One in a million?

[Speaks With Stone]

Clearly, I'm in a very small minority of people who never read Salvatores Drizzt series. I've seen lots of references to folks being tired of that concept being rehashed. Again, no one in my group has done it, so I've been fairly isolated from that component.

I did play in a game where a hobgoblin was the sidekick of a dwarven medic that raised him after killing off the rest of the hobgoblin's family (or something like that). I remember having a real hard time getting used to that bizarre dynamic.

Now I have seen plenty of "my family was wiped out" characters, but we've had quite a few characters who required lots more motivation to get involved. A crafting dwarf mainly wanted to stay home and craft and only accepted adventures where he could gain stuff to improve his trade or find magic material. One per party please, unless your willing to be flexible or sit out occasionally.

 

[Viktyr Gehrig]

I play a lot of monstrous characters, including a lot of characters from Usually or Always Evil races. My favorite is Orc.

I never play the "I want to be loved and accepted amoung the good people" game. It's boring and overplayed. I play the "I want to be loved and accepted amoung my own evil, screwed up people-- and I want to show them how being evil and screwed up hurts them and help them improve" game. Which drives players and DMs nuts.

The number one goal of most of my Orcish PCs is to go back to their tribe or horde, oust the Chief, kill the Shaman, and lead them to glory-- and teach them permanent settlement and create a stable Orcish Empire that will outlast even his bloodline.

Another good way to play a Good member of an Evil race is to be outcast from your race-- and outcast from the good folk-- and too self-assured to feel angst about it. Sure, they don't understand you. Screw them-- when it comes down to it, you're going to do the right thing and if they try to repay you with violence, kill them. Eventually they'll quit trying to kill you so that you can save their miserable little lives in peace.

(That works surprisingly well for Illithids.)

 

[greycastle]

Personally, i like the Fey-ri...

but while i'm helping him in his feverant battle to play a chaotic good fey-ri, he's read too many R.A. Salvatore book.
But what you've all said is totally correct about the idea of good, evil creatures.

Mainly i like the fey'ri for a roleplaying (not a ROLLPLAYING) stand of point, but i could only see my self as a chaotic neutral. All my other characters have been Lawful Good (Paladin human, Gold Dwarf cleric), and i've always wanted to just scrap one and paly a whimsical character (ie. chaotic)...

Frankly though, i even think Angel, from the Buffy/Angel series was really neutral, or chaotic neutral.

Still, currently i'm trying to convince my mate that maybe it's better i play the rogue in the group *but i think i'll hold back i'm playing fey'ri (if the dm allows it)* and kick him back into his magic/fighter user habits...smart fellow though, once decimated 9 drow with one well placed fireball...and did that forest Blaze or what...

P.S. The friend isn't actually me, so don't think that *grin*

But out of curiosity, is everyone against the "i'm an evil race, but i'm really nice and sweet and kind, and help elderly ladies across the road" only because of the Drizzt bookz?

Edit: One thing i want to mention is how do you play an evil creature, whos elven nature has turned away from complete evil?
frankly i want to play a character that enjoys the kill, and brutal death of enemies, but is generally quite helpful, if not extremely arrogant and gives off an air of superiority (be it deserved or not). Playing the angle that every race is below her, except for sun elves, but with a vengence streak for moon elves....don't know... any advice would be helpful, on mapping out such a character...

 

[Brista]

Screw them-- when it comes down to it, you're going to do the right thing and if they try to repay you with violence, kill them. Eventually they'll quit trying to kill you so that you can save their miserable little lives in peace.

(That works surprisingly well for Illithids.)

I'm not terribly convinced by this as a PC concept but I love the idea as an arch-nemesis

Poor widdle mind-sucking abomination who nobody loves. I quite seriously love it



I'm not sure it would be entirely sane. Still I suppose ideally it should be sane and everyone else should be deluded...

Someone did do a Troll Paladin in one of my games - he rather slipped after the local villagers tried to burn him

 

[greycastle]

well, seeing as i'm not sure which board would be more approriate for this, i'll try this as this is well trafficed.

How would you (Warning: i've liked duel weapons ever since some sort of movie, not the books/drizzt...as i remember, it was guns...Big ones...)

1. flesh out an original personality.
2. how to involve the House of Dlagareth (or somesuch spelling), and generally how to flesh out that shes on the constant run from her happy lil brothers and sisters.
3. how to roleplay a CN character...
4. I plan to make it a Rogue3/Fighter2/Sorceror15 if i can, but any advice would be helpful (lvl 1 stats Str 12, Dex 18, Con 10, Int 16, Wis 10, Cha 16 *36 point buy system*)

I've already thought out that my character uses alter shape alot, and has one general form, a sun elf, who looks exaclty like her...minus the deep red skin, feiry red eyes, long pointed tail. (i really liked the way they drew the picture in the RoF, and frankly, it's almost exactly as i pictured a Fey'ri after reading the LoD and the MoF)

Well, thanks in advance.

Btw, i just got a msg from my friend ...wants to play a Mountain Orc, or Orog...i'm jsut as confused as anyone else might be...maybe it's the fact our DM just said no to chaotic Good :S over chatthing

 

[LuYangShih]

Playing a Chaotic Neutral character can be difficult. You need to make sure you do not fall into the trap of doing whatever you want, since you lack both a moral code and do truly respond to the forces of order. The best way to play any character is to assign your alignment later, after you've developed the characters personality and history.

You may decide, while doing this, that Chaotic Neutral is not the best alignment, and if so, just go with it. You'll probably end up with a better character regardless of what your alignment ends up being by developing your characters motivations, desires and plans.

Perhaps your character was not always the person they are today, and they had a life changing experience sometime in the course of their adventures. Perhaps not. It's up to you to decide. The key is to decide how you want your character to act, react, and relate to the world in general. Once you do that, assigning an alignment will be easy, and it will be much easier to play the character with consistency and enjoyment.

Just ask yourself what your character is, what your characters goals are, and so on, and begin developing a cohesive personality. Ask yourself simple questions, like, does my character have a temper? Does my character have any weaknesses that they need to deal with? And so on. Basically, you need to develop a personality before assigning an alignment, not the other way around.


As for classes, I suggest that, if you are planning to make a spellcaster, you focus purely on one class. Spellcasters suffer much more from multiclassing than any other class, and you will be much better off if you stay purely focused on one of the spellcasting paths. Unfortunately, I have not been able to purchase Races Of Faerun yet, so I can't offer you much advice on the House Of Dlagereth.


PS

I see no more of a problem with people emulating Drizzt than I see with people emulating Legolas and Gimli. People have a desire to be unique, so they like playing characters similar to Drizzt. Just because Salvatore wrote books about such a character doesn't mean playing such a character is "cheesy", even when you are directly drawing from his writings, in my opinion. Everyone draws inspiration from somewhere.

 

[greycastle]

well, thanks LuYangShih...

however i was wondering. when you say temper, and will, how so?

i see my character as wanting to b accepted by some, while having overly strong distates to others *e.g. she wouldn't even contemplate taking form of a moon elf, out of general disgust shes aquired for them over the years before slipping away from Cormanthor*

So far..
- generally rebelious, but with an extremely odd 'good' streak. she likes to see people happy when they deserve it, but has so qualms with killing someone who does wrong by her or her friends, if she thinks they deserve it.
- something in her makes her enjoy seeing people happy, and being kind and helpful, but she seems to most people to have an arrogant, mean, and almost superiorty complex problem .
- shes very distrusting, as shes always aware of the posibilities of one of her family coming to hunt her through her travels
- after spending 2 years in the company of a dwarf travelling band, helping wiht small theft here and their, she grew to truly appreciate dwarves, shield in particular (since she only met gold/sheild dwarves) and most dwarves find her a curious, but kindly elven wench, with an extremely odd aura, of malevolence/kindness...though no one truly knew what to make of her.
- she left their company when they reached Waterdeep *a FAR away city from her staring point, also reason i'm starting on level 1* and joined a group of local thugs, who found her theiving talents quite amazing for a green 'human' theif.
- currently, shes just left them, as shes found something about their ways seems to hurt one part of her, while the other revels in the evil (assassination, blackmail, seduction, poisoning)


well, thats my rant...

 

[Darklone]

3. how to roleplay a CN character...
4. I plan to make it a Rogue3/Fighter2/Sorceror15 if i can, but any advice would be helpful (lvl 1 stats Str 12, Dex 18, Con 10, Int 16, Wis 10, Cha 16 *36 point buy system*)

Get drunk often. Forget Fighter (What for? It'll screw your spellcasting even more.) Think about Rogue4/Arcane Trickster.

Get drunk often.

Pick a nice weapon of your choice and try not to use it.

Be selfish. Then be nice and altruistic.

Steal from your comrades and lose the treasure later somewhere.

Bring them gifts now and then.

Be interested in everything and lose interest even faster.

As soon as they think they know you, change.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

Personally, i like the Fey-ri...

Mainly i like the fey'ri for a roleplaying (not a ROLLPLAYING) stand of point, but i could only see my self as a chaotic neutral. All my other characters have been Lawful Good (Paladin human, Gold Dwarf cleric), and i've always wanted to just scrap one and paly a whimsical character (ie. chaotic)...

The fey'ri are really funny, that's right.

But out of curiosity, is everyone against the "i'm an evil race, but i'm really nice and sweet and kind, and help elderly ladies across the road" only because of the Drizzt bookz?

Remember there's even a good Drow deity: Eilistraee. So good drow should not be that rare, although the wouldn't be as overly friendly as Drizzt, but have "leave-me-alone-in-my-wood" attitude. They'd take up adventureing only to go on a crusade against evil drow or help their community with something they can't deal with alone.

Edit: One thing i want to mention is how do you play an evil creature, whos elven nature has turned away from complete evil?

You mean a CN fey'ri? He lacks the destructive streak of his demon ancestors, but will still have the arrogance the sun elves have in abundance. He's fed up with his brethren and just wants to be left alone and see the world. He won't be cruel, but will answer violence with more violence. Maybe he even thinks his ancestors had it coming when they were exiled for mating with demons, and won't hold a special crutch against the moon elves (he may even lose the sun elven arrogance). Maybe he'll seek elven settlements, change his shape so he looks like the inhabitants, and stays there till someone finds out and hunts him away, or till he gets bored.

1. flesh out an original personality.

See above

2. how to involve the House of Dlagareth (or somesuch spelling), and generally how to flesh out that shes on the constant run from her happy lil brothers and sisters.

That's easy. The demonfey don't like it that one of theirs wanders the realms, advertising their presence, and they'll seek him and hunt him down. That might be a reason why the character wanders that much: In addition of being found out by the locals or becoming bored, she'll hear the hunting dogs bark and get away, taking another personality somewhere, in the hopes that they lose the track.

3. how to roleplay a CN character...

Not evil, but not really good. He may help people he has come to like, but won't go out of his way to help strangers (unless the oppressors annoy him, or it's the law that oppresses the common people). He might be fickle, easily bored, prone to wander much, not settling anywhere for to long. He'll be a free spirit, despising any rules that might limit his freedom in any way. He might be given to impulse reactions.

Btw, i just got a msg from my friend ...wants to play a Mountain Orc, or Orog...i'm jsut as confused as anyone else might be...maybe it's the fact our DM just said no to chaotic Good

Well, they're definetly not CG, and he even might have problems to get to play them as CN...

 

[Technik4]

Chaotic Neutral

My favorite character of all time was chaotic neutral. A rather selfish demented evoker/rogue, he was quite the pain in the ass. His low str (6) meant he always relied on other people, which was no bother to him, he needed people to stand in front of him so he could snag treasure.

Outstanding things he did:

1) Refused to cast anymore spells if he finished off more than 1/2 the enemy.

2) Enjoyed impersonating other party members and then committing petty acts of crime or misdemeanor.

3) Almost got a TPK when the party all went in his portable hole as he could fly them over a river. Well, he got distracted by a fleeing gnoll (bastard gnoll, why was he running anyway?) so he chased after the gnoll and eventually closed enough to kill the gnoll with a Magic Missle. Totally neglecting his entire party who were suffocating in the hole. Best part was he had the entire party revived (by selling their own loot to res them) and explained away his involvement by saying he was fleeing from a green dragon, we later encountered a green dragon which was total coincidence from the DM.

4) Avoided the next TPK, a large trap in a room which some of the members nearly avoided, but all ended up dying trying to help each other. My character cast knock on the door and exited, but wasnt strong enough to throw a rope down and help anyone else.

5) Upon getting a new party (everyone rolled new characters) he was the sole survivor against a gelatinous cube, and upon defeating it, put all of the cube's treasure in his hole. He later sold most of the items, for cash, and bought the party (who he once again revived) some minor items, thus endearing the party to him.

He was almost painful to play near the end, as he was almost 2 levels higher than the rest of the party and becoming more and more egotistical, sly, and intelligent every session.

Lets just say, I dont want to play CN again anytime soon.

Technik