D&D 5E Help give a character in my game a new personality!

[ccs]

Ok, so one of the characters in my game caused a magical explosion when he killed a creature.
According to the critters write up, he needed to make a save or be afflicted with a random insanity.
Failed save.
Rolled multiple personality. At least 1 extra.

Doesn't matter what edition, world, or module it was. Or what race/class/lv he really is.

We figured we'd just go fishing & see if anyone here can provide something interesting.
Players idea, he says he'll play anything but same sex romance.

So surprise my player....

 

[cmad1977]

Determined.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Satyrn]

Ok, so one of the characters in my game caused a magical explosion when he killed a creature.
According to the critters write up, he needed to make a save or be afflicted with a random insanity.
Failed save.
Rolled multiple personality. At least 1 extra.

Doesn't matter what edition, world, or module it was. Or what race/class/lv he really is.

We figured we'd just go fishing & see if anyone here can provide something interesting.
Players idea, he says he'll play anything but same sex romance.

So surprise my player....

Joxer the Mighty.

 

[steeldragons]

Well, in order to generate a divergent personality for a multiple personality disorder, we'd have to have an idea of what the character's current/original personality is. Race/Class/Level don't matter...but what's the character like, now. How do they [originally] act? What do they tend to notice or think about various things? Introverted/extroverted? Some general parameters are helpful (if not, strictly, necessary).

As for the player's "request," is that some bigoted discomfort with the idea of playing a homosexual personality, or because the current character IS, already, homosexual, and thus the new personality should not be?

Or go with something like "you're a female (if the player is male, or male if the player is female) unicorn who is always mopey because she/he wishes they were (and wants to become) a pretty pretty sparkly pegasus."

 

[pming]

Hiya!

My suggestion would be to get a personality that is a "commoner". He's an adventurer, so that has a pretty messed up mindset right there (who in their right minds goes looking for creatures that want to kill you and eat you?...if you're lucky...or eat you alive to kill you...if you're not?).

Maybe...a farmer of potatoes? Perhaps an ostler? What about a wise old sage who used to be a magic user but somehow lost his ju-ju and now rambles on and on about "magical theories" and "magical flora/fauna" and about how he was once the Kings magistrate but got laid off because he can't cast spells anymore... a curse was put on him by n arch-devil. That curse caused him to forget his 'wizardly self' and adopt a fake personality...the characters actual one! Now the two 'personalities' each think the other is the "fake curse-caused one". ...plays into the residual self-loathing the character may have for himself over accidentally killing someone ("I don't deserve to live!... ).

^_^

Paul L. Ming

 

[rgoodbb]

He thinks he's a dark-elf with two scimitars.

......He's not already a dark-elf with two scimitars is he?

 

[Sadras]

We figured we'd just go fishing & see if anyone here can provide something interesting.
Players idea, he says he'll play anything but same sex romance.

So surprise my player....

Maybe this might inspire you - one of my players at my table is playing a 'slightly insane' cleric obsessed with bringing his deity back into the fold. He believes At'ar was an older female facet of Amaunator.

Below is an email my player sent me, with the italicised commentary being a short character prose...

From a setting point of view, there isn’t much on At’ar. There are degrees of separation through the editions as At’ar was a female facet of Amaunator who in turn was a facet of Lathandar who then “died” and then came back as Amaunator.

The way Kavah sees it, through his fractured sense of faith, is that At’ar is the true form of the sun god and that she sleeps within Amaunator and he prays to her in order to awaken her. Whether it is her or Amaunator (by extension) that grants him divine favour, who knows? There are, after all, still those that pray to Lathandar that Amaunator grants favour to.

Behind the curtain, as a player the way I would picture it is like this; Lathandar and At’ar are two very different sides of the same coin that is Amaunator. As much as the Morninglord claims to be a power of compassion and rebirth, there is an aspect of the diety that can be cruel, punishing and without mercy. And that’s what Kavah reaches out too. A major character motivation of Kavah’s is to tip the scales back to At’ar and turn the sun god to a being of wrath.

Why? I’d be lying if a large part of that was not because he is quite insane. That’s not to say that he isn’t cunning but he does have a very skewed view on existence.

His motivation for being with the party is simple. Travelers that have moved through the planes from far realms may hold the secret to fully awakening At’ar. As their power and fame grow, he can exploit that to his own ends. And for whatever reasons, he feels that his goddess has guided him to this group.

This is the short character prose he wrote up...

“Yellow goddess, mistress of fire, grant me your grace to strike down our foes.”

Over and over, Kavah repeated the words, his hands outstretched as he knelt over the open flame.

“Yellow goddess, mistress of fire, grant me your grace to strike down our foes.”

Slowly, the first rays of morning loomed over the horizon.

“Yellow goddess, mistress of fire, grant me your grace to strike down our foes.”

Through his reverie he could feel the heat of the flames move up his arms and fill his chest. The power of his goddess coursed through him burning behind his eyes. His lungs surged as he expelled the heat, gasping. He was favoured.

As the all too familiar sensation ebbed away Kavah jumped to his feet raising both hands to the rising sun.

“Thank you, my mistress. Thank you,” he intoned.

For a while he stood there, arms raised, squinting at the sun. After some time he repeated the words. “Thank you,”
He waited a few moments longer his face slowly turning to a scowl.

“I said, thank you.”

He waited even longer. But this time he began to shout.

“I am grateful. Acknowledge my gratitude. Acknowledge me!”

There was nothing. Kavah reached up even further tears streaming down his face from staring into the morning sun.

“Just ing talk to me! Tell me what to do! Is what I’m doing right? Am I serving you as I should? You reward my faith but speak nothing of my actions. You haunt my dreams in fire and riddles… ing talk!”

Kavah blinked. Spots formed in his vision as he closed his eyes tight. Under hooded lids he glanced back at the sun. No answers were forthcoming. He dropped his hands staring at them. He watched as the burns and blisters of his nightly vigil faded from his upturned palms leaving not so much as a scar.

Kavah let out a long sigh.

“Thank you.”

 

[Quickleaf]

Man, what kind of critter write-up are *you* using? I approve.

I recommend this Character Traits PDF btw.

Rolled multiple personality. At least 1 extra.

So surprise my player....

Ehinéus, a paladin of the Sundered Lance, who last remembers being surrounded by a flash of bright light facing the Questing Beast (or whatever your critter was). Ehinéus tends to wax philosophical, but in a grounded salt-of-the earth way. He is vaguely aware that he's not in his original body, but doesn't make a fuss about it, and seems to be vaguely aware of the actions taken by other personalities...but in a removed way...as if talking about a friend (or friendly rival) he hasn't seen in some time. Ehinéus embodies the best of the Lawful Good alignment. He isn't preachy, but knows where to draw the line. He isn't stupid, and knows when to laugh off a doctrinal/philosophical difference that's not a big deal in the larger picture. He isn't a zealous kill-machine, but has years of military experience back up by sound strategy. And he's no martyr, but he'll lay it all on the line for a true friend or a cause he believes in.

Among his personality traits...Ehinéus has a fondness for beer, especially the deep scent of a nice dark sweet malt from his homeland, but never drinks to excess.

His roots are in the country, where his mother was a minor baroness of an outlying province, and while he tries to rise above it, every now and then he slips back into the vulgar lingo he grew up with.

His ideal is Respect, believing that people, great and small, rich and poor, all deserve to be treated with respect.

When push comes to shove, however, his bond to the scattered brethren of the Sundered Lance may come between him and his current allies and quest. Finding them...despite the fact it's been many years...or their offspring and making sure they're well is of importance to him. If he were to discover the Sundered Lance had disbanded, turned to evil, or been slaughtered/imprisoned, that could spur Ehinéus to immediate action contrary to the desires of the rest of the party.

While usually a prudent man, Ehinéus has a glaring flaw – Ehinéus is the world's worst liar, even when a "little white lie" might spare someone pain. He tells it like is is and has trouble keeping his true feelings hidden for longer than a breath. His sharp tongue can land him in hot water if he's not careful.

 

[ccs]

As for the player's "request," is that some bigoted discomfort with the idea of playing a homosexual personality, or because the current character IS, already, homosexual, and thus the new personality should not be?

(Shrugs) You'll have to discuss that with him, not me. Might be difficult as he's not an ENWorld member.

So, given a 99.999% blank canvas, can you create something interesting or not?

 

[steeldragons]

So, given a 99.999% blank canvas, can you create something interesting or not?

What?! You didn't like "mopey unicorn who wants to be a pretty pretty sparkly pegasus?"

Sounds "interesting" to me. Have the PC have to adopt a non-PC/"monster" persona...maybe believe themselves "<trapped/cursed/ensorcelled> into this dreadful bi-pedal form..."