What makes you a hero?

Stone Angel · May 20, 2006

What I mean is since 3.x I feel that how heroic my characters are have become directly related to what feats and to a lesser extent skills I have. In the older additions I never took consideration as to what bonuses and penalties applied to a certain action. But now I find myself saying well there will be an attack of oppurtunity or I get a -4 and so on.

Perhaps it is just age and things are different ten years later than when I was 15. In any case I wonder if anyone else has suffered the same problem.

In any case I have decided that taking these risks are exactly what makes one heroic, I mean Blek my warrior wouldn't stand there all namby pamby deciding to charge in and save the rogue from the troll. NO! He would see his comorade in danger bull charge it and then chop it's freakin head off.

Umbran · May 20, 2006

Well, of course, it all depends upon what you call "heroic".

For me, heroism is about taking risks for the betterment of others. The only difference is that now I usually have a better idea of how much risk I'm taking. Often enough, that means I feel more heroic, rather than less.

Ao the Overkitty · May 20, 2006

To me, being a 'hero' is a state of mind. If you damn the consequences and act heroic, you'll be heroic.

Heroes die young and die violently. Cowards die old and in their beds.

The_Gneech · May 20, 2006

A classical "hero" is generally just somebody who's larger than life. Heracles had an unfortunate tendency to kill his family and friends, but he was still a "hero." Achilles was a brat, but he was Super-Brat. It's still used that way in theater and cinema ... hence the "hero orc" masks in Lord of the Rings for instance, simply referring to important orcs that got a lot of screen time.

The idea of "hero" as do-gooder started being the currency in the romantic period IIRC. But it takes more than cleaning up the dinner dishes to be a hero. Doing great deeds for the good of others (or all), yup, I'd call that heroic.

The problem is, in real life, when you go up against terrible odds, you tend to get massacred -- which makes it much harder to actually be heroic instead of just sorta sad.

Similarly, in the game context, most of the time your characters aren't actually going to go up against stuff they can't beat -- because from a gameplay standpoint that would be frustrating and anti-fun. But you are probably doing things those 3rd level commoners who begged you for your help can't -- and that's where the heroism comes in.

-The Gneech

Balgus · May 20, 2006

Ao the Overkitty said:
To me, being a 'hero' is a state of mind. If you damn the consequences and act heroic, you'll be heroic.

Some would argue with your definition of a hero. To know the consequences and ignore them because you choose to do something you feel is heroic, may sometimes be looked at as stupidity.

DISCLAIMER**I am writing in "HE" for simplicity sake. I am not endorsing in any way, shape, or form that a hero can only be male**

A hero does what he must. Guilt for not doing, and a sense of duty means that he has no real choice. If there is a choice to be made, the issue doesn't qualify as heroism.

Just my thoughts.

(Psi)SeveredHead · May 20, 2006

I often think in terms of skill ranks. Can my Smart Hero create a computer from scratch with only a basic electrical kit, in less than a week? I think that's pretty heroic, but you can't do that at 1st-level.

I think heroism is a state of mind. Let's give an example, and note it's heavily biased, and not necessarily supported by other posters. Suppose terrorists have taken over the castle. Most of the people around are not heroes, and don't do anything (or maybe do something foolish). The guards might fight, but they just do what they're trained to, or what they're told. The best guards and best officers (heroes) try to come up with a plan, or sabotage the terrorists, or try to slip out and get help, etc. (Selfish ones might just try to slip out and run away, or strike a deal with the terrorists, etc.)

Heroes do something. What they do, and how they do it, is based on their personality, smarts, abilities, etc. I'm not expecting the (heroic) seamstress to pick a fight with a terrorist, but maybe she'll trick him into thinking the strike force isn't coming, or maybe she'll slip some knockout poison into his drink (getting the poison could be a mini-adventure in itself), or will try to sneak messages out of the castle (there are fifteen terrorists, one is a half-orc, one of the other ones got a gash on his leg fighting the guards...) etc. Or maybe she'll catch him by surprise (he thought she wasn't a threat, and was wrong) and beat the stuffing out of him.

Odhanan · May 20, 2006

My characters are not doing all the time what would tactically or mechanically make sense. For instance, Amalruth my devil character is absolutely excellent at disarming and multi-attacking people, but his main flaw is to loose his temper and just charge into the melee, wasting time on beating corpses on the ground and such.

I mean, that's all a question of how a player is willing to immerse himself or herself in a role, and how the DM manages it to keep things entertaining.

Whizbang Dustyboots · May 20, 2006

Ao the Overkitty said:
Heroes die young and die violently. Cowards die old and in their beds.

Or the really, really good heroes who never lost. Loser!

Seeten · May 20, 2006

I believe I am a hero because lesser mortals would not risk life, limb, and their souls, in truck with dark magic, the undead, and necromancy. I am heroic for my mission to liberate the souls of my people from their shells and mortal husks that they wear everyday, and free them to join me, in a slow and steady march towards the betterment of all.

I am a hero based on my actions, and my intentions.

Ao the Overkitty · May 20, 2006

Balgus said:
Some would argue with your definition of a hero. To know the consequences and ignore them because you choose to do something you feel is heroic, may sometimes be looked at as stupidity.

Ineffective attempts at heroics are generally indistinguishable from stupidity.