 4 of us so far that makes it seem like we're chosen ones of some variety. My own character is a divine soul sorcerer who was treated as a chosen one against her will in her backstory, when all she wants to do - and what she believes she was chosen for - is help people. Our rogue has been branded for some sort of ritual purpose by a BBEG. Our warlock is stuck wearing a cursed ring and is seemingly being protected from that same BBEG by two separate gods. Our wizard is herself cursed and is apprentice to one of the most important wizards in the setting. Frankly, OOCly I'm waiting to see whether our fighter is gonna turn out to be somehow chosen or if their notable thing is gonna be *not* being in that position.
A chosen one character idea I've had is that there is a chosen one. He was everything that was expected, a shining powerful hero. And he rescued the character's village. Unfortunately for the victory feast no one told the character he was deathly allergic to peanuts. Now, at the village's urging, the character is trying to pretend to be the chosen one and just force all the prophecies to fit him even though he's utterly out of his depth.
I always loved the idea of the reluctant Chosen One. A Chosen One who has come to terms with their destiny certainly has interesting story merits (although a dare say that kind of Chosen One who either finds out they're NOT the Chosen One, or being the Chosen One doesn't mean what they thought it meant equally has interesting story archs). But I just really love a Chosen One who has to come to grips with what it means and if it even means what everyone tells them it means. I haven't made a Chosen One yet, but I did once have a character who was prophecized to bring ruin to all those around her, a ruin that would end in her death. Kind of an anti-Chosen One. She had to leave her people for their safety, but now has to struggle with the idea of keeping these strange misfit friends she met on the road. Should she leave to save them? Or are they strong enough to survive, or even cure her of her destiny? I never got to fully play play out her story, so I may never know that answer.
My current dnd party is sort of having a “chosen one” trope built into it. It’s a bit layered though. First, the entire party is marked out in a prophecy, of which there is two versions, one that says we will save the world and the other that we will bring the destruction of the Empire. So, sort of marking everyone. Then, we have our ranger, our monk, and my fighter, who has been marked by the storm god and have his blessing. The monk has recently left this service though, but without real consequences since that god is all about freely choosing and self-sufficiency. The ranger though is the one that is probably the most “chosen” of the lot. He has not just the storm god’s blessing but also recently got the dragon god’s blessing and further, has the interest of a more, shall we say dark grey aligned demigod. That’s quite a few gods. It makes sense for his character though and his character is definitely more of a down to earth and quiet observer sort of personality so there isn’t any ego there or main character syndrome from the player. As for my fighter, they kind of believe they are meant to take a more protective and mentor role than a center stage interest by the god of storms, supposed to be more a guide for the group. Least that is how I play it. They have more a sixth sense of “I need to be with this group because I feel that is my path” type of thing. Yeah, little meta but I play into this character having something of an accurate sixth sense about things and usually being right. So it works out. Kinda like those real people in life who just have a hunch and act on it because it just is usually that accurate. To be fair, the stats are high for both int and especially wis and insight and perception are high too so this isn’t played in a way that doesn’t make sense. Anyway! So “chosen one.” Basically the party is mostly “chosen ones” but also we carry different roles and it’s a general feeling we have built into the party that is basically the “found family” trope and the characters are mostly just trying to survive and protect each other. The general thought is that the prophecy is being made our problem, regardless of our opinions, because someone out there is going to make it our problem by believing one version or the other. So we just do our own thing and wing it. Lots of winging it. Been fun though!
One related trope i like is the false chosen one. He believes he is chosen for greatness and these random coincidences are a sign of his god. he believes he must accomplish the great task, but... it's not his fate, and at times there isn't even a great task to accomplish
Long ago before the spoiler squirrel, there was a voice over channel talking about how to play archetypes in TTRPGs. It was simply called Play Your Role
Honestly, I have way more fun playing the non-chosen one who's looking at the deepness of the trouble he got into by following Mr.MC. Like, there's something wonderful about a group of regular people who are at the wrong place at the wrong time to do the right thing, the slow change in mindset, all that. Specially that contrast from "The fuck you mean dive into the demon pit to get people's shit back? Hell no" to a reluctant "Crap, we gotta help don't we?" To finally just doing stuff without a second thought
I have an idea for a BBEG that was fated to duel some galant hero and instead got dropped by some random party of adventurers. But since he wasn't fated to die at anyone elses hands the universe keeps bringing him back so the "hero" can eventaully track him down and kill him, he would be trying to do enough good to gain favour so the gods would overlook his "past indiscretions" (horrible warcrimes) and grant him forgiveness once the new incarnation of the hero tracks him down.
My character in our five year campaign is a very traditional chosen one style archetype but he’s very much a pacifist monk inspired by Aang and the closer his destiny seems to get as we are coming to the end of our game the more he doubts his need to kill the bbeg. He also questions more and more who he is outside of this destiny he’s been groomed for since childhood and who he will be once his destiny is fulfilled. His actual story is more about his existential identity crisis and finding himself in a world much bigger than he ever saw in his monastery than it ever really was about the prophecy itself or the bbeg.
My first 5e character was a Chosen One, but it was explicitly a bad thing. Lords of the Nine can Choose Ones too. It didn't really work out, but that was largely because it was a new group with a lot of unsure players, and I had a bit more experience and Was Loud, so I ended up becoming De Facto Leader for a while. We realised during a zombie attack on the starting town that he'd become the moral paragon of the party despite being power-hungry would-be tyrant, when most of the rest of the party advocated for just leaving and Prince Arcan Suvora II, the Pale Butcher, was the one to step up and say "No, we are absolutely _not_ going to abandon these people in their hour of need." He was Lawful Evil, but he still did heroic things on the regular because he believed he could make his coup against his brother run smoother if most of the nations he'd have to break bread with afterwards viewed him as a hero that saved their people, and not just a violent usurper. So we had to retire him as a PC after that. His replacement was uncomplicatedly heroic, still ended up being the party leader (because I was still more experienced and Loud), and wasn't cosmologically significant in anyway, save for her unusual ability to punch out Chosen Ones.
Got dammit man! Your destruction on film anticipation has ruined me! And how dare you disrespect the creator of Ripley and xenomorphs! "A curse upon your house sir!"
I plan on doing a campaign where the players are all cursed to be the chosen-one/chosen-ones of every prophecy they run into, and it distracts them from what each of them actually want to do. So they band together to try to break their curse. I want to see if this sounds good before I start working on it too much.
I think the chosen one trope can work really well if it's discussed from the beginning, it immediately solidifies characters. Think of Yuna from FFX, within the world the characters inhabit she is the protagonist supposed to be the one to bring peace in their world but the player, the main character we play, has his own story that revolves around the chosen one. I can imagine this type of scenario working really well if everyone at the table is on board; a sort of "The person destined for greatness accompanied by the people who will make it possible" sort of deal. And you can double down on this by making it so that every character has their own role to play in the bigger picture: the royal guard who has served that person for generations, the mage who had a vision of aiding this destiny child etc.
The Shakespeare quote is from Twelfth Night (Malvolio says it) and it’s originally meant to be a naughty sex joke and nothing more (in the context of the play). It’s literally said to make the audience laugh at Malvolio for being convinced he is great when really his rivals have manufactured a situation wherein Malvolio eventually embarrasses himself. Always funny to me that the quote is used to mean something else out of context
Ironically, i missed the spoiler warning because I usually just listen, not watch, and I look for the spoiler warning when I hear the dancing squirrel. There was no dancing squirrel 😂
I actually am playing a chosen in a way my character's backstory involves point hat's sorcerer lich who is hunting my character down so he can continue to live and expand his own agenda i think this is probably one of the easiest ways not to make you the main character because you would always try to lay low but if the dm works with it it could be a good story
It's fine if your character is part of prophecy that is just part of the main plot. That way you can play with the whole prophecy concept for a session or two and then return spotlight to the rest of the party. One shot could also have character that runs from their destiny completely unrelated to the short story plot. It could be used as some sort of lesson the chosen one needed before they face their bbeg of screen after one shot ends.
I wouldn't say Gnar-Lee(my Harengon Monk) is necessarily a Chosen One, but he is a young martial arts prodigy who became a folk hero within the Domains Of Delight he helped. That being said he doesn't act like a Main Character, and when Main Character type roles is thrust upon him...he freaks out about it. Because to him he is just a young Monk trying to protect people from creatures like Vampires(while looking for his Vampire Uncle to finish what he couldn't when he was turned).
I wanna play a Sam to someone's Frodo so badly. I don't like having too much spotlight on myself, but I love being someone the person with the spotlight can count on. Tbf though, my other favorite character archetype (that I have got to play) is the bodyguard, so maybe I just like being a right hand man
One of the PCs in my campaign is a Divine Soul Sorcerer, and while their partial divinity is part of the hidden story plot, they are not the "Chosen One" on any sort of prophesied mission.
Also, in at least one Harry Dresden book, Harry is the only one who can finish off the BBEG, but he doesn't have the strength or power to take them on solo. The whole conflict up to that point is *everyone else* wearing them down so that Harry can give the final blow.
I play a character who is a chosen one, but outside of her element and trying to figure out what she's supposed to do, like the L'cie from FF13. They get one brief glance, and they're tasked with something they don't even know how to do. And if they do it, they turn to crystal and immortalized. Its a tragic fate for anyone, yet alone someone who has no idea what they are doing. I didn't know what her destiny was until I realized its to immortalize others stories and make people remember what was long past to inspire other great deeds, because her world is immortalized epics that need other people to remember the stories to exist, similarly to Neverending Story. You can play the chosen one and still technically be on the side of someone else's arc because they inspire your CO to do what they have to as well, like Aang. Without his friends, Aang would have never left the iceberg and the war would have been different because he wasn't there.
Oh yeah, I have a warlock character who has been inflicted with a prophesy and she's running from it, too. "F**k the prophecy, I'm outta here! " Now she's being hunted by her family who are desperate for the prophecy to happen. The DM loves it as it gives him a "Random family member "c" finds us during a ( not so) quiet bit of the campaign and tries to drag my char away, to much upset and protest from the rest of the party. Fun times.
@@malysyforethought1195 The idea I had was "You are fated to kill [insert important backstory character here]" they're thought process is "I can't kill them if I'm on a different continent from them"
@@relicking9207 both versions are good and rather interesting from a game play perspective especially if you take the difference between Fate and Destiny into consideration. I've always understood it as ' Destiny is what you get if you strive to be the best You you can be, Fate is what happens when you do nothing.' Running, in your example, turns a Fate into a Destiny and the Destiny might be completely different...
A character concept I have is based on a character from the game Sea of Stars (Slight spoilers so be warned) There's a party member named Re'shan who is the counterpart to the main villain of the game. He joins the party but his own code makes it so that he is not stronger than the other players and cannot intervene too much against the main villain. I haven't finished the game yet so I don't know any specific stuff that gets revealed at the end of the game. What are your thoughts on that?
My friend was interested in running a game using a Fire Emblem system, but system rules said one of the players had to be the "lord" role who needs to be protected or the mission fails, and was worried about that causing Main Character Syndrome. I told him to have the lord be a healer support who's success is based on their ability to make the rest of the party shine.
1. The Child of Prophecy..... the Hero... has died. But the Prophecy in itself has not been realized. All of you are ones who have been changed by knowing this Hero. Craft your backstories with great regard for how this Hero has changed your life. Unbeknownst to you all..... you are the reason this Prophecy will be realized. (Not all of you will survive). 2. There are two Prophecies for one Hero and both of them are contradictory. Everyone has heard both Prophecies. One group believes one wholeheartedly, the other group believes the other. No one knows which is true. Regardless of what you believe.... youll be in danger. 3. One Prophecy but MANY chosen candidates. Who is really the chosen 'one'?
That last bit about "except if they die at level 3" was pretty funny to me, considering my campaign had a tiefling warlock who died at level 4, and her death straight up caused the story's focus to shift to her. Not to mention she was also sort of a chosen one for her evil patron. The party is now level 9 (about to hit level 10), and they still have yet to get her back. However, she was recently revealed to be sort of undead and on her patron's side now, though under an effect that isn't quite mind control, but a little more sinister. Does this mean 3's the limit?
Something that has a good takeaway. The Warhammer 40k setting has a character with a destiny, one they know is coming. It caused them to be reckless, and take on odds that push them to breaking point even for what they are. It gets shown from their allies point of view and they get concerned.
My personal best example of "The Chosen One" who did not want to be chosen is Duck Newton from TAZ Amnesty. I really love his development and arc throughout the story! 💖
I’m sorry I’ve been distracted by your book shelf all video. How on earth do you reference the book on the bottom of the stack? Can your books not fit vertically on your shelf? An excellent use of knickknacks even if less of them and more books would be appreciated. C- bookshelf I’m currently playing a chosen of Sarenrae in a cyberpunk/shadowrun flavored game. She has no clue what her destiny is and very little clue of her true power. She is too busy feeding her teammates and trying to get them to not become Swiss cheese. She lets a lot of the other characters take charge. One thing I hope for her journey is that she learns when to speak up.
The second campaign of The Adventure Zone had a really cool spin on this archetype with one character having a destiny they wanted absolutely nothing to do with and having spent much of their life running from it. Explaining it without major spoilers sounds really generic; it was cool
"Or make a chosen one and they die at level three and that plot point doesn't come around until the end of the campaign" .....did you just spoil Critical Role season 2!!
I played a child of a prophecy but he was destined to be killed by a “hero”. Just thought I’d leave it here
Feels like some kind of tragedy about friendship and sacrifice
@@baonkang5990 it could but I wanted it to be more like “I’m fighting against fate itself”
Yoooo I have a similar one, it’s my fav build. A harengon/dhampir, poke-paladin build (using bags of holding and enlarge/reduce to smuggle them around in stealth situations and throw them into combat. My holy hand grenade, if you will
Sorry that I lore dumped into your replies
@@BoredTAK5000is the "hero" griffith?
This inspired me to make a character who isn’t a chosen one themselves, but believes that one of the other party members is, in a similar way to Stilgar from Dune.
I love that in Fantasy High, they have half the party as chosen ones for their own factions/faiths. I mean, Fig only sort of, but Kristen and Adaine, definitely. And Gilear, obviously.
Side-note: Aang didn't kill anyone at the North Pole, he was legit possessed by the ocean spirit. His body was basically just a weapon being wielded in that moment, he wasn't even there. He DID kill a buzzard wasp later tho
Moving into their next campaign, I felt like Ali is the opposite. She has such bad main character syndrome.
@@justcommoncurt they
He did kill a bunch of people in the desert, caused an avalanche that killed a bunch more, and I think there might be others
@@TheStarMachine2000 who did he kill in the desert?
@@kuno3336The people who stole appa
currently playing in a legend of zelda game where my character is the next incarnation of Gannon. the one chosen to cause chaos and destroy in hyrule. but due to shinanigans he wasnt raised with such intentions but the evil forces of the world want to make him their evil ruler all the while my character just wants to be a bard and has join'd the party to fight these evil groups.
just felt like this was fitting to share here.
I like the idea of making a comedic character who was "chosen" for something but never sayswhat, but eventually he reveals he was chosen to say do the most spins in his life
I played that character once, it took 2 years for the reveal. He was a womanizer half-elf Swashbuckler-like character. His whole personality was a facade, acted like an impulsive fool with more heart than brain, always with a smile exuding charisma and very generous and passionate about everything.
There was a bunch of new players on our group and I'm usually the quarterback on the table, but I was very tired of playing support characters, so I've decided to play the foolish inconsequential that make things happen so we wouldn't be stuck with every choice and keep them grounded. That was the extend of the character, I didn't wanted to lead, didn't wanted to solve every problem and manage resources, I just wanted to be the one that cause the headaches instead of solving them.
But along the history the character started to gain some depth, he was very simple, just wanted to be around pretty ladies, proficiency in dancing made him a good asset to get along with daughters of lords as a dancing teacher, the night houses he usually visited were a good network of information for the party, he was passionate about fencing, tournaments, jewels, gems, fabric, well-crafted weapons, so he influenced the party to do something with the mountains of gold that started pilling up.
Very insightful, often he could pick up on the changes of mood on someone and knew exactly what to say, several times we had a player with problem to fit or the character was facing a difficult choice (you know, warlock patreons making a character to betray the party, or a character have an objective that goes against what the party need to do, or simply can't feel part of the current plot).
He would eventually do very flashing feats I made sure to always make his actions to be very performative, but not so much on the "look at me, I'm the center of attention", but more on "here he goes again... Keep an eye on him so he doesn't get himself killed, or worse.... expelled". But my focus was always to make everyone to have a good time and shine, talked with the players a lot to know what their characters wanted and like to grab any opportunity to make that happen in the most memorable way possible.
Along the table, I built his background in short stories told in the downtime of the session and between conversations, and one day they just snapped together like it was meant to be.
He had a lover when younger that didn't end up well, but both had a very strong magnetic connection that shouldn't happen, one of those scenarios of being the dance instructor of the daughter of a very important and dangerous magician, once they got caught, he fled with nothing but an earring of her that he always uses.
Even tho I'd love to go into details of how everything played out, it's already too long. So just believe me when I said that I sowed the table for 2 years with meaningless stuff that the DM made blossom in one scene without noticing what he was doing. Let's go over two points...
- He carried a scar on his chest (he was stabbed on the heart when baby and "killed" in a ritual, but he reborn from an archfairy druid of life that managed to screw up with that ritual and steal his soul to birth him again.)
That story was told when he bed a high-priestes of a kingdom that was about to sacrifice their princess and for the surprise of everyone in the table, I was ready to kill my character putting an stop to that while the party was pretty busy with a lot on their plate and the task was pretty much impossible, so I told them to leave the city and focus on the mission and had my way with the princess to make the ceremony fail. Most impulsive inconsequential behavior possible. Would love to tell the whole story, since it's relevant but my character wasn't the chosen one there, I was very supportive to the party and end up becoming a king there while buying a fight with a cosmic entity, singlehandedly stopping a major ritual. ]
- Tiamat sent a cult to attack my kingdom and kidnap my baby. [Homebrew scenario, Tiamat was sealed for centuries by 5 warriors and only their blood could break their seal, 60 years prior they killed the last remnant of them (my character's grandfather), but that didn't broke the seal, they needed the blood of one of them alive to do a sacrifice under specific conditions, another 3 decades go by until they found my character's family, things don't end well and he got saved by that archfairy, but he is raised hidden between some recluse woods that blend in with a subspace that enters feywild, (recluse without much social contact besides the fairy a lots of books, told to hid his identity and trained from birth. The books were to study on how to behave on society and coincidentally were books similar to works of Alexandre Dumas, with a lot of swashbuckler action and romance, so he crafted a persona inspired by those characters and once he was about 12, he left the woods to live among people, being alone for so much time without any contact with anything made him value social contact way too much and turn the mundane into extraordinary). But that failed ritual actually worked somehow, but not to the fullest effect. For a brief period of time, Tiamat influence managed to sip in the mortal realm and took possession of one cult member that was in charge of the ritual, that cult member became a very proeminent figure and had a daughter that became the vessel of Tiamat, a daughter with a very familiar description)
So, yeah, long story short, my character was the last of a lineage of warriors that sealed Tiamat, for his safety and to keep the seal, he had to change his identity a live like a bumbling fool, but in doing so, destiny puts him in a strong affection with the vessel of Tiamat and makes her his muse of luck that makes his stabbed heart beats faster everytime he remembers her, and everything was unplanned, the only thing that was planned was for the character to be the "chosen one" of the current arc, but when the DM described the cult head and his daughter when the party finally met them...
"Remy, you feel your heart exploding when your eyes meet her's... Her dark slightly curly hair contrasts with her fair skin that brings attention to a beauty spot under her left eye... You know those eyes... Drenched in malice and desire, feeling like a flame inviting moths... Which is a natural thought since even though they're dark as a cold ocean at night, there's a slight reddish caramel tint inside of them like campfire under the moon, she was tall with a fit body and you know you are both attracted to each other as if it was something supernatural..."
I tried my best to keep a poker face, but I couldn't help but to have a big grim on my face and I was happy that rhe DM make that hook for my character.
"-- its been a long time.... Lazielle... 13 years I believe..."
And the whole table flipped, the other players were going nuts and the DM kinda got stunned for a seconds, very confused. So I suspected that I read it wrong but decided to roll with it anyway.
*Remy tries to keep a brave facade with a large grim and letting only his passion, desire and longing for her to surface while getting very conflicted about what he should do, so he just kept his bravato.*
" I knew that your father wouldn't forgive me for crossing the line in our 'dancing lessons'... But it's been over a decade, it's a bit too much to spend all this time tracking her daughter's boyfriend down!"
And the DM's jaw dropped like a cartoon, he connected the dots and couldn't believe how things played out. He just aaid: alright, the cult master reaction was pretty much my reaction right now, her eyes almost pop with the realization and we are ending the session with that because now I have a loooooot of work to do.
We spent the whole week talking about how unbelievable it was that this wasn't scripted. Tbh, this happened a lot, I was the quarterback of the table, so I was always looking for hooks and setting hooks, but that one was the culmination of my character. Even tho I wrote a lot of gibberish here, there's a lot I left out, but pretty much, before that event, my character bloodline was important to break the seal of Tiamat and the seal got weak 30 years prior to this event and she was gathering power and influence until she was strong enough to sense the connection between the seal and the key, but since my character was an hermit and never stayed for too long in one place, only after he became a king and got stationed for some years in the same place, they were able to track him and set up a plan, pretty much, just a maggufin.
But that revelation put him as the center of a profecy, revealed his lineage as heir of an elven kingdom, put his muse of luck in the center or history (her figure was mentioned here and there sometimes, she was a source of inspiration for the character and it was his dream to meet her again). And for the table, it was implied that my character had royal blood, he was hiding from something, he was hoping to meet a certain woman and he was kind of sacrificed when baby, but that's it. Everyone knew about it, but no one expected for this to pay out in some way someday and I made it just to fill the gaps when I needed to make up something about the character.
Our campaign lasted for almost 3 years, it was very important for me to make everyone feel good about the party and their characters, so we had a lot of chosen ones, so I couldn't say that "I made the chosen one that never talks about it and just pretends to be a comedic character", but I feel like it gets pretty close. I tried to make things shorter, but there's a lot of good moments and attachment. I've been blessed with good friends that made a lot of memorable moments possible, so I have a lot of stories about this group and every character in it, so it's very hard to try not to delve into details and paint the whole picture with every detail of a good master piece.
So, a character I've wanted to play for a long time is the standard Isekai Protagonist. For those not familiar, it's a trope in anime and manga where someone from Earth is whisked away to a (typically) fantasy world to be a hero, most commonly through summoning magic or reincarnation, often with the direct intervention of a god or goddess. Said character is usually granted special powers and sent out to defeat some great evil. How would you play that in D&D? Well, something many people aren't aware of is that pretty much all official D&D settings (I actually don't know any that aren't, but I'm hedging my bets) share a connected multiverse. People can and _do_ travel between different settings - in fact, the Curse of Strahd module specifically starts with a group of adventurers being transferred from their own setting (presumably the Forgotten Realms) to the Ravenloft campaign setting. Where this relates to isekai is that among the planes of this connected multiverse that all these campaign settings share...is Earth. _Our_ Earth. Elminster the Wise, the Sage of Shadowdale, the Great Oversorcerer, Chosen of Mystra, yes _that_ Elminster, canonically vacations at Yellowstone, and collaborated with Ed Greenwood to write the Forgotten Realms books.
All of this is a long way around to say that, from a _canon_ standpoint, it's totally valid to have a deity summon someone from Earth into an official D&D setting. How do you make it work at the table, though? Well, first thing's first..."protagonist powers" is a standard of the genre, but you don't want to step on any toes. That one was easy to figure out - just play a Warlock with a Celestial patron, and the powers the god(des) gives them are their Warlock powers. How to avoid being the Main Character? Well, this is a world with many adventurers, and like many isekai protagonists, my character can be some loser nerd. They're genre savvy enough to know that they're _a_ hero, not _the_ hero. Go with the "reincarnated after an untimely death" trope, and now you have a character who wasn't "chosen" at all. A sympathetic D&Deity saw their unfortunate end, and the regrets they died with, and gave them another chance to do something meaningful with their life...but it's only that. A chance.
I think having a character that starts believing that he is THE hero and his character development is to stop believing himself to be the main character and apretiate the contributions of others as he takes this second chance he was given in stride could be a good and interesting character
Of course to avoid stepping on any toes you would need to play it very well
To be fair, you don't even need to be a warlock, like normal humans don't really reach even a single level by 5e logic. So realistically, you could play any class
A sorcerer is also a good choice for “protagonist powers”
Concept: the chosen one is a whimp and a weakling, but they WANT to fulfill their destiny, because it's the right thing to do. So they look for people who are actually capable and happend to align with their goal (they may not even tell them about the chosen one thing). As a player character this would mpst likely translate to being full support, barely any offense.
My favorite iteration of the Chosen One is Evan Kelmp from Magic and Misfits (a dark chosen one, even funnier). Brennan Lee Mulligan gets a lot of praise as DM, but he's also a friggin spectacular player at anyone's table.
I so wanted to watch Misfits and Magic, but I couldn't afford it.
@@leoma2454 Several of my friend and I share a subscription. Dropout is encouraging password sharing and so far, is very much worth it for us. Not that I'm advocating for anything that will be bad for your budget.
I'm currently playing the 'thrust upon them' version; some poor kid chosen to be a sacrifice to their god, somehow survives, and kills their god in the process... allegedly. In reality, the god is still alive and contained inside them, and they've run away from home to avoid anyone finding out. It doesn't help that their society is still a cult, now centered around them instead of their old god.
She's been hailed as a god since she was 12. She could really use a hug right now.
Hear me out on a character idea im thinking of. A chosen one, a child who was destined to bring their people into a new age, but as it turns out, that new age isnt good. It wasnt a prophecy, it was a warning, and his village is slaughtered where he then ends up in the party. The culprit of the slaughter? The BBEG. Of course you should talk to your DM about this, but this way you have clear motive to stay with the party, are technically a chosen one, but are by no means the main character, but instead just a survivor.
Another aspect I’m surprised you didn’t touch on more (given you spoke about ATLA) is Zuko. While not a chosen one exactly, the ideas around destiny play as much a role in his story as it does Aang (if not more). Except in his case it’s not following the destiny he’s been given, but instead how he turns his back on what he’s been told he must do. Which is already interesting an interesting story. But in his case he arguably gets his initial destiny by rejecting it. His “destiny” was to become fire Lord (after capturing the avatar, regaining his honour and his fathers favour to once again become his heir). He ends up rejecting that method, siding with the avatar against his father and….. becomes the fire Lord. Arguably (to steal another famous quote) he met his destiny on the path he took to avoid it.
I think this style could translate really well over to TTRPG. Because by having a predetermined destiny, it may make players feel like they lack some agency because “this outcome must happen”. But this method of (for another quote) “all paths lead to Rome” means that players are able to chose how they get there and what that means in the world going forward. Had Zuko stayed to his fathers path, the world going forward would have been very different to the world where he joins the gang, despite him being fire Lord in both. Hell, not just the world but Zuko himself would likely be a very different man.
Not saying you are wrong or that this method will always work, but it’s an alternative method that may work really well in some situations.
I played a character like this in my last long term campaign. He was chosen by his goddess to deal with the problem. However, in the forgotten realms, none of the gods are omniscient or all powerful. Thus, while he was called by a god to delve into the jungle and solve the problem plaguing the world, there was no guarantee that he would be successful. As we got closer to the source of the problem, his goddess was even prevented from communicating with him by the BBEG. He knew that he had his goddess's blessing and command to face great evil, but he also knew that going alone would be certain death. In the end, he did die during the fight with the BBEG (though he was resurrected through magical shenanigans).
1:00 also they reference that quote in a Star Trek DS9 episode: "great men don't seek power, they have power thrust upon them"
Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.
For me it was all three :)
While watching this video I had an idea of a chosen one character. Basically, ever since he was born, he was nutrtured and made to beleave that he would be the chosen one and the savior of a local legend of his village. That when he is old enough he would leave the village and (I still don't know what he'd do bug I'd try to leave it as abstract or open ended as possible so that it'd make sense for him to adventure in any adventure he's supposd to be played in). So basically, this character is arrogant because he thinks he has been told he would win no matter what for his whole life, and he acts like it, and during the adventure he has to learn that 1. Maybe the legend is just that, a legend, and he isn't as invulnarable as it was fortold, and 2. If he wants to make it reality, he will have to change because his arrogance onlyturns people around him and makes his achievement of his legend less likely. So eventually he may or may not filfill the prophecy, but if he does it is because he has grown as a person and not because he was destined to do so
You could play the heir of a conquered kingdom, and be destined to one day reclaim your kingdom. However, fist you must travel the lands and hone your skills, in order to become a warrior worthy of ruling your kingdom.
I once played a game in which my character being explicitly not the chosen one was a defining trait among the party of chosen ones.
set in modern times, the characters discovered a secret world and were given powers, chosen by the secret world to protect it essentially. One of the characters was essentially chosen to be the world's representative at one point. My character, a druid while in secret world, in particular appeared to be especially attuned to the secret world, able to read the forgotten language of the land (druidic) and its magic.
Around level 10 it was revealed my character was not actually chosen by the secret world, but instead there was a chip, with components from the secret world, embedded into his body that forced a connection into the secret world when the rest of the party was brought in.
It was a technology that his mother had created because my character was genetically predisposed for great magic in the secret world, but for some reason the secret world inherently rejected their family.
The chip also was built to help character defend against the BBEG, to protect him if the bbeg ever got his hands on my character.
We used the chip to capture the bbeg so the others can deal final blow.
I do wonder if someone out there has taken inspiration from LoL's Poppy for a "chosen one" archetype.
For any unfamiliar with the lore, the short version is that Poppy's weapon was passed to her by her mentor, and he told her is was destined for the true hero of their nation, so she seeks to find said true hero and give them their destined weapon, but her own humility prevents her from seeing that she might just be that hero herself.
That'd be a neat way to do things I feel. Character is carrying an artefact or weapon that is destined for a chosen one, and they don't realize that they are that chosen one.
It also works with character death. Because whoever picks up the item may also be a chosen one.
I've always wanted to play (or more accurately, run) a campaign where all the PCs are chosen ones of some variety, it sounds really fun
For another example of this idea of a chosen one: The Dune series. Is Paul Atreides the big cheese? Yeah, sure. But there's like 30 other people who are extremely important to how things work out who get plenty of screen time.
In a modern setting where we were at "Adventurer School", I played a "Chosen One" that was heavily inspired by Avatar. The way I ran her was she figured if she is the Avatar then she already had that kind of entitlement to the power and glory. In her mind she was Level 20 but in reality, she started at Level 1. Her arc was heavily about her learning humility and that shes not this all powerful and respected being...yet.
Talk about GILLION TIDESTRIDER, from just roll with it. (For it is your destiny)
We had a chosen one story in or World of Darkness game. One of the players was a Caitiff and kind of annoying. But as a mixed group of Vamps, Lycanthropes and a Mage we found out she was "Special" and it turned out she was a lost Salubri.
The iteration I'm working with for my current character: My character isn't chosen to do anything in particular, rather they were chose to be the next incarnation of fate. What that means, how it affects the world, and how little it matters is something my character gets to decide on a personal level, in conjuction with talks with the party and GM. He's a literal embodiment of the concept of fate in a world where fate can be changed, and his fate is unchangable. so he acts as an anchor for the party without needing to actively do things to protect them. Which allows his chosen one nature to be a plot point when needed, and a passive boon to everyone in the party at the same time!
more specifically, about the being an embodiment of fate: he's the embodiment of the ability to make ones own fate.
(Spoilers for Percy Jackson!!!)
On of my favorites favorites chosen one is Percy Jackson, he's not actually destined to save or destroy Olympus, he's destined to make a choice that will determine Olympus's fate, and that leads to characters doubting him and even thinking it would be smarter to just kill him so it doesn't come to that.
At the end the choice he faces is to give the only weapon he has to the villain, hoping that the person who shares the body with the villain (the guy who betrayed them, helped the villain restore his power in the first place and is the only who knows where his weak point is) will make the right choice and k*ll himself alongside with the villain.
6:36 - THANK YOU!! I have said that for YEARS.
That said, you are 100% right about this video. This trope is a great one, if handled properly. How is it proper? When the ones who aren't Chosen don't feel left out.
Or borrow from Dragon Quest 4 and make the entire party the Chosen and they NEED each other to succeed.
Yep, in Final Fantasy terms it’s the Warriors of Light approach!
So one cool thing to do with the archetype is to have them be the facilitator of the prophecy by bringing together a group that does the deed. Not a main character but a “heart of the party” styled good person who keeps the party together. Dalinar kolin from the storm light archives is a good example of this but realistically you can work this in a bunch of different ways.
The fish spirit is a fish spirit, but not Aang. The spirit just borrowed his body to release his anger.
Designed a chosen one, meant to be a resource of knowledge for party but also a glass cannon, now my most anxious player gets paranoid anytime they're not near by...
I love the Character Breakdowns Jay, I hope you don't run out of archetypes to breakdown XD
My Tiefling was told that he was "the Key to fixing the eternal blizzards". However, Alibi (my tiefling) doesn't want that responsibility, so now he's trying to be a leader, but learning and making mistakes along the way
As a DM I had someone having what I call "Main character syndrome' where they always thought they were the only character and everyone else was NPC. I tried to get them to see everyone was equal but it never worked. Finally I did a chosen one thing. She smiled the whole time continued to interrupt what others said or did (like she did before). During a battle she shouted "I am the chosen one. I will defeat you". The BBEG gave out a sigh looking back at her "Do you know how many 'chosen ones' I have slain. Over and over she sends me more 'chosen ones' maybe she hopes one of you shall be it, maybe she hopes I will get too distracted, or maybe... she does so now since she has no other idea what to do. Now I will slaughter you like I have done so, so many other times. Yes, my dear you are chosen... chosen by a goddess to be slain". The party did escape (it was not his real form fighting them). It did humble her and her character right out. She still had fun playing and is still with the group, but it got her to stop seeing everyone as an NPC and more as others playing the same game.
I like to use the 'chosen one' trope as a macguffin for the story. A character that can be corrupted and threaten the balance of the world, and be passed around. It leads to chaos, splintering and lots of fun roleplay. He often stays in the background, afraid of himself which leads to a lot of emotional outbursts, which makes him very vulnerable to manipulation because of this fear, they tend to stay as a pacifist and often choose to ignore their destiny/ deed until it is absolutely necessary because doing so pushes them more to something they dont want.
its me, hi, im -the target audience of the joke… its me
I'm in my first DnD group, and our DM - who's absolutely amazing so far - has done a hell of a thing.
Of the 5 of us, the DM has revealed things about 4 of us so far that makes it seem like we're chosen ones of some variety.
My own character is a divine soul sorcerer who was treated as a chosen one against her will in her backstory, when all she wants to do - and what she believes she was chosen for - is help people.
Our rogue has been branded for some sort of ritual purpose by a BBEG.
Our warlock is stuck wearing a cursed ring and is seemingly being protected from that same BBEG by two separate gods.
Our wizard is herself cursed and is apprentice to one of the most important wizards in the setting.
Frankly, OOCly I'm waiting to see whether our fighter is gonna turn out to be somehow chosen or if their notable thing is gonna be *not* being in that position.
A chosen one character idea I've had is that there is a chosen one. He was everything that was expected, a shining powerful hero. And he rescued the character's village. Unfortunately for the victory feast no one told the character he was deathly allergic to peanuts. Now, at the village's urging, the character is trying to pretend to be the chosen one and just force all the prophecies to fit him even though he's utterly out of his depth.
James Cameron is just a great video maker, its best he uses proven stories
I always loved the idea of the reluctant Chosen One. A Chosen One who has come to terms with their destiny certainly has interesting story merits (although a dare say that kind of Chosen One who either finds out they're NOT the Chosen One, or being the Chosen One doesn't mean what they thought it meant equally has interesting story archs). But I just really love a Chosen One who has to come to grips with what it means and if it even means what everyone tells them it means. I haven't made a Chosen One yet, but I did once have a character who was prophecized to bring ruin to all those around her, a ruin that would end in her death. Kind of an anti-Chosen One. She had to leave her people for their safety, but now has to struggle with the idea of keeping these strange misfit friends she met on the road. Should she leave to save them? Or are they strong enough to survive, or even cure her of her destiny? I never got to fully play play out her story, so I may never know that answer.
My current dnd party is sort of having a “chosen one” trope built into it. It’s a bit layered though. First, the entire party is marked out in a prophecy, of which there is two versions, one that says we will save the world and the other that we will bring the destruction of the Empire. So, sort of marking everyone. Then, we have our ranger, our monk, and my fighter, who has been marked by the storm god and have his blessing. The monk has recently left this service though, but without real consequences since that god is all about freely choosing and self-sufficiency. The ranger though is the one that is probably the most “chosen” of the lot. He has not just the storm god’s blessing but also recently got the dragon god’s blessing and further, has the interest of a more, shall we say dark grey aligned demigod. That’s quite a few gods. It makes sense for his character though and his character is definitely more of a down to earth and quiet observer sort of personality so there isn’t any ego there or main character syndrome from the player. As for my fighter, they kind of believe they are meant to take a more protective and mentor role than a center stage interest by the god of storms, supposed to be more a guide for the group. Least that is how I play it. They have more a sixth sense of “I need to be with this group because I feel that is my path” type of thing. Yeah, little meta but I play into this character having something of an accurate sixth sense about things and usually being right. So it works out. Kinda like those real people in life who just have a hunch and act on it because it just is usually that accurate. To be fair, the stats are high for both int and especially wis and insight and perception are high too so this isn’t played in a way that doesn’t make sense. Anyway! So “chosen one.” Basically the party is mostly “chosen ones” but also we carry different roles and it’s a general feeling we have built into the party that is basically the “found family” trope and the characters are mostly just trying to survive and protect each other. The general thought is that the prophecy is being made our problem, regardless of our opinions, because someone out there is going to make it our problem by believing one version or the other. So we just do our own thing and wing it. Lots of winging it. Been fun though!
14:30 Jay was destined to be the death of film.
I figured i should say the anakin and obiwan thing made me choke on my chips.
Honestly, someone had to be the death of cinema, so I'm glad it finally happened.
There is no timecode at 6:50 for Avatar spoilers, they end at 7:35 btw.
Right now Critical Role is doing a great job with everyone being a part of being in the Ruidis story. I'm surprised you did t mention it.
One related trope i like is the false chosen one. He believes he is chosen for greatness and these random coincidences are a sign of his god. he believes he must accomplish the great task, but... it's not his fate, and at times there isn't even a great task to accomplish
GILLION TIDESTRIDER! The perfect chosen one who's not a main character. He's from Just Roll With It.
Long ago before the spoiler squirrel, there was a voice over channel talking about how to play archetypes in TTRPGs. It was simply called Play Your Role
Yes! New Jay Martin! Love this guy! Not just cause my life is prioritized as
1) faith
2) business
3)wife and kids
4)DnD
5) i dunno
Honestly, I have way more fun playing the non-chosen one who's looking at the deepness of the trouble he got into by following Mr.MC. Like, there's something wonderful about a group of regular people who are at the wrong place at the wrong time to do the right thing, the slow change in mindset, all that.
Specially that contrast from "The fuck you mean dive into the demon pit to get people's shit back? Hell no" to a reluctant "Crap, we gotta help don't we?" To finally just doing stuff without a second thought
I have an idea for a BBEG that was fated to duel some galant hero and instead got dropped by some random party of adventurers. But since he wasn't fated to die at anyone elses hands the universe keeps bringing him back so the "hero" can eventaully track him down and kill him, he would be trying to do enough good to gain favour so the gods would overlook his "past indiscretions" (horrible warcrimes) and grant him forgiveness once the new incarnation of the hero tracks him down.
My character in our five year campaign is a very traditional chosen one style archetype but he’s very much a pacifist monk inspired by Aang and the closer his destiny seems to get as we are coming to the end of our game the more he doubts his need to kill the bbeg. He also questions more and more who he is outside of this destiny he’s been groomed for since childhood and who he will be once his destiny is fulfilled. His actual story is more about his existential identity crisis and finding himself in a world much bigger than he ever saw in his monastery than it ever really was about the prophecy itself or the bbeg.
My first 5e character was a Chosen One, but it was explicitly a bad thing. Lords of the Nine can Choose Ones too.
It didn't really work out, but that was largely because it was a new group with a lot of unsure players, and I had a bit more experience and Was Loud, so I ended up becoming De Facto Leader for a while. We realised during a zombie attack on the starting town that he'd become the moral paragon of the party despite being power-hungry would-be tyrant, when most of the rest of the party advocated for just leaving and Prince Arcan Suvora II, the Pale Butcher, was the one to step up and say "No, we are absolutely _not_ going to abandon these people in their hour of need."
He was Lawful Evil, but he still did heroic things on the regular because he believed he could make his coup against his brother run smoother if most of the nations he'd have to break bread with afterwards viewed him as a hero that saved their people, and not just a violent usurper.
So we had to retire him as a PC after that. His replacement was uncomplicatedly heroic, still ended up being the party leader (because I was still more experienced and Loud), and wasn't cosmologically significant in anyway, save for her unusual ability to punch out Chosen Ones.
Got dammit man! Your destruction on film anticipation has ruined me! And how dare you disrespect the creator of Ripley and xenomorphs! "A curse upon your house sir!"
I plan on doing a campaign where the players are all cursed to be the chosen-one/chosen-ones of every prophecy they run into, and it distracts them from what each of them actually want to do. So they band together to try to break their curse.
I want to see if this sounds good before I start working on it too much.
Im playing as a kobold cleric who was mysteriously saved by a goddess for an unknown purpose
Ang killing people in the avatar-state doesn't count though. So yeah, he might have killed a mere few...
Note how Lloyd from Ninjago (unintentional or not) wasnt even the focus of most of the episodes in the season all about him being the chosen one
I think the chosen one trope can work really well if it's discussed from the beginning, it immediately solidifies characters. Think of Yuna from FFX, within the world the characters inhabit she is the protagonist supposed to be the one to bring peace in their world but the player, the main character we play, has his own story that revolves around the chosen one. I can imagine this type of scenario working really well if everyone at the table is on board; a sort of "The person destined for greatness accompanied by the people who will make it possible" sort of deal. And you can double down on this by making it so that every character has their own role to play in the bigger picture: the royal guard who has served that person for generations, the mage who had a vision of aiding this destiny child etc.
Even if it's only briefly discussed it also skips the akwardness of "you meet at a tavern" right away.
The Shakespeare quote is from Twelfth Night (Malvolio says it) and it’s originally meant to be a naughty sex joke and nothing more (in the context of the play). It’s literally said to make the audience laugh at Malvolio for being convinced he is great when really his rivals have manufactured a situation wherein Malvolio eventually embarrasses himself. Always funny to me that the quote is used to mean something else out of context
Ironically, i missed the spoiler warning because I usually just listen, not watch, and I look for the spoiler warning when I hear the dancing squirrel. There was no dancing squirrel 😂
You could be "chosen" but not want to be. reluctant leader.
I actually am playing a chosen in a way my character's backstory involves point hat's sorcerer lich who is hunting my character down so he can continue to live and expand his own agenda i think this is probably one of the easiest ways not to make you the main character because you would always try to lay low but if the dm works with it it could be a good story
It's fine if your character is part of prophecy that is just part of the main plot. That way you can play with the whole prophecy concept for a session or two and then return spotlight to the rest of the party.
One shot could also have character that runs from their destiny completely unrelated to the short story plot. It could be used as some sort of lesson the chosen one needed before they face their bbeg of screen after one shot ends.
I wouldn't say Gnar-Lee(my Harengon Monk) is necessarily a Chosen One, but he is a young martial arts prodigy who became a folk hero within the Domains Of Delight he helped. That being said he doesn't act like a Main Character, and when Main Character type roles is thrust upon him...he freaks out about it. Because to him he is just a young Monk trying to protect people from creatures like Vampires(while looking for his Vampire Uncle to finish what he couldn't when he was turned).
I wanna play a Sam to someone's Frodo so badly. I don't like having too much spotlight on myself, but I love being someone the person with the spotlight can count on. Tbf though, my other favorite character archetype (that I have got to play) is the bodyguard, so maybe I just like being a right hand man
Dude there was no warning for that Lord of the Rings spoiler what the heck?!!
Joking btw
One of the PCs in my campaign is a Divine Soul Sorcerer, and while their partial divinity is part of the hidden story plot, they are not the "Chosen One" on any sort of prophesied mission.
Also, in at least one Harry Dresden book, Harry is the only one who can finish off the BBEG, but he doesn't have the strength or power to take them on solo. The whole conflict up to that point is *everyone else* wearing them down so that Harry can give the final blow.
I play a character who is a chosen one, but outside of her element and trying to figure out what she's supposed to do, like the L'cie from FF13. They get one brief glance, and they're tasked with something they don't even know how to do. And if they do it, they turn to crystal and immortalized. Its a tragic fate for anyone, yet alone someone who has no idea what they are doing. I didn't know what her destiny was until I realized its to immortalize others stories and make people remember what was long past to inspire other great deeds, because her world is immortalized epics that need other people to remember the stories to exist, similarly to Neverending Story. You can play the chosen one and still technically be on the side of someone else's arc because they inspire your CO to do what they have to as well, like Aang. Without his friends, Aang would have never left the iceberg and the war would have been different because he wasn't there.
Hell yeah Jay! Rage against the spoiler alerts! Just speak your truth and if you "spoil" something, don't let it spend a moment on your mind!
An idea this gives to me is someone whose destined to do something and they're just running from it.
Oh yeah, I have a warlock character who has been inflicted with a prophesy and she's running from it, too. "F**k the prophecy, I'm outta here! " Now she's being hunted by her family who are desperate for the prophecy to happen. The DM loves it as it gives him a "Random family member "c" finds us during a ( not so) quiet bit of the campaign and tries to drag my char away, to much upset and protest from the rest of the party. Fun times.
@@malysyforethought1195 The idea I had was "You are fated to kill [insert important backstory character here]" they're thought process is "I can't kill them if I'm on a different continent from them"
@@relicking9207 both versions are good and rather interesting from a game play perspective especially if you take the difference between Fate and Destiny into consideration. I've always understood it as ' Destiny is what you get if you strive to be the best You you can be, Fate is what happens when you do nothing.' Running, in your example, turns a Fate into a Destiny and the Destiny might be completely different...
A character concept I have is based on a character from the game Sea of Stars (Slight spoilers so be warned)
There's a party member named Re'shan who is the counterpart to the main villain of the game. He joins the party but his own code makes it so that he is not stronger than the other players and cannot intervene too much against the main villain. I haven't finished the game yet so I don't know any specific stuff that gets revealed at the end of the game. What are your thoughts on that?
My friend was interested in running a game using a Fire Emblem system, but system rules said one of the players had to be the "lord" role who needs to be protected or the mission fails, and was worried about that causing Main Character Syndrome. I told him to have the lord be a healer support who's success is based on their ability to make the rest of the party shine.
I miss the squirrel. I'm not mad just disappointed.
1. The Child of Prophecy..... the Hero... has died. But the Prophecy in itself has not been realized. All of you are ones who have been changed by knowing this Hero. Craft your backstories with great regard for how this Hero has changed your life. Unbeknownst to you all..... you are the reason this Prophecy will be realized. (Not all of you will survive).
2. There are two Prophecies for one Hero and both of them are contradictory. Everyone has heard both Prophecies. One group believes one wholeheartedly, the other group believes the other. No one knows which is true. Regardless of what you believe.... youll be in danger.
3. One Prophecy but MANY chosen candidates. Who is really the chosen 'one'?
Yay another banger video!!! But not enough spoiler warnings - jk
The path of the One is made by the many.
Dude no spoiler squirrels? Why!!!???
😂 jk. Thanks for all your work jay
That last bit about "except if they die at level 3" was pretty funny to me, considering my campaign had a tiefling warlock who died at level 4, and her death straight up caused the story's focus to shift to her. Not to mention she was also sort of a chosen one for her evil patron.
The party is now level 9 (about to hit level 10), and they still have yet to get her back. However, she was recently revealed to be sort of undead and on her patron's side now, though under an effect that isn't quite mind control, but a little more sinister.
Does this mean 3's the limit?
Something that has a good takeaway. The Warhammer 40k setting has a character with a destiny, one they know is coming.
It caused them to be reckless, and take on odds that push them to breaking point even for what they are.
It gets shown from their allies point of view and they get concerned.
My personal best example of "The Chosen One" who did not want to be chosen is Duck Newton from TAZ Amnesty. I really love his development and arc throughout the story! 💖
I’m sorry I’ve been distracted by your book shelf all video. How on earth do you reference the book on the bottom of the stack? Can your books not fit vertically on your shelf? An excellent use of knickknacks even if less of them and more books would be appreciated. C- bookshelf
I’m currently playing a chosen of Sarenrae in a cyberpunk/shadowrun flavored game. She has no clue what her destiny is and very little clue of her true power. She is too busy feeding her teammates and trying to get them to not become Swiss cheese. She lets a lot of the other characters take charge. One thing I hope for her journey is that she learns when to speak up.
The second campaign of The Adventure Zone had a really cool spin on this archetype with one character having a destiny they wanted absolutely nothing to do with and having spent much of their life running from it. Explaining it without major spoilers sounds really generic; it was cool
I'm sorry, James. You were the death of all filme. 😔
But it is about the action. Maybe the chosen one could be an ally. The hero must do it. The spirit did it, not aang. Teamwork is a good thing.
no squirrel????
Great video, but I kept giggling because in the context of the play that quote is from, it's a dick joke...
Jay is the death of film. Ruined Avatar the blue monkeys for me. I'll be forever sad
1:15 I get that it’s a joke, but can we normalize plutonic love between men? Go ahead, kiss the homies goodnight.
"OMG Jay! You've ruined film!"
(Sorry dude, just following orders rofl)
"Or make a chosen one and they die at level three and that plot point doesn't come around until the end of the campaign"
.....did you just spoil Critical Role season 2!!
Bro just spoiled tlotr. Dose he not know I'm currently reading book 5 return of the king?
Non binary Film bro here: James Cameron sucks