Which of these sterotypical PCs have appeared the most in your campaigns?

Dark Jezter

First Post
EDIT: This was originally going to be a poll, but I screwed up and missed the poll options and definitions of the types. So, here are the definitions anyway...

The Gruff Dwarven Fighter: Wears heavy armor, fights with an axe, and has enough hit points that he'd barely feel a thing if a dump truck ran into him. When not fighting, he's usually drinking ale or making unflattering remarks about elves.

The Conan-wannabe Womanizing Barbarian: Unlike Robert E. Howard's most famous character, who relied upon his wits and instincts in addition to his brawn when defeating foes, this barbarian usually grabs the biggest weapon he can find and charges into combat with abandon. When not killing things, he's usually getting drunk or trying to get the busty tavern wench into bed.

The Brooding Loner: Popular among anime fans, the brooding loner rarely talks. If anybody asks him what's wrong, he won't tell them. His fashion sense usually involve large, concealing cloaks that make them look all cool and mysterious. When the party stops at a tavern, the brooding loner usually looks for a dark corner to sit alone in. This character has a tragic past, which usually means that his family or lover was killed by something (usually orcs).

The Good-Aligned Drow: Self-explanitory. The good-aligned drow character either a Drizzt-like drow fighter who dual-wields swords, or a gorgeous drow female who wears little clothing and likes to dance naked because she worships Eilistraee.

The Dumb Half-Orc: The dumb half-orc is a slow-witted, but usually lovable character who says and does stupid things, but manages to survive because he is a combat powerhouse.

The Nimble Elven Archer: This character is always an elf ranger or fighter with incredibly high dexterity who specializes in longbows. They wear little armor, and usually dress in greens and browns. Nimble elf archers did not originate with the LotR movies; I've been seeing these types of characters in D&D sessions for a long time.

The Self-Righteous Paladin: This holy warrior is alway rambling about justice and righteousness. He casts detect evil on everyone he meets, and will sometimes outright attack anybody who registers as evil. In combat, he usually charges in heedless of danger. Because of this, they usually have short lifespans.

The Kleptomanical Halfling Thief: This short little pilferer will steal anything that isn't nailed down... at least until he finds a nail remover. Parties often loathe this type of character because he's always trying to steal their stuff, but tolerate him because he's the only one who can disable those pesky traps down in the dungeon.

The Tinkering Gnome: The tinkering gnome is a kooky little mad-scientist who is part-Doc Brown from Back to the Future, and part-Professor Frink from the Simpsons. Tinkering gnomes can tinker with magic, technology, or both.


For myself, I'd say that the elf archer is the most common PC stereotype I've seen. In nearly every D&D campaign I've been involved in over the last few years, there has been at least one player who played as an elf ranger or fighter who specializes in longbows.
 
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What other stereotypes do we have? The character really only counts as a stereotype if this is the only aspect of their personality the players really roleplays.

* Brooding warrior who kicks butt but doesn't like doing so.
* Character whose parents were killed by dark Elves.
* Kleptomaniac thief, stealing even from the party.
* Holier-than-thou cleric or paladin.
* Barbarian who fights whenever insulted.
* Ale-chugging Dwarf.
* Cowardly wizard.
* Man-hating lesbian.
* Santa Clause.
* The Easter Bunny.
* A lesbian who likes guys.

Apologies for the possibly offensive Kevin Smith reference.
 

RangerWickett said:
What other stereotypes do we have? The character really only counts as a stereotype if this is the only aspect of their personality the players really roleplays.

* Brooding warrior who kicks butt but doesn't like doing so.
* Character whose parents were killed by dark Elves.
* Kleptomaniac thief, stealing even from the party.
* Holier-than-thou cleric or paladin.
* Barbarian who fights whenever insulted.
* Ale-chugging Dwarf.
* Cowardly wizard.
* Man-hating lesbian.
* Santa Clause.
* The Easter Bunny.
* A lesbian who likes guys.

Apologies for the possibly offensive Kevin Smith reference.

Please forgive me. I meant to post this as a poll, but made a mistake and the poll options didn't make it in. Scroll up to see what the poll options were going to be, as well as their definitions.

Stupid me. :D
 
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Gruff Dwarven Fighter has appeared more in my games throughout all editions of D&D. Hell, it happens to be one of my favorite stereotypes anyway.
 

Dark Jezter said:
The Gruff Dwarven Fighter: Wears heavy armor, fights with an axe, and has enough hit points that he'd barely feel a thing if a dump truck ran into him. When not fighting, he's usually drinking ale or making unflattering remarks about elves.

Also known as "The 3-foot tall Viking".


-V
 


Same here. Seen most of them, especially the elf archer and the various dwarven ones. My last game featured an alcoholic dwarven monk...it was an interesting take on the beer chugging dwarf.
 

Have met the first Drizzt wannabee by a player of mine. Got a player who always has either a Gimli clone or a righteous Elven Archer.

Myself, I played the Conan Barbarian look-a-like but with wits and good instincts... although he did die because of storming an enemy.. ironic actually, the one time I used blind rage I was killed (Gebrelazu kick ass) :(
 

Oh to be fair one of my player's has never played one of the archtypes mentioned above. He's currently playing a Half-Orc Cleric of Saint-Cuthbert/Monk with the Vow of Poverty and Non-Violence slowly working his way into sainthood.
 

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