Creativity, or lack thereof...

[xXxTheBeastxXx]

Recently, I realized something about one of my players. He has near-to-no creativity. He loves D&D (or rather pathfinder since we switched over), and has a great time with the game. He's serious, attentive, and generally the kind of player I wish I had more of in game. However, his creativity seriously lacks.

Example: He is utterly obsessed with the David Eddings books (Belgariad, Mallorean, etc.) and bases every character he makes on somebody from that series. And when I say "bases," I don't mean that his rogue is like the rogue from the books or his barbarian is like the barbarian from the books. I mean that his rogue and the rogue in the books are the same, right down to the name (Silk). His barbarians are equivalent to those in the books, right down to the name (Barak).

I've also got another one who can't resist playing the chaotic neutral "jackass" character. Most of the time, it works, though. And his characters are usually more fun than the others, if nothing else.

Anyway, as I came to this realization, I was wondering who else had this issue (if you consider it an issue) of a lack of creativity in their party? Who is your least creative player and what sorts of things have they done to make you wonder "why?"

-The Beast

 

[Swedish Chef]

For me, it is not an issue. But, my players have slightly different versions of "lack of creativity".

I find it all boils down to their personality. Some people can make stuff up easily, others can not, so they go with what they know. If that means they copy a favourite character in a comic, novel, video game or whatever, so be it. I don't mind. The fact that all the players continue to show up and everyone has a good time is all that matters to me.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I wouldn't let it bother you- every player goes through phases of non-creative PC design or playstyle.

Sometimes, that phase is 100% of their gaming career.

But that's OK because they're probably playing something they like. I don't get ticked off at AC/DC for playing variations on the same song for 30+ years, do I?

In my current group, we have a guy who plays mages 99% of the time...and those mages are carbon copies of each other, right down to the spell lists (which, BTW, are nearly identical to the lists you'd find on character op threads), and have been so since 1985. The only non-mage I can recall him playing in D&D is a Paladin.

Another guy plays "special forces"/"sniper"/"ranger" types maybe 95% of the time. I've gamed with him since 1996, and I've only seen two PCs- his current one and one other- that were not in that vein.

And like I said above, they ENJOY those PCs...and they play them well.

 

[Nifft]

How do these non-creative players handle their characters being in situations which weren't explored by their source material?

Do they clam up entirely, or do they show some ... creativity?

Cheers, -- N

 

[Mallus]

People get different things out of the game. Accept that. Embrace that.

How can I fault a person who wants to play Silk from the Belgariad when I play an obese reptile-man who's a cross between Don Quixote, Peter Pan, and a Komodo dragon, who sounds a bit like Patrick Stewart and fights using his own, ahem, bodily fluids. When I'm not playing a 14 year-old Latino Catholic who's also the Egyptian God of Mexican Wrestling (I contractually obligated to mention him in any thread about PC's...).

Judge not lest ye be judged and all.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I'm sure I've said this before, Mallus, but I want to see video of Joseirus in action.

 

[Doug McCrae]

Personally, I couldn't play with that guy. Creativity is too much of a big deal for me. A big part of the pleasure I get from gaming is seeing the new concepts my buddies come up with.

 

[Umbran]

Anyway, as I came to this realization, I was wondering who else had this issue (if you consider it an issue) of a lack of creativity in their party?

I don't see it as too much of an issue, so long as the chosen character fits well with the rest of the party and the player understands that the game is not going to consist of a re-telling of the story from their source material. I also know players who always play the same type of character (always the tank, always the wizard, or what have you) and they don't cause me problems.

The game has creative aspects - not all people need to exercise the same amounts of creativity, nor all the same sorts.

 

[Silvercat Moonpaw]

I've been doing RPG-like stuff with the same group for years now, and all of us have stuff we've reused and reused, sometimes re-working them, sometimes porting them over whole-cloth from wherever else they were. Even sometimes using characters ripped straight out of some popular work we've recently experienced with little to no tweaks.

And we're fine with that for the following reason:
Said rip-off characters will either take on their own uniqueness with time,
OR they're there to be made fun of.
Now if a rip-off character were introduced that was intended to be taken serious and didn't evolve then I think I'd be annoyed.

But I try not to expect the same level of creative ability that I have out of other people. I know it can be damn hard to be creative at all. Even ripping off a character from some popular media is actually more creative than I've been on a bad day.

 

[Herschel]

But that's OK because they're probably playing something they like. I don't get ticked off at AC/DC for playing variations on the same song for 30+ years, do I?

I do. They're like the most over-rated band, like, evar!

Yeah, some people just manifest creativity in different ways. Maybe someone who is 'copying' a literary character, or whatever, just feels like there should be more stories for/about that character and instead of waiting for the (potentially dead) author to write more, they take it upon themselves to further the stories. It may not be my taste, but neither are gnomes and those little buggers aren't going away. The game works for them too.