What are some alternate ways to think about archetypes?

[Tonguez]

What is a Fighter?
A Ninja, a Swashbuckler, a Barbarian, an Archer, a Knight, a Grunt, a Boxer, a Gladiator, a General

they all fighters - they all hit people while trying to avoid being hit themselves, thats not the interesting part of fighters is it? Since even a beggar or a shopkeeper can hit people too.

What we want to know is how Bob the Fighter acts - is he careful and deliberate in his style, taking time to assess the opponent for weaknesses, is he quick and sneaky, moving in to strike without warning or does he prefer to rush in with overwhelming force or will he be analytical and find a tactical advantage instead?

Approaches tell you how the characters personality informs their actions before in the narrow niche of 'Fighting' but also in other areas of their life too. A Forceful character might also be pushy and intimidating in negotiation or when trying to open a door, a flashy character might be a flamboyant fast talker or a character might be Careful and deliberate when searching a room or sewing a hem. It means one is not locked into a set of skills but can do anything acknowledging that in certain circumstances some approaches might be better than others

 

[Autumnal]

Cypher has fun spreads of possibilities with I’m an X Y who Zs.

For a mystery game:

1. Those who find clues.
2. Those who correctly interpret clues.
3. Those who assemble correctly interpreted clues into an explanation.

For a horror game:

1. Those who notice the signs of the unnatural.
2. Those who understand the implications of the signs.
3. Those who find out how to respond to the unnatural.

The scenario has three acts. In each of them, one is center stage, and the others must be protected, since they’ll be needed for the resolution. The difficulty will rise as characters are killed or otherwise barred from participation.

1. Those who discover old stories.
2. Those who tell old stories to new audiences.
3. Those whose the new tellings for their socio-political agendas.

 

[Faolyn]

The reasons why they are adventuring, perhaps. Prove bravery, obtain a quest artifact, get riches, learn dark secrets, gain magical knowledge, uncover the past, increase personal power, become famous.

 

[TiQuinn]

I guess I am not being very clear. I am talking about ways to define and/or differentiate characters by something other than what they DO. The Fate Accelerated use of approaches is a good one, though: I can imagine making the TMNT, all of whom are martial artists, distinct by way of their approaches.

Something like the Magnificent Seven would be a good set of archetypes:

1) The Leader - kind of self explanatory
2) The Kid - Brash, young, inexperienced
3) The Right Hand Man - often the voice of reason who can counter the Leader.
4) The Haunted One - he’s seen too much death and now he’s waiting for his own.
5) The Greedy One - he wants gold, glory or both.
6) The Everyman - connected to the people, can see outside the group better than the others.
7) The Killer - he’s the dangerous one, a stone cold killer, best with a gun or a knife.

Seems to me that same group of archetypes could play well across several genres, and there’s probably more to add in there:

8) The Fool - the levity, the wit of the group, maybe a buffoon, maybe just a smart alec.
9) The Odd Man Out - totally not like the others. Maybe they’re city folk or a farmer while everyone else is a gunslinger.

 

[Reynard]

Something like the Magnificent Seven would be a good set of archetypes:

1) The Leader - kind of self explanatory
2) The Kid - Brash, young, inexperienced
3) The Right Hand Man - often the voice of reason who can counter the Leader.
4) The Haunted One - he’s seen too much death and now he’s waiting for his own.
5) The Greedy One - he wants gold, glory or both.
6) The Everyman - connected to the people, can see outside the group better than the others.
7) The Killer - he’s the dangerous one, a stone cold killer, best with a gun or a knife.

Seems to me that same group of archetypes could play well across several genres, and there’s probably more to add in there:

8) The Fool - the levity, the wit of the group, maybe a buffoon, maybe just a smart alec.
9) The Odd Man Out - totally not like the others. Maybe they’re city folk or a farmer while everyone else is a gunslinger.

How would you implement mechanical differences between them?

 

[TiQuinn]

How would you implement mechanical differences between them?

Hmmm…just off the cuff…

1) Leader - able to give advantage to one PC per round. Maybe the limit is if the roll fails, it represents the plan has gone awry, and he loses the ability til next combat?
2) Kid - would be good to have some sort of push mechanic where they can take negatives for continuing (representing that brashness)
3) Right Hand Man - gotta think about this.
4) Haunted - A blaze of glory move is good here. Sacrifice themselves for a big gain.
5) Greedy - Maybe treasure found is one category higher once a session? Maybe too much?
6) Everyman - Reaction bonuses dealing with others, hirelings, henchmen and the like.
7) Killer - Some sort of chance to assassinate maybe per session?

 

[Golden Bee]

Cortex has your values and relationships as your stats too.

 

[Stormonu]

Well, they're all tropes.

So, if you don't want it defined by what they do, then that would be what they "are".

The Kid
Man With No Name
The Princess
The Genius
The Goth
The Rebel
The Hired Gun
The Dark Lord

etc.