RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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Spinning off a spun off thread* I was thinking of quirks that people have that make the social aspects more fun.
Some that come to mind.
Taldoran character calling Andoran, Cheliax and Galt "Our once and future colonies."
Cheliaxian character referring to Andoran as "Our wayward brothers" or "Our latest conquest."
Mwangi or Shoanti character "And they call me a savage?"
Absalom born character who doesn't like wide open spaces.
Ustalv characer (or forlorn elf) pulling a 'Chekov' "Yes, Aroden was from Ustalv." "I've seen this style of fighting, it was invented by elves."
*
Belagore (Shoanti barbarian/cleric of Gorum) - Every time he is getting his butt kicked he rages and cries "Glorious battle!"
Mordecai (Chelaxian death cleric) - Makes sure to invite every important NPC to his opera house in Absalom.
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My Paladin, Agda Haskell, (technically now illegal, because she follows Pharasma) tends to be resolutely kind and fatalistic.
"All men give the same prayer to My Lady: "Not today!", they ask. I have been sent to give Her answer. "Be not afraid. Yes, today."
My Taldan fighter, Corben Senjak, usually has a soliloquy ready for when he does Dazzling Display, which is...quintessentially, arrogantly, Taldan.
"Some men know no fear. They are idiots. You face a Senjak of the Senjaks, and may take some comfort in the quivering of your bowels at recognizing that name. You are not an idiot, merely doomed."
My Qadiran Sorcerer, Nasir al-Mardani hasn't been played yet, but he tends to preface his statements with references to astrology and horuspices.
My Osiriani Cleric of Gorum Neve Pardell tends to be be blunt, but not short tempered. She is the sort of person who simply expects everyone around her to answer "Yes!" when she offers Gorum's catechism of "Will you fight?". She tends to see the shortest possible path between two points, and that path usually involves testing oneself in battle...
Venture-Captain, Missouri—Cape Girardeau
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My signature character has named his great axe Brool! and shouts it as he charges into battle. He has an Intimidate score of +19 (now with Antagonize!) even without raging. In one adventure, the group left the tomb only to be surrounded by Aspis Consortium thugs demanding our surrender of the item hard fought to gain. All of us were still injured and tired from the challenges we had just passed. Turning to the leader of the opposing group he said causally "how about you go back to town and get like... 15 more people and we will call it a fair fight!" The Gm had me roll Imtimidate for fun and a Natural 20 hit the table. He ruled that the Aspis Consortium thugs started muttering among themselves "I think he really means it." And with that, they turned and left.
My other favored character, Captain Andoran, has a habit of calling his party members things like "old chum" and himself as a Sentinel of Liberty. His +1 Returning Mithril Throwing shield is named Freedom, and he has never left a slave behind... luckily, Arnim was the character played through Slave Pits of Absalom!
RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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*opens the door that the bad guys were about to start breaking down from the other side*
"Hi. I'm Cledwyn."
*smashes said bad guys*
I just remembered: a couple of rounds after this, I'm squaring off against the BBEG in the same doorway when some undead arrive, with no loyalty to either side.
"Enjoy the ghouls!"
*slams door in BBEG's face*
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RPG Superstar 2012 Top 4
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Every time a player makes an out of character joke, my Vudrani Eldritch Knight, Ajit Karan, says that he doesn't get their Avistani humor.
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Venture-Captain, Alabama—Birmingham
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One of my favorite things about Pathfinder are the traits, which have influenced each of my characters.
My Openly Andoran (and recently commissioned!) Shielded Fighter is paranoid. He keeps a roster of agents whom he has adventured with, and attempts to learn their loyalties.(Freed Slave, Defender of the Society)
My Cleric of Sarenrae was born with markings of Sarenrae on his fist, but proudly proclaims himself a Heretic of Sarenrae. He does not believe in redemption and has no mercy for evil, particularly the undead. "I tolerate no weakness in the face of the unliving." (birthmark, Focused mind)
Zatqualmie the Fantabulous!(TM) is determined to become the most famous Gnome action hero (bard) ever to grace a Noble Patron. He sees membership in the Society as a fast track to fame and some of his Society sidekicks could possibly get mentioned in the legend as well. "History is not written by the victors, it is written by bardic heroes who know how it REALLY happened." (Maestro of the Society, Strong Willed)
Tyleisasia Trueshot is a Half-elf Zen Archer who hates his Human blood. He has dedicated his life to Elven service, working diligently to learn the archery skills which come naturally to his pure-blooded kin. Outside of the monastery he has served in the defense of Greengold. His fight against corruption has led to an alliance with the Shadow Lodge. (Treerazer's Bane, Elven Reflexes)
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Every time a player makes an out of character joke, my Vudrani Eldritch Knight, Ajit Karan, says that he doesn't get their Avistani humor.do you never laugh first?
Speaking from first hand experience, Steve does an amazing job of staying in character even when there's a bunch of idiots at the table..
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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Speaking from first hand experience, Steve does an amazing job of staying in character even when there's a bunch of idiots at the table..Every time a player makes an out of character joke, my Vudrani Eldritch Knight, Ajit Karan, says that he doesn't get their Avistani humor.do you never laugh first?
There's a bard here in Columbus who might put that to the test.
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There's a bard here in Columbus who might put that to the test.Speaking from first hand experience, Steve does an amazing job of staying in character even when there's a bunch of idiots at the table..Every time a player makes an out of character joke, my Vudrani Eldritch Knight, Ajit Karan, says that he doesn't get their Avistani humor.do you never laugh first?
Well the idiots I was referring to include Dragnmoon, Slanky, Pain, Mr. Brittain and myself.. ;-)
A bard? In Columbus? I thought we ran them all out years ago.
RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
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In the earliest days of the Pathfinder Society, Josh Frost and Nick Logue included the following section about characterization in the Guide to Organized Play.
1. Where were you born? When? How old are you? Were you born into opulence? Were you born behind a dung cart on a short break from another of your mother’s back-breaking work days?
2. Are your parents still alive? If not, when and how did they die? Does their present situation or the circumstances surrounding their death have any effect on your life choices? What is their legacy? Did they pass on a family curse? Was their fortune swindled away by a scurrilous villain? Were they nobles? Were they dirt poor? Were you ashamed of them? Were you proud of them? Were they ashamed of you? Were there secrets? Did your father have a strange signet ring that disappeared mysteriously when he died? Did your mother run a mage academy? Did people give you sidelong glances and mutter about your “real” father when you walked past them in the market?
3. Do you have any siblings or other extended family? How important are they to you? Do you love them? Hate them? A little of both? Are they dead? Are they missing? Are they cursed by an evil lich? Do they own a ship? Do they embarrass you? Do you embarrass them? Did they marry the love of your life? Do they steal? Were they crippled in an accident you caused? Blinded by a torturer because they wouldn’t give you up to the authorities? Do they hunt you in vengeance?
4. What is your favorite color? If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be? If you had 100,000 gold pieces to spend, and you couldn’t buy anything even remotely useful, what would you spend it on? A menagerie of exotic animals? A magical pleasure barge? An ostentatious harpsichord? A personal chef who follows you around? A parcel of swamp land? A fossilized dire sloth?
5. Who do you hate? Who would you murder if you were sure you could get away with it and no one would ever find out? If you could erase one custom, invention, or practice from the face of existence, what would it be? Why?
6. Who do you love? What person would you sacrifice a thousand people to save? Why do you love them? Do they love you? Are you sure?
7. What do you look like? Are you stocky? Do you have huge jowls? A pug nose, broken from too many bar brawls? The thick forearms of a sailor? Spindly legs with knobby knees? A scar across your forehead? A facial tick? A lazy eye? Are you missing two fingers on your left hand? What happened to those other fingers? Are you bald? Do you have a braided beard with golden ornaments in it? Are you unnaturally tall? Are you an albino? Do you have particularly (and unsettlingly) sharp teeth?
8. What do you believe in? Do you have faith in a higher power? A god? A demon lord? If so which one? Are you a pragmatist? Do you believe people are born good? Evil? Do you believe in fate? Do you think people choose their own destiny? Do you believe peace is the answer to the world’s ills? Education? Conquest? Are you a patriot? What’s an ideal you hold on to? Compassion? Bravery? Righteousness? Power? How do you see yourself ?
9. Are you superior to others in your own mind? Are you unworthy of another’s love? Do you love yourself ? Do you hate yourself ? What are you afraid of most? What have you done that you are most ashamed of? What single deed makes you most proud?
10. How do you dress? Do you wear black satin doublets because they are slimming and hide the weight you put on since you left the monastery? Do you wear worn gray robes because you believe hiding your power is more important than showing off and inviting unwanted attention? Do you wear sparkling jewels and garish colors to make a splash wherever you roam? Do you favor the dress of your people, or scorn it? Why?
11. How do you talk? Do you stutter? Do you speak slowly, careful to phrase every sentence perfectly? Are you eloquent? Do you favor strange syntax, such as always referring to yourself in the third person? Do you speak softly, or are you especially boisterous? Do you have an accent? Do you grumble? Mutter? Prattle? Do you speak in a high pitch? A low growl? Do you only speak when spoken to?
12. What are your goals in life? Do you want to restore your family honor? Do you want to impress the woman of your dreams? Find your lost child? Find the secret of immortality? Write a poetic masterpiece worthy of passing down through the ages? Find your mother’s long lost sword?
Now for the most important question: Why did you join the Pathfinder Society? The life of a Pathfinder is not one commonly chosen. Why did you choose it? Was it your destiny? Are you trying to prove something? Do you have a burning obsession with the past? A burning obsession with money? Do you do it because it drives the tavern wenches mad? Because it drives your parents crazy? Because somebody has to? Because life is the gods’ biggest joke and you plan to laugh your way through it?
I imagine that, if more people looked through that list, we'd get fewer PC that were little more than an assemblage of class, race, and faction.
I used to have a similar handout that I made players fill out when they made new character's in my 3.5 home game.
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I actually used a module for the background for one of my character. Her brother died during a Zombie attack during the Opera in Oppara......but then he started showing up in her dreams, guiding her, haunting her. You see Zyphus loves her. Her brother came back to bring her closer to Zyphus. Because of him she's learned so much.
I'm trying to things like that with all my characters.
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I actually used a module for the background for one of my character. Her brother died during a Zombie attack during the Opera in Oppara......but then he started showing up in her dreams, guiding her, haunting her. You see Zyphus loves her. Her brother came back to bring her closer to Zyphus. Because of him she's learned so much.
I'm trying to things like that with all my characters.
I realy like that idea, though that could be difficult if someone who hasnt played or run that particular scenario asks about your characters past. Seems workable enough though.
I've got a character who I'd been toying with the idea of saying he was the assistant to VC Drandle Dreng in the Dalsine Affair. I think it's that scenario anyway. The one where he is sick at the beginning and can barely give you the mission. I dont think that gives any plot relavent information away. :p
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I've got a character who I'd been toying with the idea of saying he was the assistant to VC Drandle Dreng in the Dalsine Affair. I think it's that scenario anyway. The one where he is sick at the beginning and can barely give you the mission. I dont think that gives any plot relavent information away. :p
That's a cool idea!
The scenario you're thinking of is "Shades of Ice, Part 1". It's funny, since last time I ran that one, I had a bad cold and had almost lost my voice. It wasn't much of a stretch to get into character for Drandle Dreng!
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I made a post about this one already, but I'll put it here again.
I made a Monk of Shelyn called Deuce Bigalow - Wis 14, Cha 7, and gave him a rank in Profession (Courtesan).
(If you've seen Orgazmo): In 4E, I made a Bard called Sancho. I tried to model him just like the character in that movie. Of course, we only really saw that character for like 30 seconds, so it's hard sometimes.
(If you are old enough to remember the Cannonball Run movies): I've made a version of The Sheik in various RPGs, and called him Prince Abdul Bin Falafel. In Living Greyhawk, when I came across the ability to purchase a Giant Owl mount for 5,000 gp, I jumped at the chance - of course I'd need a fast mount! (And during one interactive, I broke it because of that mount, by-passed the last encounter by simply flying the disabled Beygraf (leader of the region of Ket) to a safe city, simply because the enemies had no ranged weapons. :)
... come to think of it, maybe all my characters are based off of characters I've seen in movies ;-)
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My first PFS character was more roleplay-optimized than combat-oriented, but gaining levels has helped round her out.
Elspeth Thisslyn is half-Taldan, half-Andoran, born in a small, lumber-based town and tutored by an old witch who was able to talk with the fey. While she used to be cheerful and friendly (now expecting stubborn people to pick fights for no reason at all after several such missions), her ferret familiar is sneaky yet pompous and hates the pet name she gave him.
She doesn't tell people she's a witch at first, since she's worried about stereotypes. Her healing hex comes in the form of herbal folk remedies, and her evil eye is mainly just a variation of "Shame on you!".
She's been through almost every adventure involving the Blackros Musesm, and even though she likes titles to add to one's names, she refuses to be called the "Witch of the Blackros". I mean, that would definitely send the wrong impression.
(She'd also been hoping for Baron Jacquo Dalsine's arrest due to hating his faction missions)
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Well, as long as we're talking about oddball story concepts for our characters, I should mention my only two PFS characters that I've had a chance to play so far (though I do have others).
For my first character, I was new to Pathfinder (returning to RPGs after a 20+ year hiatus - was a big AD&D player in the 80s). So I threw together Mash, a stereotypical big, dumb barbarian, just because I figured that would be easy to create and play without knowing Pathfinder that well yet. I don't remember what inspired this, but I gave him a back story about coming from a long line of paladins, and rebelling against the family by becoming a chaotic neutral barbarian. I even gave him a pretentious paladin sounding full name - Reginald Bartholomew Brightsword VII. In fleshing out the story a little, I decided he had 6 older sisters, which is why the family put so much pressure on him as the only male heir to carry on the family's paladin tradition, and join his father in the Pathfinder Society's Silver Crusade.
When I mentioned that I wanted to make a cleric as my second character, somebody in the group joked about how Mash's older sisters are probably paladins and clerics in the Silver Crusade, so I should make my cleric as one of his sisters. Thus, Sister Isabella (pun intended), crusading cleric of Sarenrae, was born. Mash has the bully trait. Isabella has the Reactionary trait as a reaction to having been bullied as a kid. This is also why I decided she was the youngest of the 6 sisters - so she'd be close enough in age to Mash for her to be a victim of his bullying, despite being older.
One of these days, I'll make a paladin character as their oldest sister. I even joked about making a paladin character of their father, but I think I'll stick with the siblings of the younger generation of the Brightsword family.
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Gnome female witch with Insanity patron. Yeah you guessed it, she is one crazy witch. Its kinda a bit standard really, but it's still fun to play with. Its sometimes hard to get into being female :) but I usually hit some kinky stuff at those moments. She is aware that she isn't beautiful but it doesn't prevent her from making others a bit more lovely to her. She especially has it for 1 specific ranger, sometimes pinching him for the but.
She also laughs alot, its kinda defensive mechanism. Along with that, Hideous Laughter spell goes along, often laughing side by side with foes in combat. She has a good humor I tell you!
Rest of time she is escentric little gnome with a bad sense of humor trying to sell wierd stuff to npcs.
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Gnome female witch with Insanity patron. Yeah you guessed it, she is one crazy witch. Its kinda a bit standard really, but it's still fun to play with. Its sometimes hard to get into being female :) but I usually hit some kinky stuff at those moments. She is aware that she isn't beautiful but it doesn't prevent her from making others a bit more lovely to her. She especially has it for 1 specific ranger, sometimes pinching him for the but.
She also laughs alot, its kinda defensive mechanism. Along with that, Hideous Laughter spell goes along, often laughing side by side with foes in combat. She has a good humor I tell you!
Rest of time she is escentric little gnome with a bad sense of humor trying to sell wierd stuff to npcs.
I've been reading up a little on Golarion gnomes, and now I want to play one. They seem like they could be fun to go nuts with (literally). I was thinking of doing the more stereotypical gnome sorcerer, though.
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RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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I am just always tierd of seeing all those human PCs.
I can appreciate this sentiment - I have a tendency to lean toward humans myself. They're just so flexible. All the other races seem to have built-in flavor restrictions, while the humans can be anything you want.* And once I got the Inner Sea World Guide and saw all the ethnicities, the possibilities just exploded.
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RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
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There are a few reasons that it's useful to come up with strange / outlandish PCs in an organized play environment.
1) You have, maybe, five seconds to introduce your character to the rest of the party. Subtle doesn't hack it. "I am the goddess Desna's son, living life as a full human, serving as a Pathfinder as a tribute to Mum's love of exploration."
2) There's no GM who can gainsay you playing the son of a goddess.
3) In a standard campaign, you build your character through relationships with other PCs and with NPCs. You're the rogue that keeps giving Drangle Dreng fits, or you're the cleric of Urgathoa who serves at the temple and has a budding romance with a cleric of Norgerber. (Will you infect him with your love before he kisses you with lip venom?) In an organized play campaign, you have to carry your role-playing history within you.
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I'm only a Pathfinder because me mum is convinced that me getting in the Grand Lodge's good books will somehow unlock an endless amount of Sun Orchid Elixir. Yes, her only daughter is a method to continue a beauty routine, that is, now, getting slightly tiresome.
I'll tell you more about her after I finish my next mission. I'm off to spend five days locked in Absalom's sewers looking for the corpse of some Thuvian envoy.
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I am just always tierd of seeing all those human PCs.I can appreciate this sentiment - I have a tendency to lean toward humans myself. They're just so flexible. All the other races seem to have built-in flavor restrictions, while the humans can be anything you want.* And once I got the Inner Sea World Guide and saw all the ethnicities, the possibilities just exploded.
Often race is tied to my character concept but even then, I try to think about flavor in a way that plays with the racial concept but isn't bound by it. For example, my Half Elf grew up lonely, with all the human girls outgrowing her as soon as she got to know them. Fortunately, she made friends with Bertie. Bertie is her 'chicken' she found in Dad's chicken coop. It grew bigger than all the other chickens and had claws, and sharp teeth. But he's still her best friend in the whole world (dinosaur style Eidolon/girl and her dog concept).
Marv is King of Orcish Barbaque. Just ask him or visit his resturant. It will make your skin a healthy shade of green. He has a meat tenderizer (flail), and bombs he makes with his barbaque sauce...or the gases rising from the restaurant outhouse (competing theories, or perhaps both depending what he wants to accomplish).
The Dwarfish Sorcerer idea I have (wisdom based bloodline) had his powers blamed on Gnome blood in the clan line.....and you know what that means.
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... She especially has it for 1 specific ranger, sometimes pinching him for the but.
She also laughs alot, its kinda defensive mechanism. Along with that, Hideous Laughter spell goes along, often laughing side by side with foes in combat. She has a good humor I tell you!
Rest of time she is escentric little gnome with a bad sense of humor trying to sell wierd stuff to npcs.
Interesting parallel to Chibiko- my tiefling witch character who I am patterning after wuxia-style/anime witches or say the ghosts from "A Chinese Ghost Story". At any rate, she also slapped a ranger on the bottom when she was stuck behind him on a ladder and he wasn't moving fast enough for her liking. :-P
And also, Chibiko's outrageous behavior is really a defense mechanism for her feeling awkward for being so different from everyone else. Her familiar is her "best friend"... she overly pampers him- food treats, little fox booties to protect his paws, etc.
Chibiko tried to become a matchmaker by using Unnatural Lust on one of the Blackros sisters with the target being a shy magus in her party... unfortunately, after the glamour faded there wasn't a spark to carry on the romance.
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Because there isn't much continuity between groups (the scenarios remind me of TV series episodes), it'd probably be the easiest to play a compulsive liar who makes up different code names for himself at every mission.
Considering the nature of those missions, it also makes it fun and easy to play as a happy idealist who soon turns to muttering stuff like, "Join the Society, they said", and keeps count of the time it takes between the briefing and the point at which the mission goes to pieces due to something that was left out of the briefing. (From what I've played, The Dalsine Affair probably has the record for this)