Comments on: Overplayed Characters (Part 1)

By: Dryad Woods

Dryad Woods — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 08:39:29 +0000

Try this, it’s one of my favorites, A Male Half-Dragon Desert Dwarf Rogue. He carries a hand crossbow for distance, and a rapier for close combat. Is pretty powerful, and has a great nack of getting in and out of trouble. Very stealthy, and can break open a chest if he can’t pick it. A perfect all around character if you have the wits to use him.

By: YoungRocketSamurai

YoungRocketSamurai — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 19:08:53 +0000

I always liked the barbarian my wife used to play. Sure, she was big and strong and carried a huge axe, but she was always drinking tea and encouraging everyone to sit down (over tea) and talk things out.

When that (often) didn’t work, she (reluctantly) hacked her opponents to pieces with the huge axe. But she always felt sad about it afterward.

By: Character Creation Tips — Dungeon's Master

Character Creation Tips — Dungeon's Master — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 14:03:02 +0000

[...] I quickly learned during my first GenCon was that you see a lot of similar characters. All of the overplayed, standard and even predicatbale stereotypes are represented – Dwarven Fighter, Dragonborn [...]

By: Kuster Jr

Kuster Jr — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 16:07:14 +0000

…okay, so now I’m going to have to go build a dull, drunkard elf character…

Thanks, Golgotha Kinslayer, that’s a fantastic concept that should provide many hours of mirth.

By: OnlineDM

OnlineDM — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 15:54:05 +0000

I’m just seeing this post now from your “Combinations That Break the Mold” post, and I’m glad I saw it. I’m still new to D&D and while I’ve read Lord of the Rings, I’ve never read Salvatore (though I’ve heard of Drizzt). I’d never heard of the scarred wizard as a cliche before, for instance, so it’s useful for me to know about it.

All that said, I think the mechanics of D&D 4e encourage players to create certain cliched characters just because of the racial bonuses to abilities that are essential for certain classes. It doesn’t mean the mannerisms and motivations of the character have to fall in with the cliche, but the race/class combo is designed to flow smoothly and to be effective in combat. If you want to be an archer you want a class with dexterity, and so on.

I like this post a lot from the role-playing side of things, though. Just because you’re a Dwarven Fighter doesn’t mean you have to be surly, as you said. Good food for thought.
OnlineDM´s last [type] ..MapTool Macros – Multi-Target Attacks

By: Class And Race Combinations That Break The Mold — Dungeon's Master

Class And Race Combinations That Break The Mold — Dungeon's Master — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 13:02:48 +0000

[...] of our original articles discussed Overplayed Characters, today I want to look at combinations that aren’t typical. I’m sure there are many [...]

By: Kaelivrin

Kaelivrin — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 03:25:27 +0000

Wow this is all really great! I just recently got into dnd (4e) and have been playing and DMing for almost a year now. I am actually surprised to say out of my group of 6 i have only one of the stereotype builds (the duel wielder elf). I myself play a drow bard.

Its really great to see people with the same interest with all this useful input!

By: Ameron

Ameron — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:17:24 +0000

@Richard
Excellent point. If you’re new to RPGs in general then you may find it silly to “create” a personality for your character. Falling back on these tried and true (and overused) examples may be a good introduction to fantasy RPGs. I never thought about it that way.

@Sean
The lost orphan will absolutely be on the next list. It’s been around a while and I’m still seeing it. At least with the five I list above we’re not seeing them as much any more. Orphans seem to be on the rise.

By: Sean

Sean — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 04:22:40 +0000

Whenever my players make new characters, I’m always having to deal with this stupid “Orphan” backstory.

Orphan Rogues. Orphan Wizards. Orphan this, and orphan that. And of course they are all dark, mysterious, never really talk much, and “badass.”

Since when was it cool to be an orphan? I’ve officially declared at the table that orphans will no longer be allowed to become adventurers.

LOVING PARENTS ARE AN ESSENTIAL PART OF A GOOD ADVENTURER.

By: Richard

Richard — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 15:12:24 +0000

I think a lot of players pick these cliche characters because they know their personalities and feel they can roleplay them better. Most people don’t know the other options or don’t know the personalities of other characters. What they should realize though is that the character’s personality is whatever you want it to be. If you don’t know what kind of personality or traits a kalashtar bard will have, then you make something up.