Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is LIVE! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
On making a memorable character
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="ad_hoc" data-source="post: 7431556" data-attributes="member: 6748898"><p>I have often seen these sorts of sentences: "I wanted to make a memorable character so I (insert combination of race/classes/feats/weapons/etc.)"</p><p></p><p>This is not wrong except that it begs the question. The assumption is made that characters against archetype (or without archetype) are memorable because they are non-standard.</p><p></p><p>For me a character is memorable when they have great moments in game. Playing a character with a strong archetype makes that character bold and vivid. Their identity is known and familiar. Then when they do memorable actions they become memorable. </p><p></p><p>In a year I don't remember the weird things about the character who did the amazing thing. I remember the amazing thing and can better associate it with a character if they had a strong archetype.</p><p></p><p>A note on back story - It only exists if it is in the game. A complicated and nuanced back story doesn't exist. Elements of it only exist if they occur during gameplay. That is why I love the background system so much, the traits, ideals, etc. allow the character's background to come up during play.</p><p></p><p>This is not to say that complicated and weird characters can't be unique. This is just a response to the idea that going against archetype is the way to create a memorable character. </p><p></p><p>Personally, I'm much more likely to remember a Human Champion Fighter than a complicated character based around a hook rather than an archetype.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="ad_hoc, post: 7431556, member: 6748898"] I have often seen these sorts of sentences: "I wanted to make a memorable character so I (insert combination of race/classes/feats/weapons/etc.)" This is not wrong except that it begs the question. The assumption is made that characters against archetype (or without archetype) are memorable because they are non-standard. For me a character is memorable when they have great moments in game. Playing a character with a strong archetype makes that character bold and vivid. Their identity is known and familiar. Then when they do memorable actions they become memorable. In a year I don't remember the weird things about the character who did the amazing thing. I remember the amazing thing and can better associate it with a character if they had a strong archetype. A note on back story - It only exists if it is in the game. A complicated and nuanced back story doesn't exist. Elements of it only exist if they occur during gameplay. That is why I love the background system so much, the traits, ideals, etc. allow the character's background to come up during play. This is not to say that complicated and weird characters can't be unique. This is just a response to the idea that going against archetype is the way to create a memorable character. Personally, I'm much more likely to remember a Human Champion Fighter than a complicated character based around a hook rather than an archetype. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
On making a memorable character
Top