Viehl said:
How do you roleplay the outsiders your PCs deal with? No matter if it's a celestial, a fiend or a major deity, this is a creature whose physical might and intellectual scheming far, far outshines that of most PCs.
How would you, for example, roleplay an archdevil or demon lord appearing to the PCs in his true form? Voice? Mannerisms? Attitude? How do you make PCs feel the uneasiness they very much should be feeling when they deal with this kind of creature? And when they are called to the Outer Planes for a personal audience with Pelor, how would you make the PCs realize that they're talking to a GOD, with powers and abilities beyond their wildest dreams?
The same thing goes for dragons, and other immensely powerful creatures.
Well, for deities & the like, I'd say that the best way for PCs to know they are dealing with a god is for the NPC to really act like one. For example, the PCs may be in the middle of the wilderness when suddenly, after merely blinking, pausing for a moment, turning around, etc., the PCs are in a completely different locale & confronted by a being who seems to know a LOT about the PCs & is able to predict the PCs words, actions, intents, & desires. IF they try to attack the deity, their attacks always fail; the PCs always fail their saves agains the god's spells/powers; & the PCs are made completely helpless in a manner of nanoseconds. The PCs can never trick or get the best of the deity, & just as suddenly as they appeared in front of the deity, the PCs are back at were they were (with perhaps an eerie reminder or two of the divine interaction).
As for demons/devils/evil outsiders, I'd say it'd ultimately depend on what the fiend intends. Some may try to bully the PCs into submission. Some may attack outright, sparing them at the last minute in order to gain further power/control over the PCs. Some may appear completely in disguise, trying to persude and corrupt the PCs (or try to turn the PCs against each other, via multiple encounters in different disguises). For really powerful/cunning fiends, have the fiend be 1 step ahead of the PCs, seemingly in control of the events that have occured & that will occur. Some may have a complete disregard for the mortal PCs, seeing them only worthy of enslavement, eradication, or momentary entertainment. Some may be more wary, aware the PCs could do them harm, but the fiend is confident that he/she can outwit the PCs & make the matter more in his/her favor.
As for celestials & other good outsiders, I'd say that they should act as enlightened beings, knowledgeable that the PCs are unaware of things that the celestials & gods take for granted as common knowledge. I do think that the whole "holier-than-thou" attitude displayed by some DMs portraying celestials & the like is, IMHO,
completely & absolutely wrong. That "holier-than-thou" attitude isn't benevolent in the slightest, & actually is more appropriate for fallen celestials, fiends, and more haughty, LN/N/CN-aligned outsiders. Think of the all-American, good-hearted, even "goody-two-shoes" behavior & viewpoint of Superman & Capt. America, & that is closer to a true good outsider IMHO. Some celestials may come off as slightly patronizing, but only because the celestial is much more knowledgeable, powerful, & experienced than the mortal PCs are (i.e., much like a parent/adult in relation to children). Then again, a great representation of a good outsider is of a good outsider recently depicted on film--Gandalf the Gray/White. He genuinely cares for mortals, and has his own personality quirks, but ultimately works for the betterment of mortalkind--ideally by helping mortals achieve success on their own, with some occassional help/guidance, rather than through direct, frequent, and potent action on his part. (However, he will even the playing field for the good guys as needed--the best instances of this is Gandalf's battle with the balrog, Gandalf driving away the Nazgul from the soldiers fleeing from Osgillath, and Gandalf facing off with the Witch-King of Angmar at the gates of Gondor.)
As for dragons & the like, I'd say that, unlike the outsiders, these creatures don't often have powers of omniscience. However, they could easily gain info through scrying & spies, thus gaining an edge over the PCs. Also, they tend to be more experienced, so they could anticipate what tactics the PCs may try to throw at them (for example, undead could expect the PCs to have a cleric on their side, obtain holy water or holy weaponry, etc.; dragons would expect the PCs to get protection agains their breath weapons, try to fight the dragon it its lair in order to avoid fighting with it under open skies or other spacious terrain, obtain magic focused on attacking dragons like
arrows of slaying or weapons with the
dragon bane special ability, etc.).
For potent good guys, try to have the NPCs act like the heads of benevolent organizations in action movies (i.e., "We know who you're after, Mr. Bond--we recommend trying this method, since the bad guy's on to you. If you need help, go here & one of our undercover agents can assist you. Oh, by the way, you'll be out of ammo soon, so here's some more. And you may need this laser torch & body armor later on, too...).
For potent bad guys, have these NPCs act like the over-the-top villains found in movies, comics, etc.--Number 1/Blofeld of SPECTRE, Fu Manchu, Darkseid, Thanos, Dr. Doom, Ultron, Cobra Commander, Serpentor, Destro, Ra's al-Ghul, Lex Luthor, etc. Often has lackeys to do the dirty work, has various resources available, & utterly believes that he/she will succeed (now or later, though more often than not "now" before they are defeated, and "later" after they've been defeated).
