Most of the time you’ll be trying to avoid creating a stereotypical character in an RPG. For those other times, there’s this article.
Halfling Thief
Your Halfling thief should be: scared of everything, fat, whine and complain, and furthermore he should try to steal anything valuable he sees…ever. No matter how stupid it would be to do so. This includes robbing your allies and the king of the land. Always remember that you love food and comfort. Try to con the GM into giving you a ring of invisibility.
In combat: you backstab people and run away.
Out of combat: you try to steal things and then run away.
In your spare time: you eat stuff and sit on a really big sofa.
Your attire: black clothes, a hood, a short sword, and lock-picks.
Elven Archer
Your elf could be a ranger or a warrior. Regardless, he must possess a bow which he uses to the exclusion of all other weapons. Your elf must love trees, hate dwarves, and act aloof. In most situations your only response will be to raise an eyebrow. You are the friend of animals, and you hate fire. If the party finds anything magical, you must always take it.
In combat: you shoot people with lots of arrows.
Out of combat: you hug trees and eat lettuce sandwiches.
In your spare time: you sing and play a harp.
Your attire: green; with leaf patterns on it.
Dwarven Warrior
Your dwarf should love beer, gold, and all valuable gems. Anything made of any form of metal or stone must instantly be claimed by you because your ancestors created it. You are honor-bound to do whatever you feel like and kill anyone who offers you a minor insult. You hate elves, orcs, goblins, giants, and practically everyone else. You always wield an axe in battle. If the enemy is too far away, you throw axes at him. You must have a beard. You must wear heavy armor. Practice your Scottish accent.
In combat: you try to cut peoples legs off with your axe or chop them in the head if you can reach that high.
Out of combat: you drink beer and shout insults at people.
In your spare time: you craft objects of beauty and then never let anyone see them.
Your attire: earth tones, and the heaviest metal armor you can afford.
Stupid Barbarian
Your strength is your highest score and your intelligence is your lowest. Your solution to any problem is to yell loudly and smash it. You never wear armor and you hate cities. Your favorite response to any question is to grunt. You have long hair and you appreciate good food.
You don’t have to be a barbarian. You could easily be a warrior instead in which case you would be allowed to wear armor while still having the I.Q. of a turnip.
In combat: you yell and try to chop lots of people up.
Out of combat: you pursue women with the famous pick up line of *grunt*.
In your spare time: you sharpen your sword and wrestle with the party magic user.
Your attire: probably only a loin cloth. You might get away with a shark-tooth necklace providing you killed the shark with your bare hands.
Crazy Old Wizard
You are an incredibly old man wearing a robe and a pointed hat. You carry a staff and you think you’re the king of the world. You’re always rude to everyone and you pursue power at all costs. Tossing around fireballs is your favorite pastime.
In combat: you shoot fireballs.
Out of combat: you experiment with deadly magical spells.
In your spare time: you sleep and brew potions.
Your attire: robes and a pointed hat. Color is optional, but it’s usually blue with stars and moons on it. Wand or staff in the right hand, and a pipe in the left hand.
Killer Robot
You are a giant robot with enough weaponry to blow up Switzerland. You were programmed to hunt down and destroy everything. You’re fast, lethal, and trained in all forms of martial arts. Despite your penchant for destroying things on-sight, you’re trying to get in touch with your inner feelings and figure out what it means to be human. In the meanwhile, you blow up anything that twitches.
In combat: you shoot missiles, blast with machine guns, and use lasers.
Out of combat: you scan for people to engage in combat.
In your spare time: you meditate on the nature of existence with one antennae out for your next battle.
Your attire: chrome with lots of weapons on it.
Goody-Two-Shoes
No matter who you are or what you do, you’re just out to be kind to everyone. You try to convert the villain, make friends with shopkeepers, and support the good king. You heal everyone, cast free spells for people, and give all your money to charity. Every cheat and low life in the world can take full advantage of you by telling simple lies you believe automatically. Like Luke and Vader, you see the good in everyone whether it’s actually there or not. You’re always Lawful Good even if alignment doesn’t exist in your game system. If you ever have to hurt anyone, it’s probably with a blunt stick and you’ll apologize afterwards.
In combat: you try to make friends with people
Out of combat: you try to make friends with people.
In your spare time: you sniff flowers.
Your attire: something bright and gaudy like pink or bright orange. You want people to know you’re there and that you mean to be friends with them. A large medical cross on a white backdrop is also a safe bet.
Maniac
You’re only goal in life is to cause the maximum amount of mayhem in the shortest time possible. Regardless of what your character actually is, you always pursue the most deadly combination of killer moves, massive explosions, and game-breaking powers. Your standard mode of game-play is to find the nearest heavily occupied area and try to extort it for massive amounts of money. If they don’t comply, your usually wreck the place. If they give you the money, you build up a horde of mercenaries and find a bigger area to use your tactics on again until someone invariably doesn’t pay up and starts a huge war with you.
In combat: you completely freak out and try to destroy as much as you can as quickly as you can. Buildings are your main target with something as small as individuals being a secondary concern.
Out of combat: you try to extort people in a thinly veiled attempt to goad them into fighting with you.
In your spare time: you recruit soldiers for your army.
Your Attire: isn’t of much concern to you and probably includes about 20 different weapons for all occasions.
Greedy Power-monger
Your goal is pure and simple. Gain the most money and power in the shortest amount of time. You don’t necessarily want to wreck anything like the maniac above, but if you ever see money you jump on it. You always try to get training, grab money, and pick up magic items no matter how little chance you have of surviving. Your motto is “Filthy stinking rich, or die trying.”
In combat: you try to get lots of money.
Out of combat: you try to get even more money.
In your spare time: you try to find the biggest hoard of money around and steal it.
Your attire: doesn’t really matter to you, but you probably have a wagon, 17 donkeys, and 25 dwarves with sacks to haul all your loot back out of the dungeon.
GM Fiat #3: Vacations
What does your group of adventurers do in their downtime? Do they split up and pursue random endeavors of their own, or do they just go shopping for more rope? It’s reasonable to assume that the party isn’t together at all times. After all, how would the shape changers impersonate them?
Given that members of the party will be spending long periods of time away from each other, it can be assumed that they’re spending all of the money they found while adventuring on some kind of activity which won’t help them statistically at all.
The players can choose these activities provided that they: A. don’t pick the same thing, B. it’s something that no-one would actually do, and C. it costs them all their money.
Some of the classic pursuits of adventurers with time on their hands are as follows:
1. Sleeping all the time. While this might not actually cost the character any money, it provides ample time for all sorts of thieves and baddies to get their work done and relieve the character of all his valuables. The rest of the group will probably have to wake him to get on with the next quest.
2. Drinking all the time. This character immediately blows all his money on drink and then becomes so hopelessly drunk that he’s completely defenseless and useless to anyone. The rest of the party will probably have to spend at least a week to get him back on his feet.
3. Gambling. This character immediately bets all his money and loses it. If he wins, he just keeps betting until he loses it.
4. Romance. This character pursues his love by giving her all his money. Better yet, he just buys a million roses for her.
5. Fighting. This character just practices throwing spears, swinging swords, and does a million push-ups over a small candle flame. He probably boosts his constitution by 1 point between every adventure. He also probably uses all his money on more swords because they wear out on him so fast.
6. Eating. This character eats so much that he runs out of money and his health drops by fifty points because he got so fat. His allies must find a way to lever him onto a horse to continue on their adventures.
7. Shopping. This character spends all her money on everything within sight. All of this stuff must be completely useless such as: drapes, doilies, and ancient plowshares.
8. Spell Research. Characters with a magical bent will probably blow all their money and time on: spells which could never possibly work, magic items which are completely useless, and potions which no one would drink if they had any brains at all. If the character doing the research can’t actually cast spells, so much the better.
9. Looking for trouble. This character waits for the rest of the group to leave and then heads to the most dangerous part of town or the wilderness to pick a fight. If he sees anyone who looks a little shady or who can probably outmatch him, he immediately walks over and says, “What’s the problem, mam?”
What’s your favorite character stereotype? Does your character do anything funny or awesome in his or her spare time?
Halfling Thief
Your Halfling thief should be: scared of everything, fat, whine and complain, and furthermore he should try to steal anything valuable he sees…ever. No matter how stupid it would be to do so. This includes robbing your allies and the king of the land. Always remember that you love food and comfort. Try to con the GM into giving you a ring of invisibility.
In combat: you backstab people and run away.
Out of combat: you try to steal things and then run away.
In your spare time: you eat stuff and sit on a really big sofa.
Your attire: black clothes, a hood, a short sword, and lock-picks.
Elven Archer
Your elf could be a ranger or a warrior. Regardless, he must possess a bow which he uses to the exclusion of all other weapons. Your elf must love trees, hate dwarves, and act aloof. In most situations your only response will be to raise an eyebrow. You are the friend of animals, and you hate fire. If the party finds anything magical, you must always take it.
In combat: you shoot people with lots of arrows.
Out of combat: you hug trees and eat lettuce sandwiches.
In your spare time: you sing and play a harp.
Your attire: green; with leaf patterns on it.
Dwarven Warrior
Your dwarf should love beer, gold, and all valuable gems. Anything made of any form of metal or stone must instantly be claimed by you because your ancestors created it. You are honor-bound to do whatever you feel like and kill anyone who offers you a minor insult. You hate elves, orcs, goblins, giants, and practically everyone else. You always wield an axe in battle. If the enemy is too far away, you throw axes at him. You must have a beard. You must wear heavy armor. Practice your Scottish accent.
In combat: you try to cut peoples legs off with your axe or chop them in the head if you can reach that high.
Out of combat: you drink beer and shout insults at people.
In your spare time: you craft objects of beauty and then never let anyone see them.
Your attire: earth tones, and the heaviest metal armor you can afford.
Stupid Barbarian
Your strength is your highest score and your intelligence is your lowest. Your solution to any problem is to yell loudly and smash it. You never wear armor and you hate cities. Your favorite response to any question is to grunt. You have long hair and you appreciate good food.
You don’t have to be a barbarian. You could easily be a warrior instead in which case you would be allowed to wear armor while still having the I.Q. of a turnip.
In combat: you yell and try to chop lots of people up.
Out of combat: you pursue women with the famous pick up line of *grunt*.
In your spare time: you sharpen your sword and wrestle with the party magic user.
Your attire: probably only a loin cloth. You might get away with a shark-tooth necklace providing you killed the shark with your bare hands.
Crazy Old Wizard
You are an incredibly old man wearing a robe and a pointed hat. You carry a staff and you think you’re the king of the world. You’re always rude to everyone and you pursue power at all costs. Tossing around fireballs is your favorite pastime.
In combat: you shoot fireballs.
Out of combat: you experiment with deadly magical spells.
In your spare time: you sleep and brew potions.
Your attire: robes and a pointed hat. Color is optional, but it’s usually blue with stars and moons on it. Wand or staff in the right hand, and a pipe in the left hand.
Killer Robot
You are a giant robot with enough weaponry to blow up Switzerland. You were programmed to hunt down and destroy everything. You’re fast, lethal, and trained in all forms of martial arts. Despite your penchant for destroying things on-sight, you’re trying to get in touch with your inner feelings and figure out what it means to be human. In the meanwhile, you blow up anything that twitches.
In combat: you shoot missiles, blast with machine guns, and use lasers.
Out of combat: you scan for people to engage in combat.
In your spare time: you meditate on the nature of existence with one antennae out for your next battle.
Your attire: chrome with lots of weapons on it.
Goody-Two-Shoes
No matter who you are or what you do, you’re just out to be kind to everyone. You try to convert the villain, make friends with shopkeepers, and support the good king. You heal everyone, cast free spells for people, and give all your money to charity. Every cheat and low life in the world can take full advantage of you by telling simple lies you believe automatically. Like Luke and Vader, you see the good in everyone whether it’s actually there or not. You’re always Lawful Good even if alignment doesn’t exist in your game system. If you ever have to hurt anyone, it’s probably with a blunt stick and you’ll apologize afterwards.
In combat: you try to make friends with people
Out of combat: you try to make friends with people.
In your spare time: you sniff flowers.
Your attire: something bright and gaudy like pink or bright orange. You want people to know you’re there and that you mean to be friends with them. A large medical cross on a white backdrop is also a safe bet.
Maniac
You’re only goal in life is to cause the maximum amount of mayhem in the shortest time possible. Regardless of what your character actually is, you always pursue the most deadly combination of killer moves, massive explosions, and game-breaking powers. Your standard mode of game-play is to find the nearest heavily occupied area and try to extort it for massive amounts of money. If they don’t comply, your usually wreck the place. If they give you the money, you build up a horde of mercenaries and find a bigger area to use your tactics on again until someone invariably doesn’t pay up and starts a huge war with you.
In combat: you completely freak out and try to destroy as much as you can as quickly as you can. Buildings are your main target with something as small as individuals being a secondary concern.
Out of combat: you try to extort people in a thinly veiled attempt to goad them into fighting with you.
In your spare time: you recruit soldiers for your army.
Your Attire: isn’t of much concern to you and probably includes about 20 different weapons for all occasions.
Greedy Power-monger
Your goal is pure and simple. Gain the most money and power in the shortest amount of time. You don’t necessarily want to wreck anything like the maniac above, but if you ever see money you jump on it. You always try to get training, grab money, and pick up magic items no matter how little chance you have of surviving. Your motto is “Filthy stinking rich, or die trying.”
In combat: you try to get lots of money.
Out of combat: you try to get even more money.
In your spare time: you try to find the biggest hoard of money around and steal it.
Your attire: doesn’t really matter to you, but you probably have a wagon, 17 donkeys, and 25 dwarves with sacks to haul all your loot back out of the dungeon.
GM Fiat #3: Vacations
What does your group of adventurers do in their downtime? Do they split up and pursue random endeavors of their own, or do they just go shopping for more rope? It’s reasonable to assume that the party isn’t together at all times. After all, how would the shape changers impersonate them?
Given that members of the party will be spending long periods of time away from each other, it can be assumed that they’re spending all of the money they found while adventuring on some kind of activity which won’t help them statistically at all.
The players can choose these activities provided that they: A. don’t pick the same thing, B. it’s something that no-one would actually do, and C. it costs them all their money.
Some of the classic pursuits of adventurers with time on their hands are as follows:
1. Sleeping all the time. While this might not actually cost the character any money, it provides ample time for all sorts of thieves and baddies to get their work done and relieve the character of all his valuables. The rest of the group will probably have to wake him to get on with the next quest.
2. Drinking all the time. This character immediately blows all his money on drink and then becomes so hopelessly drunk that he’s completely defenseless and useless to anyone. The rest of the party will probably have to spend at least a week to get him back on his feet.
3. Gambling. This character immediately bets all his money and loses it. If he wins, he just keeps betting until he loses it.
4. Romance. This character pursues his love by giving her all his money. Better yet, he just buys a million roses for her.
5. Fighting. This character just practices throwing spears, swinging swords, and does a million push-ups over a small candle flame. He probably boosts his constitution by 1 point between every adventure. He also probably uses all his money on more swords because they wear out on him so fast.
6. Eating. This character eats so much that he runs out of money and his health drops by fifty points because he got so fat. His allies must find a way to lever him onto a horse to continue on their adventures.
7. Shopping. This character spends all her money on everything within sight. All of this stuff must be completely useless such as: drapes, doilies, and ancient plowshares.
8. Spell Research. Characters with a magical bent will probably blow all their money and time on: spells which could never possibly work, magic items which are completely useless, and potions which no one would drink if they had any brains at all. If the character doing the research can’t actually cast spells, so much the better.
9. Looking for trouble. This character waits for the rest of the group to leave and then heads to the most dangerous part of town or the wilderness to pick a fight. If he sees anyone who looks a little shady or who can probably outmatch him, he immediately walks over and says, “What’s the problem, mam?”
What’s your favorite character stereotype? Does your character do anything funny or awesome in his or her spare time?
