How to Play a Charismatic Character WITHOUT Needing an IRL Charisma of 20
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- Опубліковано 21 гру 2021
- Playing a charismatic character in Dungeons and Dragons can be difficult... but it's not impossible! You just have to work with your DM to give them enough information to help you out!
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i love playing characters with high charisma that doesn't come from them talking good or something. like my current character has high charisma but they're not really good at convincing folk with their words, it's just that they're a nice person who sounds super naive and optimistic that people just go "sure i'll help this kid out" meanwhile another character i have has high charisma but it's because he looks so pathetic and sad that people just feel bad for him lmao
I have a warlock that died with the rest of his party we all made new characters, a deal the surviving party member made with an infernal. We all successfully completed the challenges to earn our parties lives back. I wanted to escape the soul prison by persuading the guard (who I made as my replacement character). Haunted one background feature is a god send!
I've got a light cleric in my backlog who's a barbecue pitmaster, and my plan is to have his Charisma (second highest stat behind Wis) come from it being very easy to make friends with people who you give good food
That's kind of how my paladin is. High charisma, low intelligence, he's like a happy-go-lucky puppy that people can't help but find refreshing given the dark setting of our game.
I feel like high charisma is fun to play and in fact all of the mental stats are fun to play around with, since there are so many different ways they can be played. Lots of types of charisma whether that’s just being a really genuinely kind person, being good at manipulating people, or something else entirely
My current character is like that too, he’s just seems so stupid (he’s a kenku so yeah)
I may be decently charismatic, but my character rolled a 40 persuasion last week, so I think I could use some tips on punching above my weight class.
Oohhhh boy, now thats something above my weight class too haha
how did you get 40 persuasion?
@@icebergen5384 Level 9 with 16 charisma and expertise (+11), Mark of Hospitality (+1d4), guidance (+1d4), superiority die (+1d6), channel divinity (+5). I think the actual number was 41.
That's how you convince a king to hand over their kingdom.
@@icebergen5384 I'm pretty sure it's possible to roll higher than a 60
a while ago my table started taking an approach to charisma checks where we roll first, and then roleplay to reflect the result. As someone with social anxiety who wants to play bards, this has helped me a lot. If I roll bad, then I get to do badly on purpose, which makes me feel better about it, and if I roll well, it makes me feel more relaxed and confident, which makes it easier to perform well.
I am an autistic person playing a (now) CHA 22 dragon-blood sorc (in Pathfinder 1e)... she is always the middle of attention, just can't get along with humans (because being raised by a dragon). Fits well into my own problems with people. But when talking to dragons she blooms into this talking wonder of self-confidence and it just works. She also gets along with kids of all kinds... must be the innocent curiosity of children and being around a person with scales and claws, that can spew ice and cast magic. Could also be her bit playful personality, that resonates well with children.
Awww that's honestly really sweet
I love the concept! Enjoy playing your character and hopefully your table enjoys them too. C:
@@Zennethe Oh yeah... she is one of my favorite characters and one of the party's melees xP
Oooh, that's something that might work for me, having that friction could really work as someone on the same spectrum.
@@quendi5557 It is a bit of playing ones (I don't wanne call it that but... well) weaknesses as a strength... just play a character adopted outside of his/her race who struggles with the customs of their "own" kind... works wonders for my dragon lady, who calls even every elf she meets "young folk" in draconic xP
Thank you, that is exactly how I do it as well, and this has caused friction with some groups cause I'll try to describe the kind of things my character would say and how they would say them, and they'll cut me off and tell me I HAVE to speak as my character and can't just describe it and I'm like... but my character is suave and charismatic and I am... not. So then when I inevitably fumble my way through the conversation the DM decides that unless I roll super high there's no way THAT would convince them of anything. And at that point I'm just being punished for not being my character.
So in this case, while the advice for playing the character is sound, it does require having a DM that actually lets you play that way.
I would suggest bringing up to them that because of how they handle charisma in their game, they're preventing you from enjoying your character simply because you yourself aren't charismatic.
If they blow you off or don't change, I'd recommend trying to find a different table/group to play with. You should be able to play whatever you want to play (as long as it doesn't ruin someone else's fun) and have fun with it. It definitely doesn't sound like you're having fun with it in this game because of how the DM is running things.
@@morsdraconis Ah well, "this game" was several games, and was also a few years ago lol I've since found some good people to play with and I'm not even the most awkward roleplayer so we're all on the same page. I'm just frustrated at how common it seems to be based on my experiences. As much as I love it, kinda wanna blame Critical Role for that one lol
Not to be judgemental or mean but your group sounds like a nightmare.
I had a DM with a similar attitude years ago, and I just couldn't persuade him that his approach didn't make any sense. So, in preparation for the next session, I dug out my copy of The Silmarilion and wrote out a gibberish speech in Quenya. When the next in-game opportunity came up I read it out, to the annoyance of the DM. "But you insisted I speak in character," I said. "It's not my fault that my character and the Elven envoy would naturally negotiate in their native language; it's your lack of preparation that's at fault here." It didn't end amicably, unfortunately, but it wasn't the only idiosyncrasy he displayed in his interpretation of the rules or the way he liked to play so I was already close to quitting. Normally I'm happy to conform at someone else's table, but any homebrew rules or playstyles have to be rational, coherent, consistent and balanced else no-one really knows what they are doing and the game stops being fun.
@@RichWoods23 From experience, there's never a reason to discourage either. My old group used to switch back and forth between improving the conversation and describing based on how intricate the conversation needed to be or just time. Even some of the conversations were barely dialogues. Some of us were better at it than others. As a player, I would step back and let others take the scene, or I might even engage a quieter player to force them into the scene if appropriate.
I think the biggest hurdle is just practice. The DM and players should definitely push each other to try, but they all need to only push to the limits of ability. You also need to be conscious of guiding the conversation. Helping to build up the skills and confidence. Kind of like singing harmony. You're doing the lead vocals, and I'm just matching to make you look good.
How do I play a high STR character without having enough muscle to deadlift a building?
Gotta get them gains bro. Get in the gym and commit so you can have the best dnd game possible
Get working
You can't role play a high strength character properly until you truly understand what it's like to have the raw physical power of a lesser giant.
Fake weights, bro. You don't actually have to be strong to look strong.
This is tricky and I'm not sure I agree 100%. Players have chosen to boost CHA and take Feats and even Items to help create this character mechanically. They should be rewarded for it. Giving the same bonuses to a character because their player is high CHA IRL devalues making those character building choices.
I absolutely agree with this point. After all we're role playing characters, not ourselves. We have to be the character, with all of its abilities and shortcomings, not just ourselves.
It's also why we don't ask players before athletics check to demonstrate how many pushups they can do. I would have the player roll persuasion first, then depending on result give them some starting hints to set off the conversation. Good roll = good hints = desired outcome. Conversation should definitely still happen, else it's just roll-playing, but use the dice to inform it first instead of IRL risk of never doing the dice roll at all. This pre-roll also helps keep charismatic players in line with CHA 6 characters.
The tendency for Charisma to be allowed to slide without a roll really hurts Charisma as a stat. You can safely use Charisma as your dump stat and just make up for it by roleplaying well. Yet, when someone wants to lift a big rock, they aren't allowed to do a benchpress to prove they can lift that much weight without a roll. When someone needs to jump a gap, they can't just draw a few lines on the ground and jump over it to prove they can do it without a roll. Charisma ends up being a conversation saving throw rather than a skill. When you fuck up the roleplay or hit a spot you can't think of a good way to handle, you stop and make a roll to see if your character can do it for you. If you play perfectly, you frequently never actually need to make a roll at all.
Even your suggestion basically just asks the player to learn how to be charismatic. A charismatic person knows that talking about the other person's homeland and relating to their customs gets their foot in the door to make the conversation progress... but a non-charismatic person may not know that at all. You end up with "I want to talk to him to get him on my side" 'How do you do that?' "I don't know, I try to be nice?" 'Okay roll a check then'
I prefer to leave it up to the dice. Yes, this has the "downside" of having the potential that you would give a rousing and impassioned speech and then roll a 3 on inspiration. But, I mean, you still have that same downside when your 8 foot tall minotaur rolls a 2 and fails to lift a rock blocking the doorway that you're sure you can deadlift in real life, but most parties will just laugh that off and say maybe he pulled a muscle. Sometimes you have to accept that this is a *game* and that there will be times when what you can do in real life does not translate 1 to 1 with what your character can do.
This comes to the matter of what requires a roll. There are some matters in the field that may not require rolls either for other stats, but when it matters or would be marked as a significant challenge then a roll should be made. So in the terms of charisma or other such persuasive arts, I would allow some degree of passive stats to come into play. Half of the art goes beyond words into the characters bearing and dress and posture. Trying to calm something is going to take a different approach to trying to scare or intimidate something. And honestly some people trying to be charismatic go to far to the point of "what are you doing?". So some degree of passive stat action should be made available across the board and assumed a take average or take 10 situation. Which would still allow high stats to shine as they would boost the passive score. Trying to bluff a guard or convince someone as to why you should have what they have should come with a roll even if it is a really convincing i am going to punch your brains out if you don't argument. The reason there should be described actions or dialog is for the of determining how the successful outcome looks like. That should be for any non mundane task.
I can personally confirm this can be extremely frustrating to play out.
I was playing a max Charisma character and someone else had it as their dump stat. The GM threw me a couple bones, but since they liked the latter's personality more, threw them so many more.
I got so frustrated by this I eventually became a problem player (it was also stressful times IRL) before finally quitting in a huff.
It is the same with charisma as it is with a rock. Its one of the biggest things people miss. INSIGHT! Just like you said. INSIGHT is a great way for the players to know/find out enough about a character to talk to them.
Maybe they pick out that they like jokes, or direct people, maybe they realize they scorn the poor, or secretly have a crush on the dutchess's husband. Depending on what they are looking for, once they know thia info they can talk to them and it usally gose well even for people who struggle with charisma because they don't have to guess at there motives or thoughts
The problem is insight relies on personality traits, something 99% of creatures in D&D 5e don't have. It's kind of a useless mechanic when there's nothing to use it on RAW aside from a select few named NPC's in adventure modules, which is why most people default to it as a lie detection skill since it actually gets more use that way.
WHAT A TIMING, GOOD SIRE! I was gonna start my *first ever campaign* tomorrow, and I choose a Goolock (my favourite). God bless me luck!
Ahhh! Good luck my friend!
Good luck 👍
I'd like to wish you... 'goolock' if you will.
I'll see myself out.
Slightly related, but the advice I give to new players who want to play a high charisma character, but not as a "sexy" character is that there are different ways to play up charisma. You can be friendly, sincere, adorable, fierce... usually the best way to figure it out is to find a trait that draws people in that would fit the character being played. For example, I played a warlock that was a mix of friendly and adorable. She interacted with sentient monsters like they were normal people and was able to help the party make powerful allies for fighting the bbeg. My current high charisma character is friendly with select moments of vulnerability, which has helped him recruit NPCs to help advance the party's goals. He's been fun to play and I really look forward to where the story takes him.
I think the easiest way to play high charisma is just to be polite. Just a gentle kindness and propriety in general is much easier and I bet a lot more appreciated by the dm than the shit eating grin over confident bard trying to eyebrow wiggle a guard for the hundredth time
To me a high Charisma doesn't always mean being good looking or good at saying the right thing. To me you just have a strong personality that people gravitate to in someway. You could be awkward or bombastic. Either way, there is something about your character that just may....resonate with the people. It could make them want to be comply with you or feel intimidated (depending on what they are doing)
Also the question of what is the situation where the charisma is needed, I am more likely to listen to a field expert than just someone with fancy words.
First off, love listening to this series keep up the phenomenal work, secondly I'd love to see your take on the fish out of water archetype hoping to get some insight on future characters of mine or npcs too
When I play high charisma, the character tends to have a scene of presence, rather than eloquent words. A paliden with such conviction in what he's saying, you don't realize he started ranting about cheese half way through his heroic speech.
I've been needing this! Thank you!
In my mind you are charismatic. You take great care of how to be respectful to the emotions of oneself and others. You're why you should play series showed me what the classes are really about and more importantly what storytelling and DnD is about: that it's all about fun. It might seem strange, but I didn't really realise it in this way. My characters were archetypes in which I tried to find fun before. Now I start with fun and build my guys from there.
You also helped me through a tough time also with videos like the one about representation or about storytelling in DnD and... well to get to the point: so much and even more.
Thanks for being here!
Stay heroic, everyone! ✊
Thank you for this video, I have been searching for a good video on this for a while. Love your videos
Of course!!! Thanks so much for the encouragement!
This is super helpful, thank you so much!! I'm planning on making a "wholesome rogue" as my next character. He's still a rogue, but his wholesomeness comes from his natural charisma and how he talks to people. Really, speaking to people is his default answer before turning to stealth and/or violence (it's his second highest score, sitting at a 15). He's very extroverted, very confident, and a smooth talker that knows how to get the information he's looking for out of people - but I am not one of those people myself unfortunately, so the advice here really helped :)
Something else I do sometimes is go down the deception side of charisma instead of the smooth-talking confidence I usually see with high charisma. I have a very quiet/reserved character with a 19 in charisma (warlock/paladin multiclass). I justify the high charisma because he knows how to pick and choose the information he reveals and when, and has a bit of a natural draw because people see that he's troubled and lost, and have some level of sympathy for him (Haunted One background really helps, hehe). All this to say that despite being reserved and shy, I can still justify his charisma since he's able to talk to people despite his awkwardness - the way he goes about it is just a bit different is all!
this really helped ! i will suggest this to my dm , recently been dubbed the groups face bc im playing a sorcerer but my irl charisma is like 6 :D
I am currently playing a bard with a silver toungue and have felt like I have had a hard time actually coming off as the type of person to talk his way out of any situation. This gave a lot of helpful advice on how to work with the dm to achieve this.
I think the way I’ve understood charisma is their personality and confidence. Even if the character is not typically extroverted, if they continue to act like themselves that’s definitely a form of charisma
This video helped me understand how to approach charisma checks differently, so thank you!
I play a bard/goolock who has the highest charisma in my current party, but he's nothing close to suave; instead, his high charisma is cause he's a weirdo and a creep, so half the checks I do are either intimidating or persuading via "funny words (magic man)", neither of which are my forte
Love this series and happy holidays! For the next ome, can you do the religious zealot? My PC was jusy brought back to life infused with the magic of Bahamut and plans on being very evangelical
I always play the charismatic aura stereotype just someone who exudes confidence in every action but this opens up a lot of doors for new play styles so thanks my guy :)
Love this video and everything else I have seen from you so far! One small request: Can you either boost your audio a bit or adapt the volume of the clips you add in between? The difference is so great that my ears hurt when people scream in them even if I don't wear headphones.
On topic: That's very helpful advice! I have never played a charismatic character (or a clever one) in part because I did not have the confidence that I can actually display either of these traits.
Using third person description of the charisma attempt is a technique we’ve used at our table, not just for persuasion but using those broad stroke descriptions with approach and end goal.
This is actualy a realy good way to help people developping their conversational skills irl.
My first character was a Divine Soul Sorcerer, and the way I ended up playing her high charisma was more or less that she was rather awkward at times when trying to persuade someone to help her, but was so endearing that they end up agreeing
I'm a simple man, i see Lupin in the thumbnail of a DnD channel, i click
I came for Lupin III's thumbnail, stayed for the content
I've been thinking about a classic series from way back when that had 2 high charisma characters, and their voice actors really knew how to bring out their personalities in fun ways. I'm talking about classic Reboot from the late 1990s and early 2000s, if your only exposure to Reboot was that disgraceful mass of tropes called Guardian Code then are really missing out on an experience. First off, there's the villain known as Megabyte, who was voiced by the late and great Tony Jay, who is this big, intimidating, highly intelligent, suave mob boss type character, which makes his moments of anger really hit hard; the other is Bob, voiced wonderfully by Micheal Benyaer (and briefly by Ian James Corlett, there are even a few episodes where both versions are active at the same time), who is this sort of Charismatic, hero-like character that has a tendency to make up plans on the fly and tends to try and come off as sounding like he has things under control or just be cool and kind of fumbles at it half the time.
Then in season 3, we have a great example of the dark, brooding, edgy character in Matrix, voiced by Paul Dobson, but what makes it work is that he's visibly trying to be that sort of character and his companions, and later some other characters, know it's a facade and he sometimes lets the mask slip. There's also an example of the Wildcard type character, which is similar to the Loose Cannon, but they're even more unpredictable, in the character of Hexadecimal, voiced wonderfully by Shirley Millner, who is basically one of the best cases of Chaotic Neutral you will ever see, she loves chaos so much that the prospect of everything being utterly predictable is frightening to her because that means she'll grow bored far too quickly.
Another character that seems to be high charisma is the virus known as Daemon, but it's very clear she's only that way because of the way her infection works on other programs, so she's more a High Int or High Wis character playing the part of a charismatic figure through mass control of others.
And yes, I know that portraying character a certain way is usually easier on television or in a movie than at the table, mostly because the majority of the character's actions and lines are usually written out in the script for the actors to know when to say and do certain actions, the table usually doesn't have those prompts and usually, the info for your character is in your own notes and head when it's your character. But you can still turn to these as inspirations or ideas on how to work your characters in certain ways.
I really miss this kind of depth in performance and characterisation. Especially examples of "double layer" where performance shows that character really tries to come off as one type when underneath they are different and you can hear it in delivery of their voice lines - as mentioned above Matrix and Daemon. Especially Daemon which comes off as a High Queen / High Priestess character but her voice really plays up that unnatural mechanical uncanny valley of how she talks instantly making you feel that something is very very wrong and her 100% approval rating from her followers is in no way natural at all.
Hi, love your content! I have an idea for a video topic that is relevant to me right now: How to pick which character concept to play when you have multiple that you have like equally?
Assign a number to each one and roll a die.
I have ADHD, and what you said really resinates with me, as I might spontaneously have the perfect one-liner, but will forget that one crutial word that flubs the delivery. So knowing that I can say "he wants to ask about this" will really help ease off the tension.
I generally play an open charismatic character who's, well, intermediate but still not bad, so, when I have problems I ask the DM 'How could I say Y or achieve X' because I know my character is more sociable than me. Generally though, I rp it, then I roll, and they know I'm not 100% pulling it off like I could but it's still fine, because we know how she's saying it.
Being honest, the higher charisma in her is just her being open and extroverted, and that's an fun way for me to step out of my shell because I tend to get in the backseat and stop rping as soon as multiple people are involved. Other than that I convey her as confident and optimistic, and just let her speak. Because when I get into her character I tell myself 'I can do this!' and I tell myself 'Ooh I'm curious about other people' and I tell myself 'I want to be the best author I can be! MY texts WILL become famous across all of Aventuria!'
That works for me, because I kinda convince myself that I'm my role anyways, telling myself I feel this and that and then believing in it for a little amount of time. But maybe that doesn't work for everyone, so...
Sorry for my babble.
what is this, roleplaying? in my tabletop roleplaying game? i won’t stand for it!
anyways, love the video. i’m reminded of how “combat” isn’t just one roll: you can’t just roll your combat skill and beat the bad guy, you still have to analyze the field and figure out what the best play is. i’m reminded of i think matt colville saying “you cannot roll dice to avoid playing the game”
One idea that is brought up in one of the supplements for Black Crusade is the idea of social combat, which allows one to engage in a debate or a court audience as if it were a fight, but one which revolves around your Fellowship and Willpower instead of your Weapon Skill and Ballistic Skill.
It's an innovative idea, and I wish it were something that more systems used!
Totaly agree with you, I'm doing the same in my games. Going back to comparing Charisma checks to Strength checks, pushing rock up the hill is a higher DC than pushing the same rock down the hill. Same with charisma - you need to know how the PC approaches their target to understand how dificult that would be.
That's a great video. I have a bard in my party with a roleplay shy attitude toward the game. It's okay. I ask them howthat want to persuade and all. IF they role play it, I give advantage. But I'll never tell them it's because they've roleplay it. I just say that "your word rings true to that npc, Roll blablabla check with advantage".
I used to be somewhat shy and have a stutter in my early teens. Playing RPGs was definitely one of the things that taught me to get better at communicating, helping me become more confident in social situations and reduce my stuttering to boot. Just keep playing the game, gradually trying to improve your dialogue and interpretation, and you'll be able to play charismatic characters confidently in no time!
Unfortunately, I built a character to have an absurd bonus to persuasion (+10 +13 on lvl up)
But I am horribly awkward and have to role play everything instead of use my stats, which is frustrating
You don't have to role play it. The rules are in the book. Just say "I am using my CHA to perform this feat." Just like using STR to lift a rock or CON to rack up the HP.
@@vincejester7558 And then they say "I'm the DM". Some people just choose to run a bad table or are too incompetent to run a good one.
I know the feeling. Honestly there is a happy middle here where you get to roleplay to the best of your abilities and then you get to roll. If you roll high, maybe the other party thinks that your somewhat awkward conversation is concealing a hidden threat and they are intimidated, or maybe they think you're bumbling along is endearing and they think you are sweet and charming.
Something I struggle with is playing badass, self-assured characters. One for a Dungeon Planet/World campaign turned out to be an absolute herbo, which I loved. But my current one in a D&D campaign went from an envisioned “stoic, cranky but experienced grandma mercenary fighter kobold” to more foul-mouthed and comic relief, which I feel mixed about. I feel this video helps with some of that (ex. telling the DM “I want character to say XYZ, how could I approach that”), tho wonder if a video could be made on that archetype? Being a badass while being flawed (since I do like that my characters have flaws)?
New sub here, I would love if you made a video about a veteran/old character in DnD
Just this last weekend I was playing my extremely charismatic character, +21 to diplomacy. I actually wrote a short speech which was a call to action from a neutral character who might have very well been willing to work with us. The DM was impressed and had me give a roll and it comes up with a natural 1. It was disheartening for a moment but then another player added the description of how my character must have been acting while giving the speech and it turned it into a hilarious scene that everyone laughed at.
Adding description of how the character says this is good advice.
Hi! I was wondering if there was a way to cover overly paranoid/cautious characters? I get all the extra cautions and all, just seeing if it can be pulled off without being too... yeah.
Okay I was blown away by your implementation of VeggieTales Best Christmas Ever
My favourite twist on all of this was making a bard who's main focus was intimidation rather than persuasion or performance. Lotta fear spells, college of swords w/ warcaster for booming blades, it was a fun build in combat and in roleplay.
Thank you so much for this video...It has helped me! I wanted to play something else but my husband (DM for his group) convinced me to play a mf BARD, of all things...I'm not charismatic at all in real life so I've been struggling with it.
Literally woke up this morning and thought “maybe I should request this”
one of the best decisions ive made as a dm is they can talk and do persuasion without rolling and the die unless they are lying OR trying to convince someone of something the actual roll dosent tell how charismatic they are it tells how the person reacto to what they say
In my opinion the most important thing when trying to role play a suave or charismatic character is to play up the personality of the character. Getting a good idea of your characters personality, and displaying it gives the other players at the table a sense of what your character is like along with how it fits into the game as a whole. With this kind of approach you don't actually need to be charismatic as all you need to do is make the personality of your character as obvious as humanly possible and then let it do all the work. Giving your characters accents or changing your tone of voice is also amazingly helpful to pulling this off.
For example if I wanted to play the hyper intelligent schemer archetype you could mention your characters near constant smirk on his face, and have your character preform a variety of non-verbal jesters to indicate deep thought and analysis of the situation. In terms of the verbal side I advise giving such a character a way of speaking which poses a lot of questions, and asking tons of questions yourself in your normal speech and even answering your own questions is exactly what you should be doing all the time with such a character. As for the way of speaking I would give my character a calmer, soothing, and even slightly feminine way of speaking adding in a French or English accent to really give a sense of whimsy from your characters voice. Of course you can do whatever you want, but this should give you the general formatting of how to play a characters personality to extreme levels simply change out certain parts whilst adding or removing certain parts to match your character and table.
I'm so glad I've taken acting classes for exactly these types of situations. Fake it till you make it. 😅
My very first character was a classic charming rogue figure. I'd say I'm a decently charismatic person in real life however in my first voyage into dnd I was slightly less so especially since I was new to the game and RP took some time to get used to. Now on my 2nd campaign I decided to play a character that happens to be not very charismatic and I try to really accentuate this through awkward behaviors while not trying to force it. Lot of subtleties. While it is enjoyable I now know that I am dying to try another character that has a good charisma so I can really play up the fact they are influential
I think that clip was a great example of when not to require a roll.
An ad for Scream came on right after the Princess Bride clip, and I spent way too long trying to figure out what a girl getting stabbed in her house had to do with Charisma
I’m not a charismatic person, I stutter and go “uh” and “um” in normal conversations that I start. But I made a Shadowrun character that was a Face, he could probably scam a Dragon out of half their companies and get away scot free.
The best story I have of him was when we were tasked with going to an underground brothel to retrieve some rich dudes daughter. So I head inside with my muscle and the caster in my van in case things go south, I’m in a fancy suit trying to pass myself off as someone from a corporation. I walk in, ask about the girl, and the ticketer (for lack of a better term) tells me they were sold off to someone, but I can take a look around where they were held. The whole time I’m walking to this room, I’m just muttering under my breath “this whole trip has been a waste of my and corporate’s time.” By the time I left the room the girl was held, everyone had just scattered, the place was empty. I felt incredibly powerful just because I said the right thing in the right way, I could still die to a single bullet to the stomach I was that weak, but my words held so much weight in that one instance and it was phenomenal. I didn’t need to roll for intimidation by saying that under my breath, I was just saying it IRL and the DM loved it and had everyone piss scared.
Very good and interesting video
I can't focus on it because those bloddy white dots are in there and I thought my screen was broken for a solid minute or two AHHHHHH
I fricking love deception.
*My bards mislead duplicate , approaching a the dragon that we tricked into hitting its head hard against a mountain*: hello young chap, I’ve come seeking the mighty dragon rumored to lair amongst these mountains.
Frandelegor charred scale: you mean the great FRANDELEGOR CHARRED SCALE!?
Me: yup , can you point me in the right direction?
Frandelegor: it is I
Me: ohh, wrong person I’m looking for a dragon
Frandelegor: uh , yeah
Me: so yeah, where is he ?
Frandelegor: I’m right here, it’s me, the dragon
Me: then why do you have red draconic scales ……… just like a kobald?
Frandelegor: cuz there modeled after dragons
Me: then why do you look like a winged kobald?
Frandelegor: cuz that what dragons look like* large bump on its head still visible*
Me: really , well I’ve heard that a dragons roar can send all who hear it shivering in fear!
Frandelegor: ENOUGH, ILL SHOW YOU MY POWER ! * roars loudly and the mountain shakes*
Me: uh, so go ahead * unaffected because it’s an illusion *
Frandelegor: uh….. wait, wait wait, ……,. What?
Me : see, not a dragon. I also heard a dragons breath is hot enough to burn a grown women to ash, so do it if your really a dragon, and not just a kobald. And you really shouldn’t be eating those mushrooms, there not good for you. * Druid casts illusionary terrain to make generic magic drug looking mushrooms in the cavern*
Frandelegor: TRICKERY!!! ILL BURN YOU TO ASH!!! * unleashed a mighty inferno of napalm, rocks melt from the heat. The smoke and ash settle and my illusion is completely fine*
Me: I mean I get kobalds live pretty long, but I was hoping you’d get to it , like, today. So go ahead and show me that fire breath of yours.
Frandelegor * visibly confused and a bit scared* : na, na, no…… WHAT! That, that’s supposed to work…… * choking up a little* how?
Me: I’m telling you man, those mushrooms are not healthy for you
Frandelegor: I ……… I……. There’s no way your right. I…… I’m …. Not a kobald. No….
Me: I heard a dragons claws can squish a person into pulp
Frandelegor rears back his claws and smashes the illusion with a mighty slam, and lifts his arms to see the illusion is fine*
Frandelegor is choking up now
: i ……. I’m a dragon….. not a kobald , not a kobald, not a kobald!
* gingerly waves his hand through the illusion *
IM A KOBALD !!!!!!!! * begins sobbing*
Me: hey, there there. I know a way for kobalds to become dragons though.
Frandelegor: you, you do?
Me: yes, there’s this * describes the mantle of spell resistance and the BBEG that wears it in close detail* … so if you can grab that and fly back here with it, I can use the magic that he stored I it to turn you into a real dragon.
Frandelegor: ohh absolutely, thank you so much* flies of with tears in his eyes to brutalize the BBEG for us and steal his mantle of spell resistance from him while we loot his hoard *
New objective: Gaslight a dragon.
@@aboredprophet8128 yup, it’s evil so it’s fine. It’s better then killing him, well that’s the way my character sees it
How do you deal with charismatic players that min-maxed their charisma stat to a very low number, to boost others stats and when it comes to tricky conversations they just compensate their lack of stats with a good in-game speech trying to avoid the roll?
sorry for any language mistakes - I'm german
treat the character as if he is charismatic, but has a manner, a tick... something that ticks people off, something that keeps people on their toes, when they deal with this character. Charisma is not only good looks or good speech... it is a factor of how likely are other characters to treat this character in a positive way... no good speak and no good looks make up for a gloomy emanation of trouble and doom, that radiates from a character... like these persons, that you look to and you think: this person means trouble
This is super informative, but I need to ask, what if the DM doesn't actually do this and is pretty adamant about everyone speaking out about what they want to do? This is great advice, but it seems like it can only work if the DM is on-board.
I think there's a difference between charismatic and persuasive. I agree you have to talk concretely and describe what you're on about, not just randomly roll. Our party had a situation where we had to cross a border to fulfill a mission. Border watchmen weren't aware of it, so the Bard had to step in and calmly explain they were a ranking officer and got this one task related to national security, showed ID, maps, said the party was on a tight schedule.. GM said to roll for Persuasion and with a total of 15 Bard just barely made it. Personally, I'm 90% sure the DC was higher but the GM changed it on the fly.
A tip I was told years ago for character creation plays well towards Charisma and role playing. When creating a character have someone in mind, you will know how they act and what they should say. This should influence your choices and the interactions you may wish to do. Example Joker from Batman as a Tiefling Warlock, with some minor changes to not be so ... abrasive (a teenaged bumbling idiot) and you can have an enjoyable character that the entire table can laugh and have fun with.
What if the GM handles conversations differently? Would this still apply at all?
I've played two characters with a fair decent charisma, both of which tended towards formality and politeness. I usually said their lines aloud, but my health isn't the best so when my brain would get foggy I'd do exactly what you said and give an approximation of what I wanted to say. It was a bit embarrassing at first, since no one else I've played with has ever really done that, but the DM was great and it worked out.
I love playing charismatic characters, one of the best things about them are the little conflicts between them and their team members who used them as their dump stat.
Warlock, to a crowd of refugees: Everything is fine, we will take care of everything. You have nothing to fear.
Cleric: I died in the last fight.
Warlock, through gritted teeth: As I said, everything is f i n e.
Thx, because my real life charisma probably has a negative 20 modifier (yup, MODIFIER)
Ive also met players who have an inverse problem, being very charismatic people playing uncharismatic characters, and they dont realize they need to turn that charm off if they want to play the charisma of their character that way... i think a great example of someone solving this problem is Sam Riegel playing Nott, he uses his own high charisma to know exactly what behaviours Nott needs to fuck it up.
My go to for letting a roll slide s pretty simple: If I catch myself not realizing they are lying for a few seconds it's probably a good enough lie
looking at that white pixel a little to the left of centre like 👀
I love this channel, ive watched a good amount of your videos but I certainly haven't caught 100%. So coming from a place of ignorance...
WTF IF UP WITH THE BEANS LINE IN THE INTRO CARD AQSDF FJGKG IM DEAD
Funny story about this, I was playing a home brew where a pc, gang affiliated Harion druid, threatened my pc's home, human bard.
I went to scare them off using my gun and minor illusion to make the door they came in disappear to their eyes, didn't need to role cause half way through my speaking the DM had to stop me cause I legitimately scared the PC
Honestly I feel like you could play something like an Orc Bard who's charismatic when he wants to get his equals to charge into battle or something like that but doesn't know diplomatic social situations.
I imagine charismatic characters as those people who can have control of a room by themselves
I feel like every character I end up doing, the DM(who is my boyfriend) always assume they'll be very intelligent and charismatic, so sometimes I just like to play a himbo.
I've never had a DM demand that I demonstrate how to pick a lock before allowing me to roll Open Locks. Why are charisma skills treated differently than ALL the other skills?
I’d say you have at least a +3 charisma modifier
I think its especially fun to mess around with how high or low charisma characters interact. Mostly through their own self-image and confidence. I play very confident low charisma characters, that tend to not really be mindful of what they are saying. They still talk, but they're not convincing or come across rather rude or tend to not know how to get people to like them. They could be a touch more self-involved, forgetting to involve others in dialogue and just spewing clinical dialogue rather dryly. My high charisma character, even ones without high wisdom, do the opposite. They could be extremely not self confident, looking for others to connect to and learn from. Figuring out how they feel helps feed into how they feel. Most charismatic people I find, like Bo Burnham and the likes, can make fun of themselves and let people know that they're not perfect either to find common ground. Just because you're charismatic doesn't mean you're confidant, always worrying about how other people see you and needing to compensate for it. Impostor Syndrome and biting off more than you can chew is exactly the type of things real world charismatic people do. Just because its your face doesn't mean you're not bullshitting your way through life and wondering if what you did what was right. There's a face behind the charm and it can be really fun playing around with it
Goodness I could have used this for the second character I ever played. Her name was Thelyera (Thel for short) and she was a bard and rogue multi class. I basically made her a con-artists. She was bad at sneaking but I rolled stupid good on charisma and focused on that score the most. She acted flirtatious and manipulative and is a smooth talker.
But I am none of those things. I am an awkward and stumble and stutter often. And the group I played with I wasn't very familiar with yet. Needless to say I took on a bit more than I should have lol.
I can only roleplay charisma if the character is constantly thinking, "what can this person do for me?" Which IDK what that means for me but helped me make a great spy.
"that'll be a 30.." amazing
i have a bard character who doesnt really try to persuade or flirt much, their charisma stat better represent how cool and intimidating they are, so i just have to make vague threats and use thaumaturgy to make my eyes all scary and people seem to listen :]
2:09 he says sus… kill me now god
I need to know what you're going to say to gauge the difficulty of the check and what the possible reactions are. Not saying anything means your rolling to see charismatically you stare blankly at someone
Im a charasmatic guy who talks allot how can i play a low charisma character i keep realizing im over stepping because my nervous little brother with a high charisma warlock falls into the background socially while my -1 charisma druid take the social lead
I see lupin, I upvote.
that damned rogue pixel…
>uses Lupin the Third for charismatic character
I approve
I tend to just say “My character says/does *X* in a *Y* way.”
Once had an idea for a Warlock who was decidedly uncharismatic even in-character, despite having +5! How did I get away with this? Not good at persuading, performing, or any of what you might call "positive" interactions with people. She did have a temper, though. Meaning her Intimidation was boosted by her +5. Her anger was all she needed: in conversation, when she was finally fed-up enough with what was going on and I would want to roll a charisma check...Hell actually hath no fury. And Hell would know because it was her patron.
I haven't really gotten to play the concept out quite yet, it was born out of an earlier Hexblade I had been playing who was dropped into a world she knew just about nothing of and her only real response to most situations was to slowly work herself into an indignant exasperation - she could lie, though. Not that I think I ever got to with her.
Last concept was of a Draconic Bloodline flame sorceress who was a generally happy person, but who was almost always setting something ablaze, had set something ablaze, casually talked about setting something ablaze, or was currently playing with fire. I didn't get to do much with her persuasion, technically intimidation, but I wanted the idea to be that she was "persuasive" because she was able to manhandle dragonfire with her bare hands and people, for some *very strange* reason, would find that to be fairly persuading!
I guess my concept of "charisma" is more that a person's force of personality is what people are reacting to. "Charisma" to me is mostly that you might be traditionally charismatic, or that your idiosyncrasies mask your personality most times, but that strength of personality comes through anyways.
While I get and appreciate your points, I disagree that a dice roll can't be a simple solution to a given problem. I might be drawing a blank on what to say in a situation, but my Warlock with 20 Charisma and expertise in persuasion, deception and intimidation knows exactly what to say, and informing the DM of my intention then rolling the dice solves the problem nicely.
My pc isn't super charismatic, but he is more charismatic than me, and most of the other pcs.
...
My pc has 13 chr, I have about 9.
I have charismatic character who's ambition is being a politician, prime Minister or something like that, he just has decent wisdom and is able to offer good alternatives when there is a problem
Basing results of a CHA roll on what the player says is like asking a player to jump every time their character does a STR roll
It just makes no sense
I like playing characters that are so dumb its endearing
My character is charismatic in the Himbo sense
I generally play CHA as mind domination. Its a stat, not a role playing device. You can be Joe Smoothie without a great CHA score, but you can't control the minds of those around you without one. Its my psionics sub.
I will not lie. This comment... confuses me. I've no idea what's happening here
@@PlayYourRole
The CHA stat is used in certain spells and mechanics: Illusions, intimidation, control persons, and such like. I use it like a stat. I don't play a face. I don't generally do performative roll playing. I have my character behave as it would. My character is consistent. I don't speak in first person, or do silly voices, or wear costumes. I use CHA just like any other player uses DEX or CON. A high CHA is a mechanical tool. Not everyone at every table wants D&D to be ZOOM meeting LARP. I just think that should be acknowledged because I always feel pressure to "role play" at newer tables.
@@vincejester7558
Generally, I think it makes more sense if a character's stats also means something to their personality and how they do things that don't require rolls, a high wisdom character is more likely to be the one to solve a puzzle, a high intelligence character may consider things that happened in the past when trying to solve a problem, characters with high charisma have better social skills, and generally characters are more confident in their ability to do things that they have higher stats in.
If charisma is specifically your ability to manipulate someone, then it doesn't really make much sense to me for paladins to have high charisma considering they are driven by determination and their moral compass. It also makes sorcerers confusing as they use charisma to draw out power that is inside of them.
I generally like to think of it as more of a force of their personality, or how good they are at using their personality to accomplish goals.
i see lupin, i click
You should you do How to play a arrogant character.
I remember one of my characters getting woken up during another characters camp watch shift because trolls were lurking just beyond the fire light. Pissed off from fighting with his girlfriend he jumps up naked, a 6'8 monstrocity with arms that could strangle out a horse and he screams drawing his greatsword by swinging it so hard the scabard flies off. "I'm not in the mood, you dung fondlers!" The DM asked for an intimidation roll -2 for being naked +2 for a show of strength +1 for morning wood +2 for being loud enough to make a lion crap. I beat it by 1 and the DM laughed as she did the run down.
She said 5 of the 8 trolls run away, another seeing his buddies run loses heart and turns tail, a female looking beast stares down between my characters legs and crosses her legs sheepishly, while the last one hits her on the head with a rock and carries her away over his shoulder.
ua-cam.com/video/m3wH9K9cDcI/v-deo.html
Me after she told me it was all about that +1 :D
ua-cam.com/video/H47ow4_Cmk0/v-deo.html
XD
Ive always heared im in the crazy/weird/¿qgy didnt you stay silent? kinda charisma side. So i make my characters kinda slient, but always with expertise in intimidation and performance🤣
Eh, you got a.charisma of 16, but the high int helps too, so you punch even higher.
When I came here I thought this was a channel giving DND advice for IRL Stats lmao