unusual character concepts?

[VirgilCaine]

Do you have rules for other such Para- and Quasigenasi?

If so, gimme.

Try the 'Net. IIRC, Seankreynolds.com has some and there were some 3e versions somewhere also.

 

[jayaint]

I had a halfling sorc. with super low str and dex. So another player made a huge hulking human fighter who carried me around in a basket that was lashed to the top of his pack. The human fighter had super low wis and int scores and thought he was a paladin of heironious (sp?) but for all intents and purposes called his god "Ron". I was basically around to make sure he didnt run into walls, and to help him keep up the illusion that he was a paladin. He would roll sense motive checks ON HIMSELF to see whether he believed in his own powers.

The best was at a carnival where the "hit the lever with the hammer, ding the bell" game was being played and my character whispered in his ear that Ron would be impressed if he could ring that bell.... well he rolled a 20 on his STR check, but the DM insisted that the game was rigged and no hit was going to cause the bell to ring. One minor telekinesis spell later.... *DING*... The carnie was so shocked that he gave the "paladin" his choice of a LOT of really valuable prizes that were laid out.

However he chose an eight inch by 16 inch painting (very poorly done, btw) b/c he bluffed himself into thinking it reminded him of home, of which he had NO recollection. *sigh*

It was great fun... until we actually had to fight stuff... lol

 

[Driddle]

Anyway, I do this stuff all the time.

I've got a madman that's just a barbarian with the serial numbers filed off - he isn't half-orc, or tribal, he's just completely bonkers.

"Serial numbers filed off" -- an apt way to describe the process. I used to refer to this as using the character design "template" ... before templates became a common D&D tool for crafting monsters and spells. The idea is that you look at what the game mechanics design offers and then slap on a new interpretation using the same rules.

I'm surprised this thread hasn't received more naysaying response. Most people like to adhere to published text, even down to the nitpicky descriptions.

Anyway...

How about an "Instructionist" or "Life Coach?" This is the guy who, through the use of carefully chosen words and phrases, helps people come closer to reaching their true potential. ... Think "bard" with a slightly different angle on performance.

 

[shilsen]

I've often proposed a Wizard with a level or two of Barbarian - basically, a Wizard with Anger-management issues. When the party insults him, he freaks out and begins beating on things with his staff.

I've been thinking about a similar concept too. Half-orc barbarian/wizard who's on a mission to prove to everyone around him that half-orcs can be genteel and cultured. I figured I'd run him as insufferably snobbish, erudite and prissy. And have him freak out and rage whenever someone got his clothes dirty, at which point he'd forget his spells and start beating the person with a stick.

 

[Sejs]

On the barbarian end of things, I've had a barbarian/rogue who was basically an urban ghetto dwelling gutter-punk. Ignorant and angry. Did alot of brawling and had one hell of a temper.

Recently in my campaign, my players have had to deal with a desert dwelling tribe of gnolls. Generally with humanoid races I try to use a three-classes standard to help define their society. Basically have three different types within the same society and it helps to give them a bit more definition than having them all be homogeneous. For these desert gnolls, I went with ranger (the bulk of the tribe's hunter-warriors), spirit shaman (from cd; the tribe's spiritual leaders), and barbarian (essentially the tribe's 'big guns' - sacred protectors). Part of the schtick with these gnoll barbarians wasn't that they just got mad; they let themselves get possessed by a particular spirit that they had formed a ritual bond with earlier in their lives. One that was called in gnollish Heyaii-Shrr-Shk'urr, or Spirit of Frenzied Bloodlust. When not raging, the Vessels (barbarians) were quite calm, composed, and level-headed for a gnoll - they had to be in order to keep their indwelling spirit in check, lest they slip up and have it take over when they didn't want it to. In battle, the vessel would willingly give up his control over his body and let the spirit take over, making them mighty and fearsome.

And that's was just all fluff. Mechanically, they were just the same as any other gnoll barbarian.

 

[TracerBullet42]

I had a halfling sorc. with super low str and dex. So another player made a huge hulking human fighter who carried me around in a basket that was lashed to the top of his pack. The human fighter had super low wis and int scores and thought he was a paladin of heironious (sp?) but for all intents and purposes called his god "Ron". I was basically around to make sure he didnt run into walls, and to help him keep up the illusion that he was a paladin. He would roll sense motive checks ON HIMSELF to see whether he believed in his own powers.

The best was at a carnival where the "hit the lever with the hammer, ding the bell" game was being played and my character whispered in his ear that Ron would be impressed if he could ring that bell.... well he rolled a 20 on his STR check, but the DM insisted that the game was rigged and no hit was going to cause the bell to ring. One minor telekinesis spell later.... *DING*... The carnie was so shocked that he gave the "paladin" his choice of a LOT of really valuable prizes that were laid out.

However he chose an eight inch by 16 inch painting (very poorly done, btw) b/c he bluffed himself into thinking it reminded him of home, of which he had NO recollection. *sigh*

It was great fun... until we actually had to fight stuff... lol

That is one of the most hilarious concepts I have ever read...brilliant!

 

[saethone]

man some great ideas here keep them up!

 

[azmodean]

The strangest character I've ever run across was a paladin who, through a strange series of events, ended up with the soul of a necromancer in his body. The two souls would basically take turns running the body. The necromancer knew what was happening, but the paladin hadn't a clue (and the necromancer went to great pains to keep things this way)

 

[Arcane Runes Press]

Anyway...

How about an "Instructionist" or "Life Coach?" This is the guy who, through the use of carefully chosen words and phrases, helps people come closer to reaching their true potential. ... Think "bard" with a slightly different angle on performance.

If you made him a half-orc, you could name him Tony Robbins.

It's a good idea, though, particularly if you multi-classed with the Marshall class from the Miniatures Handbook.

Patrick Y.

 

[Driddle]

You can do a lot with the spellcaster concept, ala the guy who acts like a wiz but never really does any magic. I played a thief (back in the day) who presented himself as a mage, complete with a ring of spell storing just in case he needed the prop. A complete goofball, always "protecting" the party's back and running off to explore in the wrong direction. It worked. Combine his strong personality with everyone else's self-absorbed interests and you got a virtual wizard without any real substance.

(Edit: To be honest, my current board ID is a nod to that thief "mage.")

A "cleric" is harder to pull off this way, because the other members of the group will expect him to cast healing spells every so often. But even then, you could minimize his ability -- load him down with a wand or potions, and a snooty or greedy personality that keeps him from "granting Gawd's grace on the undeserving." They'll hate him if you try this as a secret ploy, but it's doable.