RP: Portraying a Traumatized Character Without Being Whiny

[Leliel the 12th]

Anyway, I've read the Eldritch Jailor Occultist archetype, and due to my fascination with all things summon magic, I decided to finally make that Metal Gear Ac!d inspired character.

The inspiration being the human Kodoku they have, ie the sole survivor of a massive brawl to the death meant to augment her own psychic abilities by absorbing the power of everyone she killed. The brawlers, it should be noted, being all children.

With my character idea, it's mostly the same, with one critical difference-the people who turned him into a Kodoku (or a Quincunx, in my own expy terminology, after the "five dot" pattern on dice and dominoes) made him befriend the other brawlers first, in the belief that empathy would allow better power absorption. And that the other kids are still with him-thanks to the fact that his bound spirits hijacked his body and senses to save him from having to personally murder his friends, their sould were merged into his eidolon, and it's violent attitudes are due to it being the conglomeration of four traumatized children.

Naturally, I don't want Alexi (my working name for him-I like the irony of "conqueror" being a name for the person who's most traumatic experience ever was forced survival of the fittest) to be annoying while portraying the massively deep scars this would realistically create...realistically. He's a little better than before (he broke out when he was able to send his eidolon to lead a group of paladins to the tower he was imprisoned in and was adopted by their attached cleric), but those scars still run deep. But angst is so often annoying.

Any help with this?

[Icyshadow]

So, does he have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?

That can manifest in more subtle ways. Flashbacks, nightmares, an occasional shift in mood...

[The black raven]

Extreme (ie, non rational/pragmatic) behaviours on some small topics linked in some ways to his experience of life (the whole experience, not only the traumatizing event : all the steps that lead to it and also all that came after, including the escape).

A few examples that spring to my mind :

Being overprotective of children or characters that remind him of children. Seeing his dead friends' faces on NPCs, in a crowd. Refusing to let anyone become emotionally close. Phobia of physical contact.

[EldonG]

Second for basic PTSD. I've had a few friends (two come to mind) that had significant PTSD...one was also manic-depressive, the other would go into full scale 'Nam flashbacks. That gets freaky...but he never whined about it.

[Thac20]

Maybe have a number of different personalities worked out, and have your character temporarily switch to one of those personalities every so often.Then revert back to your normal personality and act as if nothing happened.

[Delthyn]

Be tough about it. Force the emotions down, never cry, never pity yourself. Just push on, adventuring to forget or what not. If you do think about it, stare off into space, or look troubled and sad rather than talking incessantly about it or getting weepy.

Avoiding angst and the "cry-baby" syndrome is excellent, and it is perfectly possible to pull off a character with a good backstory like yours without being wildly emotional.

Third vote for basic PTSD.