How would you roleplay this?

AkamaruRules · Jun 1, 2019

I'm making a high elf mystic who is arrogant and looks down on others (unless they're friends or he trusts them) but in reality hes the one literally be looked down on because he's shorter than the shortest high elf, the other high elves nicknamed him Dwarf because he's as tall as one. How would you roleplay him?

Dannyalcatraz · Jun 1, 2019

Short and arrogant?

Ever hear of short man’s disease/syndrome/complex? Play him with a chip on his shoulder that is 1:1 scale with him.

Or, as my 4’8” Gramma used to say, “You think you can get away with __________ just because you’re taller than me?” (That woman could throw a family Bible one handed, with accuracy,)

Blue · Jun 1, 2019

AkamaruRules said:
I'm making a high elf mystic who is arrogant and looks down on others (unless they're friends or he trusts them) but in reality hes the one literally be looked down on because he's shorter than the shortest high elf, the other high elves nicknamed him Dwarf because he's as tall as one. How would you roleplay him?

I'm play him out to prove he's the best. Always having to go further, do more, top whatever everyone else has done. He has to prove he's best, even when the only one actually judging is himself. And of course trying to make it look effortless, to show he's just naturally superior.

The flips side of this for an NPC would be to put down everyone so that he feels superior to them, making little of their accomplishments. But seriously, that's not fun to be another one of the players around the table, and that much negativity may not even be fun to RP long term. So I wouldn't do that for a PC. Make him a little snarky, sure that'll bring the point with some levity without being a drag. But not full on tear-others-down mode.

The Black Ferret · Jun 3, 2019

Like Tanner in The Bad News Bears movie (the original). Kid had quite the Napoleon Complex

GMMichael · Jun 4, 2019

AkamaruRules said:
I'm making a high elf mystic who is arrogant and looks down on others (unless they're friends or he trusts them) but in reality hes the one literally be looked down on because he's shorter than the shortest high elf, the other high elves nicknamed him Dwarf because he's as tall as one. How would you roleplay him?

Mystic, huh? I'd go with humble, reverent, and very generous in his delivery of boots to the head.
[video=youtube;tfMcxmOBmpk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfMcxmOBmpk[/video]

Michele · Jun 4, 2019

Annoyingly.

Note that while you made the proviso he won't annoy his friends (the other PCs, I suppose), he'll be perfectly able to nip in the bud potentially useful relations with NPCs. That's indirectly annoying to his friends - and their controlling players.