Lord Byron in D&D

[Byrons_Ghost]

I think it's a great idea!

I'd see him as the ultimate chaotic character- like people have said, neutral with possibly good tendancies. Though, looking at his personal life, you can see how he could definately be a prick at times.

I'd say bard all the way, possibly with some aristocrat levels (or courtier, if you use that class). Also, remember that his whole "dark" image was really just from his earlier days- he seemed to reinvent himself every few years, and went from brooding outcast to social dilettente to cynical expatriate to "revolutionary" within the span of a decade or so. Mainly, I'd just play him flamboyant- as for fitting the character into the campaign, he can pop up and help, hinder, and/or annoy the PCs with whatever "cause celebre" happens to be popular in the kingdom that week.

Physically, he was pretty fit in his younger days- however, he was also born lame, and spent a lot of time dealing (one could say overcompensating) with that. So I'd go with an average, or slightly low dex, and a higher constitution.

As for names, when I used him as a dream spirit in my Mage game, I used the name of Count Ruthven. The Count is more or less the first "literary" vampire, and the character was based off Byron in his early days, when the author was part of his circle.

Incidentally, for a good book on vampires & romanticism, check out Tim Powers' "The Stress of Her Regard". Here, the poets are the victims of vampiric spirits, who acts as deadly muses to them.

 

[Oubliette]

Keep in mind he had a club foot, and his poor constitution resulted in him being fairly sicky most of his life (Poor CON, move penalty)


Yoink!

Consider this idea stolen.

 

[Ysgarran]

--a brilliant, dark, artistic, charismatic lech

Do you mean lech or lich?
lech:
A lecher: “a coke-snorting arbitrageur who's an irrepressible lech” (Pauline Kael).
A lecherous desire.

lich:
You know, the undead kind.

Ysgarran.

 

[darkbard]

byron was definitely quite the athlete: he was an avid swimmer (yes, he did cross the hellspont), boxer, and fencer as well as the literary master we know today .... carrying those renaissance ideals into the nineteenth century! i'd give him a high swim skill rank, high charisma (he was considered one of the most handsome men of his age), improved unarmed combat, weapon focus (rapier) as well as some ranks from the FRCS: artistic, cosmopolitan. i'd definitely start him as an aristocrat, then multiclass as a bard for some perform ranks and charm spells. i like the idea of adding the vampire template as well. if you go the vampire route, you'll not need the improved unarmed combat (slam and energy drain is pretty improved, i'd say).

oh, and for those who are interested: the film with gabriel byrne (and co-starring julian sands as shelley) is called "gothic" by the filmmaker ken burns. it's my favorite film, bar none, but you have to be into the slightly twisted, surreal, faux-horror movie thing he's trying to achieve. brilliant dialogue, however.

 

[Mark]

No levels of Aristocrat?

 

[Apok]

Definitely a man who was governed by his passions, which makes him a perfect poster-boy for the Chaotic alignment. I don't know about low Con, though, maybe average. If it hadn't been for the inadequacies of medicine at the time (read; bloodletting) he very well might not have died when he did. Definitely a super-high Charisma.

This is an awesome idea for a character, however. Byron makes for a fantastic swashbuckler/dilletante type given his propensity for falling in love (or, perhaps more appropriately, lust done in a rosier picture) with married women. I can just imagine the kinds of situations such a character would get himself into. A DM's dream come true.

Classwise, I'd go with a mix of Bard, Aristocrat, and Fighter.

 

[Wayside]

He was also an Immortal in the Highlander Series. Shelley was a normal human, but was inpired by the quickening.

That was a great episode! It was Mary who was inspired by the quickening, hence Frankenstein's being brought to life through lightning. I think the vampire reference earlier was to Percy.

Also, the character should be more well known for his technique than his substance (ala Eminem)--very Swinburnian, and you'll probably want to leave our the full extent of his, umm, sexual impropriety (like the incest).

And he should be short too(about 5'8")!

Along the same lines, has anyone thought about doing something similar for Rimbaud?

 

[arwink]

Along the same lines, has anyone thought about doing something similar for Rimbaud?

Yoink.

Now why didn't I think of that...

 

[fusangite]

George Gordon Lord Byron

George Gorgon is the name that immediately appeals but that's perhaps excessively silly.

Byron was definitely a bard with a low dex (remember the club foot) and a high cha.

 

[LostSoul]

I would just use his personality when creating the character, and leave his stats up to lady luck.