Have you ever let your ego creep into your character? Did it turn ugly, or did you manage to check yourself?

Fauchard1520 · Nov 14, 2018

I've got a slightly longer write-up on the subject over here, but I've got to admit I run into this a lot during one-shots. The easiest way to build character and set up conflicts is to decide you don't like some other PC at the table. Bickering and petty insults giving way to teamwork and cooperation is well and good as a trope, but I get tired of it in hurry.

So like it says in the title: Have you ever let your ego creep into your character? Did it turn ugly, or did you manage to check yourself?

iserith · Nov 14, 2018

For the life of me, I don't understand why a player would choose to create conflict in the party when there's a whole world of villains and monsters with whom to have conflicts. Those that do try to create drama in the party find they don't get invited back to our games.

BookBarbarian · Nov 14, 2018

I can't say I've let it creep into my character, but that isn't to say I haven't let it creep into play.

The urge to rules lawyer is somethings strong. Some deep breaths help it pass though.

Satyrn · Nov 14, 2018

iserith said:
For the life of me, I don't understand why a player would choose to create conflict in the party when there's a whole world of villains and monsters with whom to have conflicts. Those that do try to create drama in the party find they don't get invited back to our games.

Ditto.

BookBarbarian said:
I can't say I've let it creep into my character, but that isn't to say I haven't let it creep into play.

The urge to rules lawyer is somethings strong. Some deep breaths help it pass though.

And ditto again

Henry · Nov 14, 2018

I don't know if this is in similar vein or not, but I used to play with a guy who for some reason, consciously or not, decided to "one-up" every PC I played by playing a PC with the same party role, but with lots of rules-tweaking to make the PC better. It was kind of obvious after a while: (1) I would create a PC, (2) he would get tired of the PC he was playing and retire them, and (3) a new PC was introduced that was the same or similar class, but optimized to do what mine did, even better. If I died, and created someone else, a few months later along came his new PC that was a better healer/spellcaster/frontline martial than I was.

To this day, I have no idea why he did this, or if maybe I pissed him off somehow previously, or maybe he couldn't settle on one single character idea and liked what I was doing. After a talk, he quit doing this, and all was well and never mentioned again, but it was hellaciously annoying while it happened, as if he was determined to do me better than I did me.

Ralif Redhammer · Nov 14, 2018

I think there’s a fine line between RP-focused bickering between characters, and what amounts to in-game bullying. At a con a while back, my cowardly tiefling and a valorous cleric, as you might imagine, didn’t see eye-to-eye. We needled each other throughout the game (though outside of the in-character RP, we worked together). During a break in the game, we talked to make sure neither of us was taking offense. For that back-and-forth banter, the game was one of the most memorable of the con.

But at the same time, I’ve seen plenty of interactions where it’s just one player dumping on another. Which, as I said above, is just another form of bullying.

Henry · Nov 14, 2018

Ralif Redhammer said:
I think there’s a fine line between RP-focused bickering between characters, and what amounts to in-game bullying. At a con a while back, my cowardly tiefling and a valorous cleric, as you might imagine, didn’t see eye-to-eye. We needled each other throughout the game (though outside of the in-character RP, we worked together). During a break in the game, we talked to make sure neither of us was taking offense. For that back-and-forth banter, the game was one of the most memorable of the con.

Those are some of my favorite moments as a player - when you and another player are in on the dynamic and it just works. I once met another player at Gencon, first time we had ever spoken, where I played the Greyhawk character Robilar and she played Quij, Robilar's *ahem* faithful orc manservant. I gave her no end of crap, making Quij take trapfinding detail, ordering him into danger first, etc. and she played along perfectly, at times even interpreting Robilar's orders in a way that gave him an eye twitch.

She was a fantastic player, sorry to say I don't think I ever met her at any other conventions, since I rarely got to play RPGA at the time.

It's also one of the reasons I've really gotten into Critical Role - the in-person dynamics between the players in everything from sentimental moments to outright conflict is pretty amazingly done, because they've been friends so long they know exactly how far to take things, always to the betterment of the story, whether it is detrimental to their PCs or not.

Fauchard1520 · Nov 15, 2018

Ralif Redhammer said:
I think there’s a fine line between RP-focused bickering between characters, and what amounts to in-game bullying. At a con a while back, my cowardly tiefling and a valorous cleric, as you might imagine, didn’t see eye-to-eye. We needled each other throughout the game (though outside of the in-character RP, we worked together). During a break in the game, we talked to make sure neither of us was taking offense. For that back-and-forth banter, the game was one of the most memorable of the con.

But at the same time, I’ve seen plenty of interactions where it’s just one player dumping on another. Which, as I said above, is just another form of bullying.

Good on you guys for talking it out during the break. It's awfully easy to let the appearance of negativity become the real thing, and taking the time to tap the brakes and make sure everyone is on the same page is the sign of a mature player.

Horwath · Nov 16, 2018

BookBarbarian said:
I can't say I've let it creep into my character, but that isn't to say I haven't let it creep into play.

The urge to rules lawyer is somethings strong. Some deep breaths help it pass though.

This is so true. Might be explained that no one likes to be cheated and when you feel that something was wrong by rules and it hurts your character it's natural to react, yet sometimes reaction can be and overkill in comparison to actual rule infraction.

Also I have sometimes been guilty of "having a go" at party's paladin when he tries to stop a brilliant plan to stop the BBEG because plan lacks honor or it is wrong to use lesser evil to fight bigger evil. Fun times though

Imaculata · Nov 16, 2018

I can't say this has ever happened to me. Whenever I create a character, I tend to make them flawed characters. I greatly enjoy the moments where my character embarasses him or herself.