How do I roleplay 'creepy?'

[Storyteller01]

It sounds like Pinhead could be a good model for this character. Overconfident, uncaring for those unlike him but with a sense of balance and retribution. And he's all about the power (or at least falunting his). He speaks eloquently but unemotionally, and is convinced of his position and purpose. At least that's how I see him, but I admit to not being a Hellraiser Junkie or anything. Someone with a greater interest in the Hellraiser movies could probably give a more elaborate comparison.

"DO I LOOK LIKE SOMEONE WHO CARES WHAT GOD THINKS??!!"

A classic Pinhead moment...


Follow up some line with definitive retribution if pushed. The next time you say 'Is there a problem?', everyone will remember its result. Sometimes a bad memory is better than the real thing...

 

[Lord Zardoz]

Your not looking for creepy. Creepy is some 32 year old guy at the Walmart checkout counter buying 3 tubs of vaseline and 500 pairs of 5 year old girls underwear. Your looking for menacing and intimidating.

As a player, this is a hard thing to pull off. Partly because in order for intimidating to work, you have to be able to back it up, and it has to actually intimidate NPC's. It wont work unless your DM lets it work. As an added complication, those who want to be intimidating can usually back it up with acts of violence. Unless your in an Evil party, it wont quite go over well.

The best way to back it up would be for you to make demands that you can enforce the compliance of. In combat this means demanding an opponent surrender, and then if needed, killing the one who most directly defy's the command. Then after dropping him, restate the demand to the survivors and repeat.

Outside of combat, it basically means projecting a sense of authority. Be the one asking questions, not answering them. Also, if your not the one in charge, always be sure to ask permission to kill whomever is being annoying. Above all, be formal in your speech patterns, and dont crack jokes except as a deadpan thing.

END COMMUNICATION

 

[The Grumpy Celt]

Creepy is some 32 year old guy at the Walmart checkout counter buying 3 tubs of vaseline and 500 pairs of 5 year old girls underwear...

You promised you would never tell!

In any event, try staring at people. Supposedly Rasputin would make eye contact with people - and never be the first to break it. Just stare the DM and other players in the eye, and keep giving them a hard, cold, souless stare. This is harder to do than you make think and feels intrusive, but a little of it may go a long ways.

 

[Thunderfoot]

Creepy and menacing - how about Jafar from Disney's Aladdin?
I know he's a bit one dimensional (he is a cartoon after all), but the basic building blocks are there. Especially the looking down on EVERYONE else. Hope this helps.

 

[Felon]

Serve pizza at the session. Make sure it has tomatoes, mushrooms, and other soft veggies. Extra cheese too.

Doesn't sound creepy yet, but here's the catch: make sure it's Greek-style pizza and don't tell your gamers. They'll expect properly-cooked Italian-style, not half-baked, gooey, slimey slop. The veggies will taste like placenta, the cheese reminiscent of a severe yeast infection.

Now, people eating revolting food is usually just gross, but if your terminator guy can eat that nasty filth like it's delicious, that will make the transition from gross to creepy. I've seen people do it before--apparently, some restaurants make a tidy business selling this muck--and nothing I've ever experienced has creeped me out more. It's like some old-school Peter Jackson Dead Alive/Meet the Feebles stuff.

 

[pawsplay]

I'd be inclined to play him like a Star Trek Klingon, talk like a death knight from Warcraft, and do the whole "staring blankly" thing suggested above. Try to always sound a little pissed off.

"Can you help me with this rope?"?
"I'll be happy to!"
"Uh.... okay. Are you okay?"
"I'm losing my patience."
"Look, I didn't mean..."
"Are we going to finish this rope thing today?"