Prefer not to see ads? Become a Community Supporter.
View RSS Feed

bloodtide

Overplayed Character Types

Rate this Entry
5 Comments
by
bloodtide
on Monday 07-26-2010 at 08:13 PM (490 Views)
The Big, Dumb Barbarian

Legendary example

  • Conan the Barbarian (Robert E. Howard)
  • Wulfgar (R.A. Salvatore)
Take this brief survey to measure your Barbarian’s originality.
  1. Is he a giant among men standing at least 6 ½ feet tall?
  2. Is his Strength unparalleled even when compared to other members of his savage culture (starting Strength of 17 or more at 1st level)?
  3. Does he wield a hammer, axe or greatsword that’s as big as he is?
  4. Is he kind of dim-witted (not the sharpest blade on the rack)?
If you answered yes to three or more of the questions above then you need to roll up another character.


he Elven Archer

Legendary example

  • Legolas (J.R.R. Tolkien)
I understand the appeal of playing an Elven archer. Because it’s been done a million times before, that’s why. If you absolutely must play an Elven archer you’ve got to throw in some kind of interesting character quirk. And it had better be good. Use you imagination to come up with something different.


The Frail, Scarred Wizard

Legendary example

  • Raistlin Majere (Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman)
The origin stories may sound different, but they’re really all part of the same tired and overused stereotype.
  1. A laboratory experiment blew up and he was burned by fire or acid.
  2. He was the sole survivor of a monster attack (usually a dragon) that killed his family and scarred him in the process.
  3. A summoned creature (usually a demon) broke its bounds and maimed him horribly before it was banished.
With a back-story like this you’re destined to become the Wizard sitting in the corner of the tavern who hires adventurers to go in search of spell components and lost artifacts.
The Dual Weapon Wielding Drow

Legendary example

  • Drizzt Do’Urden (R.A. Salvatore)
  • Artemis Entreri (R.A. Salvatore)
Drizzt’s been featured in novels, short stories, video games and comic books. He’s been around since 1987. Your version of this character type will never be as cool as Drizzt. Create a different character. Salvatore came very close to copying himself when he created Artemis Entreri. Artemis may not be Drow, but who are we kidding? He’s pretty much just another Drizzt.


The Surly Dwarf

Legendary example

  • Gimli (J.R.R. Tolkien)
  • Bruenor Battlehammer (R.A. Salvatore)
Dwarves as a race can be a lot of fun to play, but make sure you’re not just playing the same character over and over again. Every Dwarf is unique so make sure your character isn’t the same as everyone else’s. Any Dwarf who can accurately be described by this statement is not unique: “Hi, I’m an angry Dwarf who is always grouchy, lacks social graces (by Human standards), wears heavy armor and fights using a very big hammer or battle axe.” If this is you then you’re perpetuating the stereotype.

Submit "Overplayed Character Types" to Digg Submit "Overplayed Character Types" to del.icio.us Submit "Overplayed Character Types" to StumbleUpon Submit "Overplayed Character Types" to Google

Tags: d&d Add / Edit Tags
Categories
‎ Uncategorized

Comments

  1. Blydden's Avatar
    This isn't fair! I like playing stereotypes because they are stereotypes.

    Such as Thog, my dragonborn bararian standing at 6'8", wielding a greataxe, having 18 strength and 8 intelligence. :3

    Or Quarion, my elven bow-wielding druid. Or "The Wolf", an elven bow-wielding seeker.

    Then, there is my demon-possessed wizard...

    Anyway, I support these stereotypes. They are stereotypes because they are fun. (Except for the dreaded "Drizzt Clone" stereotype, but still.)
  2. Malachi57's Avatar
    LoL! Awesome. Though you forgot the sneaky chaotic-neutral human thief.

    A quick test;
    - Steals from his own party?
    - Cloaks. Deep, dark cloaks that make your thief look more menacing than his 10 strength can back up.
    - Goes out of the way to make sure combat is ignored, but the first sign of interrogating a beaten foe means the thief is ready to pounce with an intimidation check!
    - Has the annoying habit of suggesting the party steal from the king, lord, person who is giving them their quest to begin with/benefactor.

    If you answered yes to at least 3 of these your character is annoying and needs to be impounded.
  3. Lord Captain Tobacco's Avatar
    I seem to recall an illustration in dragonmirth, one of the early Dragon magazines, which had a convict looking out of his cell, calling to the general population "Does anybody here play anything other than a thief..."
  4. Zenvis's Avatar
    There is a difference between cliché and epic. A wizard that has no weakness teaching a student and then defeating the enemy for the student that's cliché. Harry Potters teacher, epic, Obi One Kenobi, epic, Gandolf, epic. See? You can have a wizard, archer, etc. The X element to a game is not being them exactly. Everyone loves Wolverine but if you are playing a cliché version of Wolverine then what are you doing? Create your own Magneto, Vadar or Khan. Create your own NPC heroes. Find what you need for the game and then add a bunch of stuff that doesn't relate to the need. If it must be an warrior with claws, lets not limit ourselves by healing factor and indestructible bones. Go a new direction. For example, claws, magnetism, cat features and lizard tongue. Sure you have claws, but now you have a chance to do something different. If it must be Wolverine by name, think of the attributes of a Wolverine, high metabolism, rage, territorial. Perhaps focus on one or two attributes of the creature. I don't know. Have fun with it.
  5. WhiskeyFur's Avatar
    You also have the holy, innocent and naive cleric who doesn't understand why others in her party could be so violent, and yes, she's always female.

    Stereotypes also suffer by being dependent on one item usually. Can you play that same drow you just created without his dual weapons? If not.. your a stereotype. If your a dwarf who can't use anything except a hammer, your a stereotype. If your a mage who has no other skills other then magic? Your a stereotype.

    Nothing says you can't play one.. in some ways they make it easier for a GM to plan his game. But they do get boring.

    Now.. a mage who has a penchant for entertaining the kids with card tricks, sidekick for the bard in his plays, or can talk politics with a noble or lord... even while he's schooling the lord in chess? Now that's probably worth pursuing.

    I do remember playing a mage who punished a bully by turning him into a chicken for a few hours.. now that was funny.