D&D General 30 Years of Gaming

[Ancalagon]

There is a fad going on, so I'm joining!

30 years of gaming characters

Inspired by the great Throne of Salt , here is a list of some of my characters in my nearly 3 decades of playing RPGs. I also got a comment...

slugsandsilver.blogspot.com

Some fun facts
Almost 40 characters
10 dwarves, 3 gnomes and 2 goblins. NO HOBBITS
24 spellcasters
24 D&D characters
Shout-out to EN world
The average campaign that doesn't fizzle out early lasts 1-2 years.

... I'm going to need a 2nd post for the games I ran!

 

[ccs]

5e- starting with most recent
Gorjira - Dragonborn Paladin. Green DB, but breathed fire. - played last fall
Karzouk The Almighty - Human (technically/mechanically a 1/2elf) Wizard (transmutation) No longer a parrot!
Roy - Human Fighter2 with Magic Initiate feat - if he ever gets played again, he'll become an Eldritch Knight.
Rose Burrfoot - 1/2ling Barbarian (modified Ancestral Guardian)
Corbin (II) Avericani - 1/2elf Ranger (hunter)
Elkhorn - Dwarf Fighter - game didn't last long enough to get a subclass
Bree Burrfoot - 1/2ling Warlock (Fey patron/chain pact)
Unnamed Gnome Monk in fortunately short lived series of randomly generated adventures
Garth of Amthydor - 1/2ling/dog Druid (land), cursed into the form of a dog (wildshapes back to 1/2ling)
Otto - Rock/Tinker Gnome Artificer - played for a bit in a short lived game at shop when initial HotDQ collapsed.
Mk-7 - Warforged Fighter (eldritch Knight) My 1st 5e character. Currently dead. Played when that UA article was new


PF1/PF2 - starting with most recent. Unless noted all are PF1 characters.
Bree Burrfoot - 1/2ling summoner4/druid1 - current character
Jack'son - Human Rogue4/Monk1 - current character
{something Dwarvish} Divinaar - dwarf alchemist for a 1 shot - I can't recall his first name without digging up the sheet
Zarbag - PF2 Goblin sorcerer lv9
4 or 5 throw away PF1 characters in Emerald spire. One was a Lizardman.
a Gnome Ninja - who never once gave out the same name. The other gnome ninja in the game new his real name, but it was never said or even decided what it actually was.....
Ahliza of Cheliax - Tiefling Divination Wizard17/Paladin1. (MC into Paladin 1 as the campaign closed)
Larith Avericani of Cheliax - Human Chevelier/Hellknight lv.18
??? - Mongrelman Ranger - sadly was not cutout for the world above....
??? - Human Cleric - lasted 3 hours before crit to death in 1 hit.
Rose Burrfoot - 1/2ling Barbarian lv3
Sir Justin - Human Paladin & his warhorse Victory!
Karzouk The Almighty - a CE awakened animal (parrot) Sorcerer with delusions of grandeur? (claimed to be the Rune Lord of Greed reincarnated)
The Watcher - an Assimar Psionic
Barton - Human Fighter with bow. So named because I was using a Hawkeye Heroclix figure.
Wellington something-something-something - 1/2ling Gunslinger (used a hackbut rifle! Hey, he was big game hunting - sphinxes to be exact)
??? - Human Fighter - very short lived.
??? - Elf Samurai - very short lived.
Brom Thorson - Human Barbarian - unexpectedly raised from the dead.....
Kelton Amberlord - Human Bard
??? - Human Warmage - used 3.5? warmage class in PF1 Short lived. Can't remember name without sheet handy.
Telemachus - Human Bard/Wizard Played 2009

3x
??? - Human Cleric - his god was imprisoned in a door somewhere & he had to find it. Played 2008/9
??? - a celestial minotaur Paladin
?? - a truly insane gnome artificer who was field testing assorted WMDs & other strangeness
??? {somehing Greek} - a Meadare (male medusea) Monk/gladiator
??? - a completely throw away character - I can remember the adventure(s), but not this actual character.
Melf II - A gestalt ELF/Fighter/Wizard I was purposefully trying to make the most generic elf 3x would allow, inspired by the old B/X days. Including the name.
Kelton Amberlord - Human Bard
??? - Elf Ranger in 2006 I didn't get to play this character long before being sucked back into DMing.
___ - Human Barbarian at GenCon in 2k - The DM provided a brief description of the characters but instead of having pre-gens made up, had the players roll up characters stats/choose feats/etc - for a 5hr con game where 3e was new to all at the table. The game consisted of several rooms, several skill checks/saves & a fight vs a Remorhaz. I don't think I named this character. So this is technichley my first 3e character.

2e- starting with most recent
Bishop Keef - Human Cleric, 13th lv, made abusing the Players Options books Played in 2016.
??? - Human ??? - the most remarkable thing here is that the character had an unbreakable quarter-staff. And a terrible adventure arc.
Kelton Amberlord - Human Bard
{??? something Greek} - Meadare fighter (Gladiator kit) - he'll re-appear in 3x
Corbin - Human Ranger. Eventually we converted the 1e game we were playing to 2e. His son will show up in 5e.

1e- Starting with most recent
??? - Deurgar fighter/assassin Played 2016 in stand alone adventure
"Bob" - Deep Gnome Fighter/Assassin played 2015-2016
Sir Justin - Human Paladin - played 2012-2015
Octavious - Human fighter - played for years, only at GenCon, reached 12th lv. Last played 2012
Corbin - Human Ranger

B/X/BEMCi - Starting with most recent
Garth - 1/2ling - The best that can be said about poor Garth is that he does NOT have a negative to his Con. Yay! Last played in summer of 2008.
Uno - 1/2ling The last pure B/X character played before we began blending 1e into the games as kids. So around late '82. He was played as a thief. It was stupid that I couldn't make a 1/2ling that had thief. well 1e solved that.
Sindar, the Elf - My 1st character in '81. He was an Elf! Wich meant he was both Fighter & MU!

4e
Kelton Amberlord - Human Bard - played in 2009
??? {something Elven} - Eladrin Swordmage
??? - Dwarf Barbarian

So, 60/61 characters that make the list (even if I can't recall all of their names).
There are alot more though in the B/X - 2e era than I could ever list. We played alot of D&D & chewed through piles of disposable heroes in one-shots, short campaigns, characters getting killed left & right.... And sometimes we had two or three overlapping campaigns - wich we played in any given session was just a coin flip. Most aren't memorable. A few have blurred together. And I'm sure I've clean forgotten plenty.

And this is only the D&D/PF/4e characters I've played in the past 40 years.
If I included characters from all the other RPGs I've played over the years it'd just look like a roll-call of RPG titles....

 

[Ancalagon]

There are alot more though in the B/X - 2e era than I could ever list. We played alot of D&D & chewed through piles of disposable heroes in one-shots, short campaigns, characters getting killed left & right.... And sometimes we had two or three overlapping campaigns - wich we played in any given session was just a coin flip. Most aren't memorable. A few have blurred together. And I'm sure I've clean forgotten plenty.

And this is only the D&D/PF/4e characters I've played in the past 40 years.
If I included characters from all the other RPGs I've played over the years it'd just look like a roll-call of RPG titles....

I am sure that I forgot a dozen or two of short lived, disposable characters. Like I remember making a high level monk that was only used in one session for example...

 

[Lanefan]

Ignoring whatever I've played at one-off convention games; whatever I've played at one-off drunken party games (New Year's Eve gonzo D&D with a DM chosen randomly from whoever's in the room can be a complete blast!); and a legion of NPC's I've played as a DM, this is the rather extensive roster I've had (in rough chronological order).

War Cleric is a separate class in our games; and Nature Cleric vaguely replaces Druid. Note that race-class or multi-class combinations don't always align with 1e rules; the options have been widely opened up over the years.

1e (modified)
1980s (original campaign)
--- Prince Dumystor Danara, Human Ranger. Yes, the very first PC I ever had was a high noble, the odds of which are miniscule but the roll was legit and in front of the DM. Arrogant as all hell. Killed another PC on a point of honour, was killed by his party in return, then much later revived into a decent career.
--- Astacoe of Einnoc, Human Fighter. Somehow, despite generally awful luck, this guy is still going 36 years after I rolled him up. Started as the werewolf-phobic engineer prisoner found in A2 Slavers' Stockade. Loses levels at every opportunity. Practical, stoic, introduced the alignment "Neutral Greedy" to our crew.
--- Lanefan Detustre, Human Fighter. If I posted like this guy talks I'd have been booted off the site in my first week. No-nonsense gonzo type, tough as nails, still going today but looking to retire and build a stronghold.
--- Eohyl Eriglif, Part-Elf Fighter-MU. My first attempt at a) a non-Human, b) a multi-class, and c) a female. Didn't last long.
--- The Hon. Amaco Ee, Human Ranger. Following on from Dumystor, a decent attempt at a 'heavy Ranger'. Didn't last long, largely because in-character story reasons forced him to retire after completing the mission he was there for.
--- Gutezapre Coriorx, Dwarf War Cleric. The first-ever Cleric to our homebrew Dwarven god of beer, this guy went on to a grand and hilarious career.
--- Noynek, Human Ranger. This one was an experiment in having two players share one character; whichever of us was there that week would play her, and if we were both there we had our own PCs as well. Experiment went so-so, character bounced around awhile then retired.
--- Terriann Meyan ap Tasanta, Human MU. First in a string of very short-lived PCs (a.k.a. one-hit wonders), this one died en route to her first adventure.
--- Falstaffe, Human Fighter. Another one-hitter.
--- Khurin Jaggedblade, Dwarf Fighter. This one did a bit better, though his dull dour personality made him a little boring to play as time went on.
--- Westra, Hobbit Fighter-Thief. Didn't last long, though had a couple of truly memorable moments. Ended up reincarnated as a bear after dying.
--- Ellen Ferran, PartElf MU-Assassin. This one was just nicely getting started when bad luck reduced her hit point maximum to 1. Quickly retired.
--- Cynthia Ulaniel Barin, Elf War Cleric-Illusionist-Thief. An intentional experiment to see if I could build a true jack-of-all-trades character. One-hit wonder.
--- Silk, Dwarf Cleric. One-hit wonder, now forgotten.
--- Skyboot Sharlineriel, Elf Illusionist. The last great one from this campaign, gonzo as hell, and she's still going today.
--- George Tookson, Hobbit Assassin. Disruptive one-hit wonder.
--- Ashalion [etc., long Elvish name], Elf Thief. Another very forgettable one-hitter.
--- Bofur, Dwarf Bard. A short-term replacement when all my ongoing PCs were awaiting revival from death, this one was a Bard who generated his effects through playing heavy-metal drums! Stealth? Surely you jest!

1990's (different campaign, later folded into the original listed above and reboot listed below)
--- Tuerezo, Human War Cleric. My attempt at plaing a true hard-line Cleric who e.g. would only cure you if you converted to her faith. The other PCs were (literally!) lining up to kill her when an opponent did it for them.
--- Troikka, Sylph Bard. One-hit wonder that had boatloads of potential.
--- Aelyina (Aelinelaure Turyavie), Elf MU. Also very psionic. She's still going today. Nasty, nasty woman who loves to watch things burn; and barely wise enough not to fry her own party.
--- Barin son of ... [etc.], Dwarf War Cleric. A forgotten one-hitter.
--- Telchar Angrenost, Elf Fighter. Three of us decided to try bringing in 1st-level PCs to a higher-level party, this was mine. All were one-hit wonders.
--- Perethorn "Pippin" Greenbuck, Hobbit Nature Cleric. This guy ran for a decent time until he set our all-world record for the lowest h.p. total ever reached, at something like -258. (a wand of lightning broke and released all charges in a confined space...)
--- Rosie Pussyfoot, Hobbit Thief. Brought in with her brother Claude, PC of another player. Claude did fine, Rosie was a one-hitter.
--- Kracz von Hellemond, Human Fighter. Another forgotten one-hitter.
--- Tuiminorien, Elf Nature Cleric-Ranger. Campaign ended before this one really got going, but there wasn't much here.
--- BigPig (Grashnalk Half-Orken), Part-Orc Fighter. This one carried forward into the next campaign as well, then lost his mind, died, and was reincarnated into a full-size Green Dragon somewhere else.

2000's to present (reboot of 1980's campaign in its own future, contemporary with 1990's one above)
--- Bieran DaFrijh, Part-Orc Fighter. A one-hit wonder for what we thought at the time was a one-off dungeon.
--- X (Amelia Xana Deianeira, then Xamela Purra Vestalis), Human MU. By adventure count, my longest-serving PC. Wants to become Empress of Hestia (a.k.a. Rome). Still going.
--- Thorheim Stannisson, Human Nature Cleric-Thief. Told everyone he was a Ranger and maintained this deception throughout. Retired after one adventure.
--- Zarine, Human Necromancer. Brand new class to our game, so gotta try it out, right? Squish. One-hit wonder.
--- Jasmine, Part-Elf, Nature Cleric-Assassin. An experiment, on realizing that class combo hadn't been done before. Loads of potential but didn't last long enough to realize much of it.
--- Riff, Dwarf Fighter. Lasted awhile but his rather one-dimensional personality eventually got a bit dull. Didn't mourn him when he died.
--- Raff, Dwarf Assassin. Brother of Riff (they came in together). Didn't stay in the party long but is still out there somewhere.
--- Harne, Hobbit Ranger. Failed character concept, retired almost immediately.
--- Antrayna, Elf Ranger. Off to a decent start then got into (and lost) a murderous dispute with her party over disposition of some Drow treasure we'd found.
--- Cholmondley Cavendish-Smythe, Human Cavalier. Sadly, a one-hit wonder.
--- Anathame Vorcoire, Necromancer-Assassin. The one-hittiest of one-hitters, she died while meeting the party.
--- (Lady) Elena (Grey) Vokorovitch, Necromancer-Assassin. Came right back with the same concept. Directly based on Capt. Jack Sparrow except without Jack's skill at survival: she died at every opportunity. Played for sheer entertainment value. Still going, but retired.
--- Aloysius St. John-Smythe, Human Cleric. A fine old chap, always cheerful, and brave to a fault. Currently active adventuring.
--- Terazon Khrutov, Dwarf War Cleric. Essentially Gutezapre, round two, only dialled to eleven. Somewhat surprisingly, so far he's done OK, and is still active. The picture I use for his portrait is to the left of the top of this post.

3rd edition
(2000s)
--- Gloramir Windhorn, Human Fighter-Wizard. Tried to recreate a character idea from 1e and ran aground on 3e's multiclassing rules. Decent career. Probably the best stats I've ever rolled for a PC.
--- Appppil Pagey, Part-Elf Wizard (Illusionist). Direct attrempt to make a 1e Illusionist in 3e. Probably the worst stats I've ever rolled for a PC. Best character I've ever played, in terms of fun, entertainment, luck, and - occasionally - usefulness. Invented her own spell (only PC I've had that's done this). Long career until killed by her own party.
--- Hrothgar, Dwarf War Cleric. One-hit wonder.
--- Fosbhe the Endlessly Incompetent, Human Fighter. Useless, hopeless one-hit wonder.
--- Godmorton Cholmondley-Smythe, Human Paladin. My one and only attempt at a Pally, another one-hitter.
--- Bjarnni Sigurdsson, Human Ranger (and Cleric later). An attempt to fight the 3e system and build a 1e-style 'heavy Ranger'. A powergamer friend later told me I'd done about the best I could have with its build, but it never mechanically worked all that well in play. His personality did, though: a noble quasi-Paladinic sort.
--- "Sliver" [ridiculously long Elf name], Elf Wizard-Thief. One of a group of throwaway PCs some of us brought in on running out of real PCs mid-adventure. Forget if he died or retired but either way, it was fast.

Other games
(1980s-present)
--- Que'flnrnl (Ka'fell), Dryad Bard, modified 1e. A wonderful if completely broken character who could charm the birds out of the trees. The game collapsed, or she'd have taken over the world within months!
--- Galadhremin, Elf MU, modifed 1e-2e. One-hit wonder.
--- Carantha of Los Trellos, Human Ranger-MU, modified 1e-2e. Failed character concept and soon dead. No great loss.

And various mostly-forgotten one-hitters.