It’s time to banish certain character builds from D&D forever. They have earned their place in gaming history and are now so overplayed that they’ve become cliché. With so many interesting combinations of race, class, weapon selection and demeanor you shouldn’t have to fall back on these character types. If you’re not sure what I’m talking about then read on.
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.
- Is he a giant among men standing at least 6 ½ feet tall?
- Is his Strength unparalleled even when compared to other members of his savage culture (starting Strength of 17 or more at 1st level)?
- Does he wield a hammer, axe or greatsword that’s as big as he is?
- 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.
Suggested alternative build
- Arm him with nothing but a dagger. No one expects a Barbarian to come at them with a dagger.
The Elven Archer
Legendary example
- Legolas (J.R.R. Tolkien)
I understand the appeal of playing an Elven archer. Why wouldn’t you play a race with a +2 Dex bonus? 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.
Suggested alternative build
- Give him plate armor and make him brazen instead of stealthy.
- Crossbows use Dexterity too.
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.
- A laboratory experiment blew up and he was burned by fire or acid.
- He was the sole survivor of a monster attack (usually a dragon) that killed his family and scarred him in the process.
- 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.
Suggested alternative build
- Proudly display your disfigurement rather than sulk under a hooded cloak. In your opinion anyone without scars has yet to prove them self against a worthy foe.
- Ditch the scar altogether and take a really high Strength.
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.
Suggested alternative build
- Any other race.
- Any two weapons but scimitars.
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.
Suggested alternative build
- Arm yourself with a short sword or a bow.
- Trade in the plate mail for hide armor.
- Give your dwarf a really high Charisma and be the face of the party.
These are just the five types that come to mind most readily, but we’ll review others in time. Have you retired any character types from your game table? Tell us about your run-ins with overplayed character types and what steps you took to promote originality.
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1 2 3 4 Next »On the other hand, one person's cliche is another person's niche. These roles have been around so long that their antithesis are just as cliched. The crafty barbarian? The dour elf? The fun loving dwarf? I've seen all of these. I won't say there's nothing new under the sun, but the idea of playing against type isn't new under the sun. I mean, heck once I read about this good drow... ;)
Nice post! It's time someone pulled up the roots on these cliche weeds. Especially with 4e, there are some new archetypes to explore and use. Are you going to go into the "new breed" with some suggested archetypes later? That would be pretty slick. I might post some of those myself.
You have inspired me. Thanks!
Isn't telling other people that their fun is wrong a kinda dumb thing to do?
@Justaguy
You make a good point. Perhaps the next post in this series should be about overplayed antithesis or the cliché.
@Harbinger
It certainly wasn’t my intention to discourage anyone from having fun. You should always feel free to play the character you want to play.
I’m trying to encourage people to be creative during character creation. My experience has been that the more original your character concept is, the more interesting the overall character is, and the more fun you generally have playing the game. I’m suggesting that you shouldn’t feel that you HAVE to play these stereotypes if you are making up a Barbarian, Elf, Wizard, Ranger or Dwarf.
What Harbringer said
@Gamefiend
I'm glad you enjoyed the post. I haven't seen too many of the new breed 4e cliché character types yet, but I'm sure they're out there. I'll keep my eyes and ears open and when I've got a few good ones I'll work them in to Overplayed Characters part 2. Feel free to offer me some suggestions you’ve seen (or possibly already retired from your own gaming table).
@Tom
Go with whatever combination will be the most fun for you to play. And if that happens to be the exact same character over and over again, than that’s your call.
If you like playing the surly, gruff Dwarf armed with a big Axe, then that's your choice. I merely encourage you to look at all the other possibilities before you make your next Dwarf. Take baby steps, maybe just change the weapon.
I don't think Ameron is telling anyone that their idea of fun is wrong. Rather he's looking at the archetypes of the game and saying "Hey aren't there more options available than this?"
We've all played a character who was modeled in some way on one with the classics Ameron mentions. One of my favourite characters of all time was a Wood Elf ranger who wielded two short swords. The best thing to happen to that character was when he died and was reincarnated as a Dwarf. The amount of fun I had playing the character at that point increased dramatically.
The first character I ever played was a big dumb barbarian, and I loved it. It was easy, and served as a good introduction to the world of D&D. I also played a halfling thief and a surly dwarf that liked his ale. In fact, I worked my way through the pantheon of Salvatore characters BEFORE I ever heard of Drizzt... and then I got bored with stock characters and tried to branch out and challenge myself with more original concepts and character types outside my comfort zone.
Nothing wrong with the "usual archetypes" at all. If that floats your boat then go for it! Usually it is backstory and character motivations that get me going.
My two favourite characters to date have been a necromancer woman and a human Clod. Yes... I said Clod. It was a 3.5 class someone made up. Big and dumb. Used a club. Actually got bonuses to some feats and checks due to his low Int score. Was -3 if I recall correctly. He's on file here somewhere...
It's funny, but I see complaints about these cliche's all the time...and yet, I don't know that I've ever played with one of them in my game a single time in 20 years of gaming. I have read all the novels that are the inspiration of all of these cliches (really, only two authors are capable of creating D&D cliches) and enjoyed them and if an inspired character showed up in a game I was playing I wouldn't likely think much of anything of it.
So what's the deal? Am I lucky to not run into these stereotypes in my 20 years of gaming, or are they not really as common as people like to say that they are. Really, how often to people see these things?