It's a running joke at our table when one of our players slips into his first Paladin character accidentally and we look at him and just go, "Jhim? Is that you?"
There's nothing wrong with having multiple characters that are variations on a theme, so long as it continues to be a rich experience for you. I am reminded of an interview I saw recently with Pusha T where he pointed out Martin Scorsese's proclivity for organized crime dramas and "you never say hey I want him to make a love story." There's something to be said for exploring a particular concept deeply, from a variety of angles.
In my opinion gravitating to the same character concept can also be an expression of struggling with an aspect of one's own personality/situation/self. Someone once asked me why I regularly play atheists, and when I thought about, I realised these characters were only atheists by extension of their nihilist "yes and" world view as well as their antiauthoritarianism, and they were all the kind of person to go on an adventure simply because they could and wanted. Since I am currently working my way through depression, the fantasy of being able to spontaneously invest large amounts of energy into doing something fun, not because any higher power wants me to, but because I want to, is a fairly obvious goal.
I have a player that consistently wants to play a character with a bow. First was a ranger, now she is playing a warlock with Eldritch Blast flavored as a magic bow. I have no problem with it, just a consistent trend.
I definitely feel like this encapsulates perfectly why I keep playing a specific character. I have a Bard who's from a family of knights and decided that he wanted freedom and to run from the danger of being at the beck and call of a lord. I wanted to see how he reacted to adventuring and whether he might eventually reconcile with his family, or if his desire for freedom might make him pursue bad choices or hurt others through his flippancy or lack of concern. Sadly never got far the first time, and every time after he just gets the most annoying archetype (we all know the one) beaten over his head by others regardless how he gets played.
I noticed that a similar concept in some of my characters is the person had become a different person (one had to go undercover to keep from getting killed by his power hungry/attention seeking uncle; one had ran away from his royalty life because his parents couldn’t accept him in a certain way that would make him happy; and one had her whole world view changed after her adopted mother got killed by an adventurer, and her and her other adopted mom had to flee.) and the party has to become friends with them to learn of their past.
Saul didn't change his name. Paul is just the greek/latin version of his name. When he converted and went out preaching he started to use that version of the name because of the people he was preaching too. He never actually changed his name. It is often a good way of referring to the pre and post conversion Saul/Paul.
My first character was the one I put the most thought into. A noble with a curse placed on him before birth that turned him into a monster since his family was rising in influence, essentially he was a bugbear that should be a human. His family loved him and his ranger skill set came from his love of hunts, but not quite typical noble hunts, he enjoyed the more tracking and stealth type hunt of the more common folk. He began his adventure in search for a cure for the curse and to see a bit of the world. I thought he might have interesting interactions since he was a monstrous race by stats and appearance, but inside he's basically just a bit of a sheltered human with generally good intentions. But I never quite flesh out his story as much as I'd have liked, the campaign kind of dissolved as we had too many members for a first time dm and another player with more experience took role of dm to give time for prep but we just ended up switching over. So now I have a halfling barbarian with influences from Fable 2's hero of strength and a bit of Poppy from League of Legends and Grog from Critical Role. A couple other characters for one shots and the like, but I don't really have the experience in years to see too many patterns in my character creation, except that I mostly play good characters, alignment not quality. I'm the kind of person that feels really bad when I make the npcs sad in video games by making more evil choices
Actually my halfling barbarian has, at this point, had considerably more play time than my first character. But she in some ways is less fleshed out. But I also tried to specifically make her a more simple kind of person, kind of like Goku in some ways (forgot to mention that influence). She loves to fight and drink and have fun. She doesn't typically like to kill and generally tries to do the right thing, but she's a simple person with simple desires. Her backstory was just, "She's the daughter of a town blacksmith. One day a gang of bandits began raiding the town. She and her father supplied the townsfolk with weapons / tools to use as weapons and helped defend the town. This sparked a love for adventure in her, so she packed her things and left to see the world. She isn't the brightest, but she's strong, tough, and has a pretty good heart (but also likes the occasional prank). We have a couple running jokes / traits with her: she loves hammers and they are her weapon of choice and she has several (a couple of mauls, a few warhammers, etc.), if her intelligence increases (typically through temporary means like the band of intellect or potions that have a similar affect) she becomes incredibly smart and rambles off in strange was (when they first put it on me I started babbling off some mathematical theories and such), she invites most of the people she meets to have a drink with her (she at one point intimidated a group that was going to attack us by taking a drink of a powerful ale she keeps in a wineskin and then offering the enemy a shot, he immediately passed out because it is that strong, she has a high con score - she doesn't always offer this particular drinkthis was specifically a tactic of intimidation inspired vaguely by Roran in the Inheritance cycle) / buys rounds at every tavern we stop at to try to make the place lively, and occassionally when she sleeps she quotes Lord of the Rings
I'm a pretty new player, but I noticed that I don't have similar concepts (it's usually what media do I like now), I do have a main race. For big roleplaying games, I love playing half elfs.
My characters always have an overarching theme of being slightly me, slightly absurd (and I don't know which is which sometimes). My last character was a bard with anxiety of speaking (and performing) in public and some adhd (so he's often forgetting lyrics, constantly swapping instruments because he gets bored quickly, etc). My current character is a gnome scholar, an anthropology professor, that flew into a rage after receiving feedback from reviewer n2 on his latest paper on primitive barbarian tribes. Now he's a path of ancestral guardian barbarian on the run from his department director (because of the damages he caused). And yes, the spirits from his rage are previous chairs of his department.
One of my go to's is a Dragonborn Hoplite warrior. Very much a "proud warrior race" guy who extols the virtues of how the Hoplite emulates the "scale and claw" of their draconic ancestors. It's always a good time, and I can variate him by switching up his color or metal.
I as a player have started to lean on morally grey tropes more in current characters than in previous ones, I do tend to play through that in different ways though. Think "bad guy heart of gold" tropes. They've always kinda fascinated me not because of a 'reformed villain' perspective, although they tend to fall into similar tropes as well, but because it kinda nags at the question of what makes someone a good person. I have two current characters that actually fit neatly into the concept in different ways. I have a blood hunter order of the lycan who was a born werewolf who went down the blood hunter path to gain control over himself. The world in general (if they find out) still sees him as what he is, but he as a person is actively trying to better himself and help people. On the opposite side I'm in a different type of game (character creation still applies) with a character who presents as a normal, albeit kinda grumpy and generally pissed off, man. The first thing the party found out about him however was that he is technically a criminal. He was mostly wrongfully accused, and I'd have to go into details about the world and game to fully explain why he's 'technically' a criminal. But one of the questions with him is how far is he willing to go to do what's right, even if methods wouldn't let him do so in a way that a morally upright man would. He also wants to prevent others from having to make the same difficult decisions he would willingly do. The biggest reason I think these tropes keeps popping up for me though is I've had so many games canceled on me that I never really get the chance to even really get started exploring the stories behind these characters.
I've caught myself making a lot of characters who can be described as "cold, calculated scholars". A biologist with very questionable ethics, an archaeologist who uses necromancy for her research, a wizardry student who got expelled for practicing blood magic, and a good few others. It's something I've noticed very recently and while I've made a multitude of characters based on other concepts, this one always seems to crop up every now and again.
Oh wow I haven’t seen this one! Thanks RUclips algorithm! I think you’re on to something. Recently I definitely have found connections to characters I played in the past and wonder if I (like the critical role cast has suggested) used D&D unintentionally as a form of therapy to work through or explore something or if my desire for roleplay fidelity made me inadvertently put something really relevant of myself into my characters. It’s really interesting to look at a character and be like OOF 😅 I was definitely feeling really lonely and wanted to feel wanted by someone when I made that character or Hahah my insecurities at my college choices and life I picked were definitely part of that one! And oh look millennial bitterness baked in on this one about not getting the life that was promised after signing for decades of soul crushing debt and higher learning. And more recently themes of loneliness and frustrations of aging parents are definitely peaking through. I can def see how these personal things just creep in without you noticing that both make roleplaying such an amazing experience and also why safety tools are definitely needed when shit feels too real or cuts too deep.
I've found that I don't have a trend with D&D characters, but I do gravitate to a playbook of similar things when I'm writing stories. For me some of the appeal in revisiting the tropes, ideas and concepts behind a character is seeing things play out in a different way. Once you've writte the story or played the game that character's out come is set. And if a concept really grabs you it's often something that can play out in a lot of different ways. You don't have to be dissatisifed with the way a character, and a game, turned out in order to want to see how it could go differently. One of the themes I come back to a lot is difficult/dysfunctional families. Having a character cut off his family because he can't cope, moving away and building a happy life for himself without them, that can be a good and fulfilling story. But in different circumstances may be they reconciled, or ended up in any of a dozen places in between. The different approaches, environments and endings can make it fulfilling in and of itself.
I love the barbarian warrior character, I think it is because who I wish I was. A strong heroic fearless warrior who charges into danger. Earning Gold, and glory... And wenching. A lot of wenching. But that's besides the point. To be that the man who through his strength and skill with his weapons rises to become a King.
Thanks for this video, it helped me think through some issues I had with a character concept I have come to really like but feel doesn't reach its full potential in the campaign I'm playing it with right now. I've been RPing on and off for years but never found a concept I really vibed much with before playing a tiefling aberrant mind sorcerer set on becoming the sovereign ruler of her own piece of territory, convinced this is the only way she'll be truly free from living a life of servitude. I find the notion of the origin story of who'll eventually end up becoming feared yet respected rulers akin to Tywin Lannister and Lady Eboshi, when they were low-levelled and did not command the respect they do now super compelling. It's the first concept that I've *really* come to vibe with, the one you think about more often than you get to play them. I played a version of this character, heavily inspired by Balalika from Black Lagoon, in a campaign that just seems a little too light-hearted and free-form for that to work as I had hoped. Nonetheless, I felt bad about the prospect of replaying the concept in a different campaign, as replaying character concepts seems to be frowned upon in the TTRPG community. Watching your video though, I resonate with the idea that I have yet to reach a narratively satisfying conclusion of the character's arc, and it makes me feel a little bit better about trying to revisit it in a different campaign, provided this one doesn't change dramatically.
I run 3.5, one of the reasons I love it is how easily it is to multiclass. When starting a campaign, I start the PCs at 2nd level - and I allow one alignment change as part of backstory, which can be either between 1st and 2nd level or after 2nd level has been acquired. This allows the "change of heart" backstories to be represented by actual character class changes. For example, an ex-criminal might have a level of rogue at 1st level, with the skills to match, but choose a different path, seeing the light and becoming a paladin at 2nd level - still have those rogue skills, but use them only for the greater good. At the start of the game, just trying to make amends for past muideeds, but at some point later on, the character could take the feat Devoted Inquisitor, allowing them to advance in both classes and combine some class features more effectively. Another example might be a monk who is part of the community's choir, who is a bit uncomfortable with all the rules and structure imposed on what they can sing, who rebels against that and discovers the true magic available through music, becoming a bard . At some point the character might resolve the conflict between the lawful nature of the paladin and the non-lawful magic in the music, and take the Devoted Performer feat, allowing them to advance in both classes and combine some class features more effectively; though they must become lawful good again to advance as a paladin, they are still able to make magic with their music as a bard. Personally, while I don't play the same character type over and over, I am a big fan of starting with a concept and using multiclassing extensively to build that concept. My most recent 3.5 characters: Elsabet, human female, a champion of a Shield Maiden goddess, who has a very strong fey heritage : 10th level: Favored Soul 4, Crusader 2, Warlock 2, Human Paragon 2 Plan at 20th: FS 4, Crusader 3, Warlock 3, HP 3, Enlightened Spirit 7 Very socially oriented, strong persuasion skills, lots of options in all situations. Carson Black, human male, a sniper/crossbow master in a military commando strike force: 9th level: Scout 3, Fighter 4, Ranger 2 Further advancement: levels in Highland Stalker prestige class and possibly Horizon Walker prestige class, possibly another level in each of ranger and scout. Quiet, surly type, deadly with his light crossbow at short range, very stealthy and alert to danger, very good tracker.
I feel this. Definitely like playing w grey characters and so far they've almost all been marshal-focused. I also consistently deal in themes of redemption, luck and destiny, and crime, brutality, humour and self-discovery. But there are so many ways to engage these themes it never feels old. And even among my more similar characters there's a lot of nuance and they don't feel like tired examinations. I lean into my strengths and expand into places I'm far less comfortable.
I always either play a cheerful tall person or a small skrungley weirdo guy and there is no in between lmao I think for me it all boils down to play style? I like exploring the world and engaging with other players so being outgoing and/or nosey is how I do that. And if no one else is willing to interact with the suspicious thing the dm has OBVIOUSLY laid out for us and is excited about then dammit it’s gonna be me!
I hope you'll forgive me referencing a different game but I think you'd like The Infamous playbook in Thirsty Sword Lesbians. It plays with those good reformed criminal tropes.
I definitely lean into the concept of average person that is thrown in way over their head and has to learn to survive. My favourite is a vtm gangrel that was embraced at a dark time in his life where he was doing what needed to be done to survive but otherwise wouldn't have fit into the clan. He had to learn what it meant to fit into the expectations in his own way, watching him become a monster was so satisfying.
I have two rp heavy characters which their character arcs are designed around coming to terms with a terrible incident in their past that left them with a deep sense of survivor’s guilt and makes them almost fantastical in wanting to protect their new found family (the party). They also both have the similarity that they will sometimes conform parts of how they respond to the world by what vibes they get off those around them, either opposition to those vibes or blending into them. In other words, they are used to changing their face and behavior to accommodate those around them and their needs. They are both deeply generous individuals who are intelligent researchers and have a love of people, often focusing their research on that subject. And both have had loved lives that left them burnt out and not ready for a new relationship, regardless of how well that previous relationship went. Oh and their situations with the families? Complicated, though for different reasons and in different ways. Mechanically, both are elves though entirely different subraces. Are these the same characters? No. Some key differences is that the one I played further away in time is a deeply angry person who suppressed much of their trauma and who was constantly scared, angry, and frustrated. He was also way more tired. He also knew himself better than my character I would make later. He knew what he liked and didn’t like and what was important to him. He knew he would do the darkest things in the name of protecting those things. He also flinched at being called a hero and was far from his healing journey and catharsis. He just wanted to settle down and call a place home and have all he cared about safe and sound. My character I would make more recently is tired yes, but this comes from the toxic relationship they had with their family and them recovering from some of that and just being tired from it all. It’s less high stakes than my previous one though it serves to mentally exhaust the character all the same. They are also more patient, less angry, and more likely to be playful in a sincere way. They also have a wanderlust that my previous character does not. They don’t know themselves that well either and are trying to find their identity outside of the role they served in their family. So it’s more about self discovery as well for this more recent character. They are also prone to wanting, and succeeding at making friends where ever they went. They had a far more drifting personality even though they could be just as grounding for the party. The main difference is that the first character did so as a mentor and my more recent one does so like an eldest sibling. Either way, I will fully admit I made the recent character so I could play out certain elements I wasn’t able to when the first one’s campaign went on indefinitely hiatus. I missed it but there wasn’t a good way I could transfer over the character to a different game and have the type of character arc I wanted, heck I wasn’t sure I could trust any other dm to properly help me tell that story in the way I wanted to play it. So I I took elements I felt like would work for an new character and remade something from those parts that was similar but not the same. I do want to eventually play out my older character but I’m really happy about playing my recent character.
Man, that's actually the exact same thing for me. Tropes included. I actually recently created a wizard/sorcerer very much inspirated by Caleb from CR C2, now that I'm around episode 40+. I am very much attracted by a couple of story beats/story archetypes/tropes, 1 you already mentioned is redemption, the other would be "controlling the beast within". Maybe because I'm just fascinated by the concept of what could be good people if it wasn't for something alien that lives inside them, outside their own control that leads them to commit terrible acts, and how these people coope and try to control or even harness it. Stuff like this has been explored oh so many times in fiction, just some recent examples could be (going back to the MCU) Venom, or Ghost Rider or stuff that includes werewolves, that always touch on controlling the beast within. I'm very much a sucker for drama XD and yes, I sadly have never got to complete a campaign in my years playing, I'm right now trying to correct that by FINALLY getting into touch with a CR campaign group and make my dream of bringing a character of my creation in Exandria a reality. I'm so excited! ^^
Not so much race or class for me but almost all my characters are true chaotic or chaotic neutral lol. My favorite character was a Jawa engineer in EotE he had made a army of droids that assumed his fake identity of smuggler, information broker, thief, and crime lord muahahaha.
I feel some of it can be the concept of flow. When you play a very different concept there is going to be quite a while of finding the character in play (both in roleplay and combat). As these immersion interfering mechanics become automatic and natural you're more able to just be your character. Carrying over character similarities streamlines the speed to immersive play.
I've been told that I have a tendency in character backstories of a pattern related to parents/guardians at a young age, as well, but mine is not having "missing or murdered parents", but rather, asshole (abusive, neglectful, etc.) parents.
I think revisiting themes and concepts definitely *can* be because people don't feel they've gotten to fully explore a character narratively in previous games, but I also think it's just really normal that there are stories or concepts or character archetypes that just really interest people and that they're going to keep coming back to. If you read a lot of fanfiction/amateur fiction, and when they're outside the eyes of an editor/writing to a specific audience for publication, you absolutely notice certain authors love to revisit concepts and ideas all the time when they're just writing for their own fun. As long as the characters are sufficiently different from each other, I think it's perfectly fine to revisit themes. It's just good to also shake stuff up once in a while.
I enjoyed the Shepherd Book reference! Jubal Early was such a great, fun, character…that statement of his re: Book absolutely did stick with me…what did it really mean? Was it just Jubal’s viewpoint, perhaps not believing someone could change that much, or was it actuality? I haven’t read the comics, but I was never bothered about finding out, especially after watching Serenity. “I am a leaf on the wind! Watch how I soar.” 😭
Spoiler for Firefly! The series ended with Jubal Early floating off into space. Does that seem right to you? ;) Book's knowledge and skills clearly indicated he had a non-shepherd background. My head-canon was he was a lot like an ancient samurai warrior who'd become tired with war, death and violence, put away his daisho (two swords), shaved his head and become a monk. He no longer followed the Way of the Warrior - but he still had the knowledge and skills he'd acquired...
@@ernesthakey3396 reply to Spoilers for Firefly: Yes, and I was glad to see Jubal Early be jettisoned off into space when I first watched that episode on TV and every time I’ve watched the DVDs since. He is a fantastic, crazy, funny, and scary character that put the crew into such a state in a shorter amount of time than seemed possible upon their own ship. What a huge relief it was when they finally outsmarted him! As for Book, I think your head-canon is basically correct…something happened to cause him to rethink his path and have a change of heart that led to him becoming a preacher. But in no way did that mean he forgot all his previous knowledge and skills (only advancing age might have dulled them somewhat). I believe the (unread-by-me comics) go into more detail about his backstory, though, if Wikipedia isn’t leading me on. But who knows what Jubal Early was thinking of when he said Book wasn’t a preacher…that character had some odd ways of thinking.
@@snotrajohnson more Firefly spoilery stuff... Also Jubal had some trouble hearing correctly. The real Jubal Early from whom they borrowed the name was a Confederate general in the American Civil War, he was a racist/white supremacist based on his activities after the war, so casting a black man in the part was awesonely ironic, and he had partial hearing loss in one ear, which they kept for the Firefly character, hence the "lion" and "bounty hunter" weirdness. He was also supposedly one of Nathan Fillion's ancestors. :)
@@SupergeekMike I remember watching that video the first time, cringing as the movie footage popped up thinking "Hope Mike doesn't get any trouble over this."
transmigrated from earth (self-insert), Reborn Kensei Monk (if only the fantasy was met and the build wasn't terrible, 5e Monk and Kensei really don't work properly 5e imo)
I kind of feel like, that I want to play similar characters, just because that is who I feel comfortable with. So my approach is, that I basically take aspects of three existing characters and form the base of my char from that. Now the first is basically headstrong, direct and confident. The second arrogant, prideful and generous. The third? Is the thing that changes from character to character, making them different from one another. That way, they all should have a similar base and feel, but not turn out to be the same character again.
I would guess that the character type you talk about most (reformed criminal, bad past trying to do good, etc) is universally interesting. I have made 2 characters like that. Returning to your example of Saul/Paul, he is meant to be an example for all of us, to turn away from sin and the world and follow God instead (of course, he THOUGHT he was following God and Jesus had to correct him). My point is that we are all Saul - we’ve all done things we regret or were versions of ourselves we don’t like. But we’re all trying to pursue good in our lives as well. So I think many of us are drawn to that idea played out dramatically in a sordid past that has turned to good. Not exclusively, of course - sometimes you have to play a sheltered, bubbly storyteller like Jester.
Old video, but felt the need to point it out. Saul becomes Paul because when God gives a person a mission, he also changes their name to a more appropriate one. Abram because Abraham because he will be the father of nations. Simon becomes Peter (Cephas) because on this Rock, I will build my church. Saul was changed to Paul (small or humble) because God has a sense of humor and because Saul needed to humble himself and serve God.
Im currently, Finally, playing a character I've been wanting to play as for the last 2 years or so... however. I found out late that the campaign might end in 4 sessions.. so my desired goal wont be reached so back to the shelf with her and hope for the best next time... if she get picked that is because if there is one thing D&D players dont have a shortage of its characters xD
I clicked on this video because I think I do often play the same types of characters... mostly bards, sometimes arcane tricksters, sometimes fey warlocks, and once a trickery cleric, and once a dreams druid flavoured as a witch... I'm not entirely sure if it's a character type i'm trying to recreate, or a fairy-tale vibe... I would love it if someone could tell me. But it is something I keep coming back to. I wonder what it means.
Sadly, I am stuck with a DM who seems to make it his goal to corrupt the characters. He REFUSES to give us a chance to ever be the good guys. Starting to tick me off, honestly.
As a burnt out former gifted kid, I find myself playing gifted kids who have successfully rebelled against the authority figures in their lives. I think I do this because I wasn't able to push back against authority in my youth. My rebellions we're squashed hard, and I was forced to conform to expectations. I'm working through my trauma.
"Burned out gifted kid" is definitely an archetype I find myself returning to a lot as well, both because I find it interesting, but also relatable enough to get into character really easily.
@@honoratagold Plus it can lend itself to several classes, so you can play a similar character while exploring new play styles. I've played like this as a Warlock, Sorcerer, Bard, and Wizard so far.
@@mossj52 Yes! Having thought on this, though, I think I come at "burned out former gifted kid" from a different place than you do. I like playing characters who had a very clear-cut identity of where they fit in the world, and then they failed. This *includes* my burned-out former gifted kid wizard, but also explains why I keep coming back to fighters who used to be paladins.
@@honoratagold It's all open for interpretation. For me, it's based on my personal experience as a gifted kid millennial growing up in the 90s. So much was expected of us. There were 12 of us in my grade, and only 2 of the group survived all the pressure to live up to any of those expectations. The rest of us burned out a long the way. It's cathartic to work through that and have some control for once.
Nowadays, if I think in characters I'd like to play I try to avoid the edgy snarky guy because I feel I'm a teenager again and I'd love to explore other possibilities. And maybe and come back to that base concept someday if I have something interesting to add. However, thinking in being something with more identity is fun.
I don't do it all the time but I did on two separate occasions without noticing it create a noble elf wizard who had a sister who was jealous of her and tried to kill her. Twice. One of them ended up reconciling with the sister the other became a lich and was a part of the downfall of elven civilization. Both are shitty moms.
I main rogues or rogue agacent classes, but I don't think I have a recurring character *concept* 🤔. I moreso enjoy the role of the rogue and end up changing up the type of character that would find themselves filling that role. Funny enough I don't think I've made a proper edgy loner yet (maybe arguably my tabaxi monk)
In response to your taking inspiration from the Bible, I've just had a thought for a druid character, inspired by the story of King Nebuchadnezzar being made mad by God for being too proud, so that he ends up living among the animals for a spell. So, the druid would have no memory beyond having woken up in the forest one day. It may or may not get revealed at some point that he used to be a person of note, possibly a powerful sorcerer (which woulld explain his affinity to magic, albeit of a different sort), but something happened to him. I'm interested by this character but slightly concerned he might tempt me into main character syndrome.
Is there where I admit that no matter the system I end up playing characters who means well but through either misguidedness or poor charisma continually just messes things up for themselves yet is so incapable of seeing this that they push people away by blaming everything else for her misfortunes.
I have noticed two main trends with my characters, One I play a lot of high charisma characters and idk why. Either charisma casters or just characters with charisma as a high second stat. I dont really have an explanation for this one other then maybe it is cause I like being the face of the party and roleplaying in character. The other one I do have a solid reason for. I have a trouble history with religion and my Christian. For awhile the only clerics/paladins I would make had trouble with their faith. And a lot of characters would have their faith section of the character sheet just blank. As I have explored my spirituality though (I might be wiccan) I have made a few characters who would follow more unique religions but I still stay away from the heaven/hell inspired type deities.
From the opposite direction, or at least a sideways direction - I have pretty much been an atheist my whole life - and I have read more of the Bible than most Xtians, as well as delving into a few other things. Pretty much try to do the right things because they are the right things, rather than because of reward or punishment. Yet in the D&D (3.5) settings I homebrew as a GM, one of the first things I determine is the theology and cosmology of the setting, which in turn influences many other aspects of the game world I will be running. And as a player, my characters often have a link to the divine and/or the spiritual. I like the idea of powerful entities operating in the background, overtly and covertly, taking an active interest in the activities of mortals, etc. In most of my worlds, characters are encouraged to pick a deity, faith, or philosophy to follow, but it isn't required. "Everyone knows" powerful entities - deities, celestials, abyssals and infernals, that influence the world they live in, but not everyone chooses to worship. What the characters don't always know (though the players do) is that an unpromised soul may be claimed by such a power upon the death of the body... In at least one game, a PC who wasn't much interested in a deity later found out that a particular deity was, in fact, interested in him, and may have interfered in his life...in minor, indirect ways, not impacting his free will per se, but providing obstacles and aid in equal measure...because he had no patron and thus no protection in the game of gods... That was a great session, the player took it well, the character was extremely annoyed but the player thought it was a great hook.
In terms of wiccans... In the 3.5 game I am currently running, one of the limited number of deities worshipped in the region is the Moon Goddess, who has three Aspects, who due to losing her Consort, in her divine grief is currently stuck split into those three Aspects. Each of these aspects has not only divine casters but witches, like sorcerers but with a different spell list, arcane casters with a link to the divine... From my campaign documents: The Cult of The Moon Goddess: A Greater Deity, CN, with three Aspects (It’s Complicated) Aspect of The Matron, The Moon Mother, Storm Witch: Intermediate Deity, Neutral (priests may be N, CN, NG, NE) Domains: Animal, Moon, Plant, Storm Favored Weapons: Club, Quarterstaff Elite Priest: Druid, associated with Ranger and Wilderness Rogue Required Feat: Animal Affinity (Handle Animal, Ride) Aspect of The Maiden, Bright Moon Witch: Lesser Deity, Chaotic Good (priests may be CG, CN, NG) Domains: Chaos, Charm, Good, Moon Favored Weapons: Scimitar, Sickle Elite Priest: Cleric, associated with Bard and Rogue Required Feat: Persuasive (Bluff, Intimidate) Aspect of The Crone, Dark Moon Witch: Lesser Deity, Chaotic Evil (priests may be CE, CN, NE) Domains: Chaos, Evil, Illusion, Moon Favored Weapons: Dagger, Rapier Elite Priest: Cleric, associated with Hexblade and Rogue Required Feat: Stealthy (Hide, Move Silently) The Moon Goddess, whose name is unknown to mortals, is the most powerful deity in the Forsaken Lands, a greater deity, CN in alignment - but she finds it convenient to divide her power, attention and personality into three aspects, each of which acts independently of the others most of the time. Her aspect as The Matron is the most powerful, N in alignment, holding half her power as an intermediate deity, with her primary concerns being nature itself, the wild lands, the animals, plants and people living therein, and the weather, especially in the form of storms. The Matron’s elite priests are rangers and wilderness rogues who become druids. The Matron does have some witches in her service as well. The Maiden is CG, while The Crone is CE, both are lesser deities who are more concerned with civilized folk, in particular those who practice spontaneous, unregulated magic, i.e. bards, hexblades, warlocks, and witches. The Maiden recruits her clerics from bards and rogues while The Crone recruits hers from hexblades and rogues. All aspects of the Moon Goddess have power over the Moon-Cursed, i.e. lycanthropes, which she shares with some of her priests and witches, and she is said to have created the race of shifters from lycanthropic ancestors; most shifters worship her for this reason. Her shrines are places of worship for all her aspects, some being located in towns and villages, others in places of natural power and beauty. Her basic credo is simple - “show respect, do what you will, and remember, what goes around, comes around” - of course, interpretations of that credo vary widely between worshippers of different aspects. Shrines are places of truce between the worshippers of different aspects, who might otherwise disagree upon some matters in a vigorous manner at times.
I know this probably is super unimportant to you but I happen to know the answer… Paul never actually changed his name. There is not a part in the NT where he says that he changed it. BUT Paul and Saul are the Greek and Hebrew versions of the same name (respectively). In the book of Acts, the author just starts calling him Paul instead of Saul. This might be because he was writing to a mostly Greek or Greek speaking audience. But yeah. It’s a common myth that he changed his name, but there is nothing in the text to back it up. It’s funny cause there are plenty of oother characters in scripture that have their name changed to represent some sort of event or change in their life, but Paul isn’t one of them 😅
The two names have nothing to do with each other. Saul was his Hebrew name he used in his private life, and Paulus was his Roman name he used in his public life. Many Jews did so living in the Roman Empire.
the only characters i have ever gotten to play were a gnome wizard and a tiefling sorcerer. if i have time to be in more campaigns as a player someday (i am the forever dm of my friends) i still think i only want to play characters that are non-humans and spellcasters because different kinds of creatures are cool and magic is also really cool
Interesting that you went to the bible for your first example of that archetype. I wonder if maybe you've got a strong religious background, and maybe that's another reason why you feel drawn to stories of redemption.
It's a running joke at our table when one of our players slips into his first Paladin character accidentally and we look at him and just go, "Jhim? Is that you?"
There's nothing wrong with having multiple characters that are variations on a theme, so long as it continues to be a rich experience for you. I am reminded of an interview I saw recently with Pusha T where he pointed out Martin Scorsese's proclivity for organized crime dramas and "you never say hey I want him to make a love story." There's something to be said for exploring a particular concept deeply, from a variety of angles.
I really appreciate the “*” marks Indicating emphasis in the captions, in fact the captions in general are wonderful in this video.
Thank you!
In my opinion gravitating to the same character concept can also be an expression of struggling with an aspect of one's own personality/situation/self. Someone once asked me why I regularly play atheists, and when I thought about, I realised these characters were only atheists by extension of their nihilist "yes and" world view as well as their antiauthoritarianism, and they were all the kind of person to go on an adventure simply because they could and wanted. Since I am currently working my way through depression, the fantasy of being able to spontaneously invest large amounts of energy into doing something fun, not because any higher power wants me to, but because I want to, is a fairly obvious goal.
Liam said his influence for Caleb was actually Schmendrick from The LAst Unicorn, but I can see some Raistlin in there too.
I have a player that consistently wants to play a character with a bow. First was a ranger, now she is playing a warlock with Eldritch Blast flavored as a magic bow.
I have no problem with it, just a consistent trend.
For 3 or 4 of my characters I’ve played they’ve had a stick involved in their design
i really liked the biblical example you gave, the story of Paul has always been incredibly interesting to me.
I definitely feel like this encapsulates perfectly why I keep playing a specific character. I have a Bard who's from a family of knights and decided that he wanted freedom and to run from the danger of being at the beck and call of a lord. I wanted to see how he reacted to adventuring and whether he might eventually reconcile with his family, or if his desire for freedom might make him pursue bad choices or hurt others through his flippancy or lack of concern. Sadly never got far the first time, and every time after he just gets the most annoying archetype (we all know the one) beaten over his head by others regardless how he gets played.
I noticed that a similar concept in some of my characters is the person had become a different person (one had to go undercover to keep from getting killed by his power hungry/attention seeking uncle; one had ran away from his royalty life because his parents couldn’t accept him in a certain way that would make him happy; and one had her whole world view changed after her adopted mother got killed by an adventurer, and her and her other adopted mom had to flee.) and the party has to become friends with them to learn of their past.
This is a good channel. I like Mike.
Saul didn't change his name. Paul is just the greek/latin version of his name. When he converted and went out preaching he started to use that version of the name because of the people he was preaching too. He never actually changed his name. It is often a good way of referring to the pre and post conversion Saul/Paul.
My first character was the one I put the most thought into. A noble with a curse placed on him before birth that turned him into a monster since his family was rising in influence, essentially he was a bugbear that should be a human. His family loved him and his ranger skill set came from his love of hunts, but not quite typical noble hunts, he enjoyed the more tracking and stealth type hunt of the more common folk. He began his adventure in search for a cure for the curse and to see a bit of the world. I thought he might have interesting interactions since he was a monstrous race by stats and appearance, but inside he's basically just a bit of a sheltered human with generally good intentions. But I never quite flesh out his story as much as I'd have liked, the campaign kind of dissolved as we had too many members for a first time dm and another player with more experience took role of dm to give time for prep but we just ended up switching over. So now I have a halfling barbarian with influences from Fable 2's hero of strength and a bit of Poppy from League of Legends and Grog from Critical Role. A couple other characters for one shots and the like, but I don't really have the experience in years to see too many patterns in my character creation, except that I mostly play good characters, alignment not quality. I'm the kind of person that feels really bad when I make the npcs sad in video games by making more evil choices
Actually my halfling barbarian has, at this point, had considerably more play time than my first character. But she in some ways is less fleshed out. But I also tried to specifically make her a more simple kind of person, kind of like Goku in some ways (forgot to mention that influence). She loves to fight and drink and have fun. She doesn't typically like to kill and generally tries to do the right thing, but she's a simple person with simple desires. Her backstory was just, "She's the daughter of a town blacksmith. One day a gang of bandits began raiding the town. She and her father supplied the townsfolk with weapons / tools to use as weapons and helped defend the town. This sparked a love for adventure in her, so she packed her things and left to see the world. She isn't the brightest, but she's strong, tough, and has a pretty good heart (but also likes the occasional prank). We have a couple running jokes / traits with her: she loves hammers and they are her weapon of choice and she has several (a couple of mauls, a few warhammers, etc.), if her intelligence increases (typically through temporary means like the band of intellect or potions that have a similar affect) she becomes incredibly smart and rambles off in strange was (when they first put it on me I started babbling off some mathematical theories and such), she invites most of the people she meets to have a drink with her (she at one point intimidated a group that was going to attack us by taking a drink of a powerful ale she keeps in a wineskin and then offering the enemy a shot, he immediately passed out because it is that strong, she has a high con score - she doesn't always offer this particular drinkthis was specifically a tactic of intimidation inspired vaguely by Roran in the Inheritance cycle) / buys rounds at every tavern we stop at to try to make the place lively, and occassionally when she sleeps she quotes Lord of the Rings
What a great video! I have the "harsh martial with a heart of gold" trope over and over again.
I'm a pretty new player, but I noticed that I don't have similar concepts (it's usually what media do I like now), I do have a main race. For big roleplaying games, I love playing half elfs.
*meanwhile, me:playing slightly uncertain elf/elfish race druid after elf druid and having no idea why*
My characters always have an overarching theme of being slightly me, slightly absurd (and I don't know which is which sometimes).
My last character was a bard with anxiety of speaking (and performing) in public and some adhd (so he's often forgetting lyrics, constantly swapping instruments because he gets bored quickly, etc).
My current character is a gnome scholar, an anthropology professor, that flew into a rage after receiving feedback from reviewer n2 on his latest paper on primitive barbarian tribes.
Now he's a path of ancestral guardian barbarian on the run from his department director (because of the damages he caused).
And yes, the spirits from his rage are previous chairs of his department.
One of my go to's is a Dragonborn Hoplite warrior. Very much a "proud warrior race" guy who extols the virtues of how the Hoplite emulates the "scale and claw" of their draconic ancestors. It's always a good time, and I can variate him by switching up his color or metal.
I as a player have started to lean on morally grey tropes more in current characters than in previous ones, I do tend to play through that in different ways though. Think "bad guy heart of gold" tropes. They've always kinda fascinated me not because of a 'reformed villain' perspective, although they tend to fall into similar tropes as well, but because it kinda nags at the question of what makes someone a good person. I have two current characters that actually fit neatly into the concept in different ways. I have a blood hunter order of the lycan who was a born werewolf who went down the blood hunter path to gain control over himself. The world in general (if they find out) still sees him as what he is, but he as a person is actively trying to better himself and help people.
On the opposite side I'm in a different type of game (character creation still applies) with a character who presents as a normal, albeit kinda grumpy and generally pissed off, man. The first thing the party found out about him however was that he is technically a criminal. He was mostly wrongfully accused, and I'd have to go into details about the world and game to fully explain why he's 'technically' a criminal. But one of the questions with him is how far is he willing to go to do what's right, even if methods wouldn't let him do so in a way that a morally upright man would. He also wants to prevent others from having to make the same difficult decisions he would willingly do.
The biggest reason I think these tropes keeps popping up for me though is I've had so many games canceled on me that I never really get the chance to even really get started exploring the stories behind these characters.
I've caught myself making a lot of characters who can be described as "cold, calculated scholars". A biologist with very questionable ethics, an archaeologist who uses necromancy for her research, a wizardry student who got expelled for practicing blood magic, and a good few others. It's something I've noticed very recently and while I've made a multitude of characters based on other concepts, this one always seems to crop up every now and again.
Oh wow I haven’t seen this one! Thanks RUclips algorithm! I think you’re on to something. Recently I definitely have found connections to characters I played in the past and wonder if I (like the critical role cast has suggested) used D&D unintentionally as a form of therapy to work through or explore something or if my desire for roleplay fidelity made me inadvertently put something really relevant of myself into my characters.
It’s really interesting to look at a character and be like OOF 😅 I was definitely feeling really lonely and wanted to feel wanted by someone when I made that character or Hahah my insecurities at my college choices and life I picked were definitely part of that one! And oh look millennial bitterness baked in on this one about not getting the life that was promised after signing for decades of soul crushing debt and higher learning. And more recently themes of loneliness and frustrations of aging parents are definitely peaking through.
I can def see how these personal things just creep in without you noticing that both make roleplaying such an amazing experience and also why safety tools are definitely needed when shit feels too real or cuts too deep.
I've found that I don't have a trend with D&D characters, but I do gravitate to a playbook of similar things when I'm writing stories. For me some of the appeal in revisiting the tropes, ideas and concepts behind a character is seeing things play out in a different way. Once you've writte the story or played the game that character's out come is set. And if a concept really grabs you it's often something that can play out in a lot of different ways. You don't have to be dissatisifed with the way a character, and a game, turned out in order to want to see how it could go differently.
One of the themes I come back to a lot is difficult/dysfunctional families. Having a character cut off his family because he can't cope, moving away and building a happy life for himself without them, that can be a good and fulfilling story. But in different circumstances may be they reconciled, or ended up in any of a dozen places in between. The different approaches, environments and endings can make it fulfilling in and of itself.
I love the barbarian warrior character, I think it is because who I wish I was. A strong heroic fearless warrior who charges into danger. Earning Gold, and glory... And wenching. A lot of wenching. But that's besides the point. To be that the man who through his strength and skill with his weapons rises to become a King.
I keep making characters who are running from past mistakes of their own making 😅
And I seem to come back again and again to the acolyte background
Thanks for this video, it helped me think through some issues I had with a character concept I have come to really like but feel doesn't reach its full potential in the campaign I'm playing it with right now. I've been RPing on and off for years but never found a concept I really vibed much with before playing a tiefling aberrant mind sorcerer set on becoming the sovereign ruler of her own piece of territory, convinced this is the only way she'll be truly free from living a life of servitude. I find the notion of the origin story of who'll eventually end up becoming feared yet respected rulers akin to Tywin Lannister and Lady Eboshi, when they were low-levelled and did not command the respect they do now super compelling. It's the first concept that I've *really* come to vibe with, the one you think about more often than you get to play them. I played a version of this character, heavily inspired by Balalika from Black Lagoon, in a campaign that just seems a little too light-hearted and free-form for that to work as I had hoped. Nonetheless, I felt bad about the prospect of replaying the concept in a different campaign, as replaying character concepts seems to be frowned upon in the TTRPG community.
Watching your video though, I resonate with the idea that I have yet to reach a narratively satisfying conclusion of the character's arc, and it makes me feel a little bit better about trying to revisit it in a different campaign, provided this one doesn't change dramatically.
I run 3.5, one of the reasons I love it is how easily it is to multiclass. When starting a campaign, I start the PCs at 2nd level - and I allow one alignment change as part of backstory, which can be either between 1st and 2nd level or after 2nd level has been acquired. This allows the "change of heart" backstories to be represented by actual character class changes.
For example, an ex-criminal might have a level of rogue at 1st level, with the skills to match, but choose a different path, seeing the light and becoming a paladin at 2nd level - still have those rogue skills, but use them only for the greater good. At the start of the game, just trying to make amends for past muideeds, but at some point later on, the character could take the feat Devoted Inquisitor, allowing them to advance in both classes and combine some class features more effectively.
Another example might be a monk who is part of the community's choir, who is a bit uncomfortable with all the rules and structure imposed on what they can sing, who rebels against that and discovers the true magic available through music, becoming a bard . At some point the character might resolve the conflict between the lawful nature of the paladin and the non-lawful magic in the music, and take the Devoted Performer feat, allowing them to advance in both classes and combine some class features more effectively; though they must become lawful good again to advance as a paladin, they are still able to make magic with their music as a bard.
Personally, while I don't play the same character type over and over, I am a big fan of starting with a concept and using multiclassing extensively to build that concept.
My most recent 3.5 characters:
Elsabet, human female, a champion of a Shield Maiden goddess, who has a very strong fey heritage :
10th level: Favored Soul 4, Crusader 2, Warlock 2, Human Paragon 2
Plan at 20th: FS 4, Crusader 3, Warlock 3, HP 3, Enlightened Spirit 7
Very socially oriented, strong persuasion skills, lots of options in all situations.
Carson Black, human male, a sniper/crossbow master in a military commando strike force:
9th level: Scout 3, Fighter 4, Ranger 2
Further advancement: levels in Highland Stalker prestige class and possibly Horizon Walker prestige class, possibly another level in each of ranger and scout.
Quiet, surly type, deadly with his light crossbow at short range, very stealthy and alert to danger, very good tracker.
I feel this.
Definitely like playing w grey characters and so far they've almost all been marshal-focused. I also consistently deal in themes of redemption, luck and destiny, and crime, brutality, humour and self-discovery. But there are so many ways to engage these themes it never feels old. And even among my more similar characters there's a lot of nuance and they don't feel like tired examinations. I lean into my strengths and expand into places I'm far less comfortable.
I always either play a cheerful tall person or a small skrungley weirdo guy and there is no in between lmao
I think for me it all boils down to play style? I like exploring the world and engaging with other players so being outgoing and/or nosey is how I do that. And if no one else is willing to interact with the suspicious thing the dm has OBVIOUSLY laid out for us and is excited about then dammit it’s gonna be me!
I hope you'll forgive me referencing a different game but I think you'd like The Infamous playbook in Thirsty Sword Lesbians. It plays with those good reformed criminal tropes.
I definitely lean into the concept of average person that is thrown in way over their head and has to learn to survive. My favourite is a vtm gangrel that was embraced at a dark time in his life where he was doing what needed to be done to survive but otherwise wouldn't have fit into the clan. He had to learn what it meant to fit into the expectations in his own way, watching him become a monster was so satisfying.
I have two rp heavy characters which their character arcs are designed around coming to terms with a terrible incident in their past that left them with a deep sense of survivor’s guilt and makes them almost fantastical in wanting to protect their new found family (the party). They also both have the similarity that they will sometimes conform parts of how they respond to the world by what vibes they get off those around them, either opposition to those vibes or blending into them. In other words, they are used to changing their face and behavior to accommodate those around them and their needs. They are both deeply generous individuals who are intelligent researchers and have a love of people, often focusing their research on that subject. And both have had loved lives that left them burnt out and not ready for a new relationship, regardless of how well that previous relationship went. Oh and their situations with the families? Complicated, though for different reasons and in different ways. Mechanically, both are elves though entirely different subraces.
Are these the same characters? No. Some key differences is that the one I played further away in time is a deeply angry person who suppressed much of their trauma and who was constantly scared, angry, and frustrated. He was also way more tired. He also knew himself better than my character I would make later. He knew what he liked and didn’t like and what was important to him. He knew he would do the darkest things in the name of protecting those things. He also flinched at being called a hero and was far from his healing journey and catharsis. He just wanted to settle down and call a place home and have all he cared about safe and sound.
My character I would make more recently is tired yes, but this comes from the toxic relationship they had with their family and them recovering from some of that and just being tired from it all. It’s less high stakes than my previous one though it serves to mentally exhaust the character all the same. They are also more patient, less angry, and more likely to be playful in a sincere way. They also have a wanderlust that my previous character does not. They don’t know themselves that well either and are trying to find their identity outside of the role they served in their family. So it’s more about self discovery as well for this more recent character. They are also prone to wanting, and succeeding at making friends where ever they went. They had a far more drifting personality even though they could be just as grounding for the party. The main difference is that the first character did so as a mentor and my more recent one does so like an eldest sibling.
Either way, I will fully admit I made the recent character so I could play out certain elements I wasn’t able to when the first one’s campaign went on indefinitely hiatus. I missed it but there wasn’t a good way I could transfer over the character to a different game and have the type of character arc I wanted, heck I wasn’t sure I could trust any other dm to properly help me tell that story in the way I wanted to play it. So I I took elements I felt like would work for an new character and remade something from those parts that was similar but not the same. I do want to eventually play out my older character but I’m really happy about playing my recent character.
Man, that's actually the exact same thing for me. Tropes included. I actually recently created a wizard/sorcerer very much inspirated by Caleb from CR C2, now that I'm around episode 40+. I am very much attracted by a couple of story beats/story archetypes/tropes, 1 you already mentioned is redemption, the other would be "controlling the beast within". Maybe because I'm just fascinated by the concept of what could be good people if it wasn't for something alien that lives inside them, outside their own control that leads them to commit terrible acts, and how these people coope and try to control or even harness it. Stuff like this has been explored oh so many times in fiction, just some recent examples could be (going back to the MCU) Venom, or Ghost Rider or stuff that includes werewolves, that always touch on controlling the beast within. I'm very much a sucker for drama XD and yes, I sadly have never got to complete a campaign in my years playing, I'm right now trying to correct that by FINALLY getting into touch with a CR campaign group and make my dream of bringing a character of my creation in Exandria a reality. I'm so excited! ^^
I have so many ideas for different dwarf characters I've only made one
Not so much race or class for me but almost all my characters are true chaotic or chaotic neutral lol. My favorite character was a Jawa engineer in EotE he had made a army of droids that assumed his fake identity of smuggler, information broker, thief, and crime lord muahahaha.
I feel some of it can be the concept of flow. When you play a very different concept there is going to be quite a while of finding the character in play (both in roleplay and combat). As these immersion interfering mechanics become automatic and natural you're more able to just be your character. Carrying over character similarities streamlines the speed to immersive play.
I actually am playing a pirate background monk/cleric at the moment
I've been told that I have a tendency in character backstories of a pattern related to parents/guardians at a young age, as well, but mine is not having "missing or murdered parents", but rather, asshole (abusive, neglectful, etc.) parents.
I think revisiting themes and concepts definitely *can* be because people don't feel they've gotten to fully explore a character narratively in previous games, but I also think it's just really normal that there are stories or concepts or character archetypes that just really interest people and that they're going to keep coming back to. If you read a lot of fanfiction/amateur fiction, and when they're outside the eyes of an editor/writing to a specific audience for publication, you absolutely notice certain authors love to revisit concepts and ideas all the time when they're just writing for their own fun. As long as the characters are sufficiently different from each other, I think it's perfectly fine to revisit themes. It's just good to also shake stuff up once in a while.
I enjoyed the Shepherd Book reference! Jubal Early was such a great, fun, character…that statement of his re: Book absolutely did stick with me…what did it really mean? Was it just Jubal’s viewpoint, perhaps not believing someone could change that much, or was it actuality? I haven’t read the comics, but I was never bothered about finding out, especially after watching Serenity.
“I am a leaf on the wind! Watch how I soar.” 😭
Spoiler for Firefly!
The series ended with Jubal Early floating off into space.
Does that seem right to you?
;)
Book's knowledge and skills clearly indicated he had a non-shepherd background. My head-canon was he was a lot like an ancient samurai warrior who'd become tired with war, death and violence, put away his daisho (two swords), shaved his head and become a monk. He no longer followed the Way of the Warrior - but he still had the knowledge and skills he'd acquired...
@@ernesthakey3396 reply to Spoilers for Firefly:
Yes, and I was glad to see Jubal Early be jettisoned off into space when I first watched that episode on TV and every time I’ve watched the DVDs since. He is a fantastic, crazy, funny, and scary character that put the crew into such a state in a shorter amount of time than seemed possible upon their own ship. What a huge relief it was when they finally outsmarted him!
As for Book, I think your head-canon is basically correct…something happened to cause him to rethink his path and have a change of heart that led to him becoming a preacher. But in no way did that mean he forgot all his previous knowledge and skills (only advancing age might have dulled them somewhat). I believe the (unread-by-me comics) go into more detail about his backstory, though, if Wikipedia isn’t leading me on.
But who knows what Jubal Early was thinking of when he said Book wasn’t a preacher…that character had some odd ways of thinking.
@@snotrajohnson more Firefly spoilery stuff...
Also Jubal had some trouble hearing correctly. The real Jubal Early from whom they borrowed the name was a Confederate general in the American Civil War, he was a racist/white supremacist based on his activities after the war, so casting a black man in the part was awesonely ironic, and he had partial hearing loss in one ear, which they kept for the Firefly character, hence the "lion" and "bounty hunter" weirdness. He was also supposedly one of Nathan Fillion's ancestors. :)
Sorry to hear about the strike, Mike, I'm going to assume it was the video about classes that used movie footage?
Yep, it took me a few tries to get that one uploaded.
@@SupergeekMike I remember watching that video the first time, cringing as the movie footage popped up thinking "Hope Mike doesn't get any trouble over this."
I play similar characters because I hate painting miniatures. That's the beginning and the end of it.
transmigrated from earth (self-insert), Reborn Kensei Monk (if only the fantasy was met and the build wasn't terrible, 5e Monk and Kensei really don't work properly 5e imo)
I kind of feel like, that I want to play similar characters, just because that is who I feel comfortable with.
So my approach is, that I basically take aspects of three existing characters and form the base of my char from that.
Now the first is basically headstrong, direct and confident. The second arrogant, prideful and generous.
The third? Is the thing that changes from character to character, making them different from one another.
That way, they all should have a similar base and feel, but not turn out to be the same character again.
I would guess that the character type you talk about most (reformed criminal, bad past trying to do good, etc) is universally interesting. I have made 2 characters like that. Returning to your example of Saul/Paul, he is meant to be an example for all of us, to turn away from sin and the world and follow God instead (of course, he THOUGHT he was following God and Jesus had to correct him). My point is that we are all Saul - we’ve all done things we regret or were versions of ourselves we don’t like. But we’re all trying to pursue good in our lives as well. So I think many of us are drawn to that idea played out dramatically in a sordid past that has turned to good.
Not exclusively, of course - sometimes you have to play a sheltered, bubbly storyteller like Jester.
7:55 Please have spoiler alerts for dnd campaigns like you did for firefly.
Old video, but felt the need to point it out. Saul becomes Paul because when God gives a person a mission, he also changes their name to a more appropriate one. Abram because Abraham because he will be the father of nations. Simon becomes Peter (Cephas) because on this Rock, I will build my church. Saul was changed to Paul (small or humble) because God has a sense of humor and because Saul needed to humble himself and serve God.
Im currently, Finally, playing a character I've been wanting to play as for the last 2 years or so... however. I found out late that the campaign might end in 4 sessions.. so my desired goal wont be reached so back to the shelf with her and hope for the best next time... if she get picked that is because if there is one thing D&D players dont have a shortage of its characters xD
I clicked on this video because I think I do often play the same types of characters... mostly bards, sometimes arcane tricksters, sometimes fey warlocks, and once a trickery cleric, and once a dreams druid flavoured as a witch... I'm not entirely sure if it's a character type i'm trying to recreate, or a fairy-tale vibe... I would love it if someone could tell me. But it is something I keep coming back to. I wonder what it means.
Sadly, I am stuck with a DM who seems to make it his goal to corrupt the characters.
He REFUSES to give us a chance to ever be the good guys.
Starting to tick me off, honestly.
What level Patreon backer do you need to be to get access to that The Vision build? :)
As a burnt out former gifted kid, I find myself playing gifted kids who have successfully rebelled against the authority figures in their lives. I think I do this because I wasn't able to push back against authority in my youth. My rebellions we're squashed hard, and I was forced to conform to expectations. I'm working through my trauma.
"Burned out gifted kid" is definitely an archetype I find myself returning to a lot as well, both because I find it interesting, but also relatable enough to get into character really easily.
@@honoratagold Plus it can lend itself to several classes, so you can play a similar character while exploring new play styles. I've played like this as a Warlock, Sorcerer, Bard, and Wizard so far.
@@mossj52 Yes! Having thought on this, though, I think I come at "burned out former gifted kid" from a different place than you do. I like playing characters who had a very clear-cut identity of where they fit in the world, and then they failed. This *includes* my burned-out former gifted kid wizard, but also explains why I keep coming back to fighters who used to be paladins.
@@honoratagold It's all open for interpretation. For me, it's based on my personal experience as a gifted kid millennial growing up in the 90s. So much was expected of us. There were 12 of us in my grade, and only 2 of the group survived all the pressure to live up to any of those expectations. The rest of us burned out a long the way. It's cathartic to work through that and have some control for once.
Nowadays, if I think in characters I'd like to play I try to avoid the edgy snarky guy because I feel I'm a teenager again and I'd love to explore other possibilities. And maybe and come back to that base concept someday if I have something interesting to add. However, thinking in being something with more identity is fun.
I don't do it all the time but I did on two separate occasions without noticing it create a noble elf wizard who had a sister who was jealous of her and tried to kill her. Twice. One of them ended up reconciling with the sister the other became a lich and was a part of the downfall of elven civilization. Both are shitty moms.
I main rogues or rogue agacent classes, but I don't think I have a recurring character *concept* 🤔. I moreso enjoy the role of the rogue and end up changing up the type of character that would find themselves filling that role. Funny enough I don't think I've made a proper edgy loner yet (maybe arguably my tabaxi monk)
In response to your taking inspiration from the Bible, I've just had a thought for a druid character, inspired by the story of King Nebuchadnezzar being made mad by God for being too proud, so that he ends up living among the animals for a spell. So, the druid would have no memory beyond having woken up in the forest one day. It may or may not get revealed at some point that he used to be a person of note, possibly a powerful sorcerer (which woulld explain his affinity to magic, albeit of a different sort), but something happened to him. I'm interested by this character but slightly concerned he might tempt me into main character syndrome.
I love it!
@@SupergeekMike Thanks for the appreciation. I hope you're well again.
Is there where I admit that no matter the system I end up playing characters who means well but through either misguidedness or poor charisma continually just messes things up for themselves yet is so incapable of seeing this that they push people away by blaming everything else for her misfortunes.
I have noticed two main trends with my characters, One I play a lot of high charisma characters and idk why. Either charisma casters or just characters with charisma as a high second stat. I dont really have an explanation for this one other then maybe it is cause I like being the face of the party and roleplaying in character.
The other one I do have a solid reason for. I have a trouble history with religion and my Christian. For awhile the only clerics/paladins I would make had trouble with their faith. And a lot of characters would have their faith section of the character sheet just blank. As I have explored my spirituality though (I might be wiccan) I have made a few characters who would follow more unique religions but I still stay away from the heaven/hell inspired type deities.
From the opposite direction, or at least a sideways direction - I have pretty much been an atheist my whole life - and I have read more of the Bible than most Xtians, as well as delving into a few other things. Pretty much try to do the right things because they are the right things, rather than because of reward or punishment.
Yet in the D&D (3.5) settings I homebrew as a GM, one of the first things I determine is the theology and cosmology of the setting, which in turn influences many other aspects of the game world I will be running. And as a player, my characters often have a link to the divine and/or the spiritual. I like the idea of powerful entities operating in the background, overtly and covertly, taking an active interest in the activities of mortals, etc.
In most of my worlds, characters are encouraged to pick a deity, faith, or philosophy to follow, but it isn't required. "Everyone knows" powerful entities - deities, celestials, abyssals and infernals, that influence the world they live in, but not everyone chooses to worship. What the characters don't always know (though the players do) is that an unpromised soul may be claimed by such a power upon the death of the body...
In at least one game, a PC who wasn't much interested in a deity later found out that a particular deity was, in fact, interested in him, and may have interfered in his life...in minor, indirect ways, not impacting his free will per se, but providing obstacles and aid in equal measure...because he had no patron and thus no protection in the game of gods... That was a great session, the player took it well, the character was extremely annoyed but the player thought it was a great hook.
In terms of wiccans... In the 3.5 game I am currently running, one of the limited number of deities worshipped in the region is the Moon Goddess, who has three Aspects, who due to losing her Consort, in her divine grief is currently stuck split into those three Aspects. Each of these aspects has not only divine casters but witches, like sorcerers but with a different spell list, arcane casters with a link to the divine... From my campaign documents:
The Cult of The Moon Goddess:
A Greater Deity, CN, with three Aspects (It’s Complicated)
Aspect of The Matron, The Moon Mother, Storm Witch:
Intermediate Deity, Neutral (priests may be N, CN, NG, NE)
Domains: Animal, Moon, Plant, Storm
Favored Weapons: Club, Quarterstaff
Elite Priest: Druid, associated with Ranger and Wilderness Rogue
Required Feat: Animal Affinity (Handle Animal, Ride)
Aspect of The Maiden, Bright Moon Witch:
Lesser Deity, Chaotic Good (priests may be CG, CN, NG)
Domains: Chaos, Charm, Good, Moon
Favored Weapons: Scimitar, Sickle
Elite Priest: Cleric, associated with Bard and Rogue
Required Feat: Persuasive (Bluff, Intimidate)
Aspect of The Crone, Dark Moon Witch:
Lesser Deity, Chaotic Evil (priests may be CE, CN, NE)
Domains: Chaos, Evil, Illusion, Moon
Favored Weapons: Dagger, Rapier
Elite Priest: Cleric, associated with Hexblade and Rogue
Required Feat: Stealthy (Hide, Move Silently)
The Moon Goddess, whose name is unknown to mortals, is the most powerful deity in the Forsaken Lands, a greater deity, CN in alignment - but she finds it convenient to divide her power, attention and personality into three aspects, each of which acts independently of the others most of the time.
Her aspect as The Matron is the most powerful, N in alignment, holding half her power as an intermediate deity, with her primary concerns being nature itself, the wild lands, the animals, plants and people living therein, and the weather, especially in the form of storms. The Matron’s elite priests are rangers and wilderness rogues who become druids. The Matron does have some witches in her service as well.
The Maiden is CG, while The Crone is CE, both are lesser deities who are more concerned with civilized folk, in particular those who practice spontaneous, unregulated magic, i.e. bards, hexblades, warlocks, and witches. The Maiden recruits her clerics from bards and rogues while The Crone recruits hers from hexblades and rogues.
All aspects of the Moon Goddess have power over the Moon-Cursed, i.e. lycanthropes, which she shares with some of her priests and witches, and she is said to have created the race of shifters from lycanthropic ancestors; most shifters worship her for this reason. Her shrines are places of worship for all her aspects, some being located in towns and villages, others in places of natural power and beauty. Her basic credo is simple - “show respect, do what you will, and remember, what goes around, comes around” - of course, interpretations of that credo vary widely between worshippers of different aspects. Shrines are places of truce between the worshippers of different aspects, who might otherwise disagree upon some matters in a vigorous manner at times.
I know this probably is super unimportant to you but I happen to know the answer… Paul never actually changed his name. There is not a part in the NT where he says that he changed it. BUT Paul and Saul are the Greek and Hebrew versions of the same name (respectively). In the book of Acts, the author just starts calling him Paul instead of Saul. This might be because he was writing to a mostly Greek or Greek speaking audience. But yeah. It’s a common myth that he changed his name, but there is nothing in the text to back it up.
It’s funny cause there are plenty of oother characters in scripture that have their name changed to represent some sort of event or change in their life, but Paul isn’t one of them 😅
Saul and Paul are the same name. Saul is the Hebrew version and Paul is the Roman version. He gets called both names throughout his life .
The two names have nothing to do with each other. Saul was his Hebrew name he used in his private life, and Paulus was his Roman name he used in his public life. Many Jews did so living in the Roman Empire.
the only characters i have ever gotten to play were a gnome wizard and a tiefling sorcerer. if i have time to be in more campaigns as a player someday (i am the forever dm of my friends) i still think i only want to play characters that are non-humans and spellcasters because different kinds of creatures are cool and magic is also really cool
Interesting that you went to the bible for your first example of that archetype. I wonder if maybe you've got a strong religious background, and maybe that's another reason why you feel drawn to stories of redemption.