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I'm playing a very young PC in a RP heavy Shattered Star campaign. Right before the start of the first book, she lost her entire family in a pretty terrible way (and picked up the Alabaster Outcast trait as a result).
She's *barely* old enough to be an adventurer (she's a human rogue who turned 15 just weeks before the start of the AP) and the strain of the first book is taking its toll on her.
She was the one who picked up the Shard of Pride. Then, on our first trip into the Crow, we as players didn't act in keeping with our characters - we went in guns blazing and killed everyone, rather than trying to work something out with the Tower Girls (it was a really late gaming session, and we were all tired.) Anyway, rather than retcon it later, we decided to let our characters deal with the fallout of their mistakes. It traumatized poor Clara, and she hasn't been the same since.
Apparently we all got the memo that this was the "bring out your most flawed PC EVER" campaign...so the group she's traveling with has plenty of demons of its own. Nevertheless, she's been adopted as the "little sister" of the party. Clara hero-worshipped her older brother, but he abandoned and later betrayed her before he died. In the short time the group has been together, she's come to see one of the other PCs as a sort of stand-in for that particular brother. They've become fairly close, but the other PC has serious issues, too, and has flown into fits of rage and almost walked out on the group (the PC, not the player). Clara, as a result, has started to sort of confuse the two of them in her head.
At the end of the last session, that PC was killed by sinspawn right in front of Clara, while she was helpless to do anything about it. One very badly flubbed Will save later, she now "officially" has Schizophrenia, as outlined by the Gamemastery Guide. Her slightly erratic behavior before the incident acted as the "onset" time for the disease, and she's now officially cracked.
I get, mechanically, how it works, but what I'm not really sure about is how to RP the effects, especially in stressful situations like combat, when the confusion kicks in. The dead PC *will* be raised, and I'm also not really sure how she should react to that. I know she'll continue to confuse him with her actual brother (probably calling the PC by the brother's name sometimes, or using the PC's name when talking about her brother.)
I guess I'm also worried about pushing things too far, because she *will* get well again. I've already talked to the GM, and he's promised that there will be enough "downtime" and enough people who care about her well being to make sure that she receives treatment before she's assigned any more missions. But we still have to finish the job we're on right now, first...and while I think it could be fun to play with the insanity rules for a session or two, I don't want to do anything that would irreparably damage her relationship with the other characters later on down the road.
TL;DR:
My character failed a will save against insanity, and is now schizophrenic. The catalyst of the insanity was the death of a PC whom she closely associates with the brother she lost just a few months ago. That PC will be raised from the dead shortly and rejoin the party. If you were me, how would you RP that? And how would you RP the mechanics of the disorder (namely the confusion in battle and stressful situations?)
How knowledgeable are you about the actual medical symptoms of "schizophrenia"?
Technically "schizophrenia" is the inability to distinguish reality from fantasy. Schizophrenics frequently "hear voices" in their heads or see things that aren't there. Schizophrenics also are frequently "delusional" meaning they misinterpret real events and twist them to fit their fantasy world. This can exhibit itself as extreme paranoia and/or violent anger for no "reason".
But the schizophrenic themselves is frequently completely unaware of their delusions and accept them as reality.
So, in a nutshell, schizophrenia, while a horrible mental disease that causes untold suffering and pain in the real world, is a role playing bonanza. There are pretty much no limits to how you can role play a schizophrenic. You can have them hear the "voice of God" in their head which controls their actions. You can have them see purple fanged lizards crawling all over the place, or they may simply have an imaginary pet and otherwise appear completely normal.
The key thing to remember is that the schizophrenic may see or hear things that aren't there, and they have a world view that is drastically different than "normal" people and react to that world view more than they react to the real world.
In combat, for example, a schizophrenic might suddenly believe that enemies are friends and friends are enemies. There really is no limit to the havoc you can inflict on the party.
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If she links her brother and the dead PC together, perhaps seeing the PC returned to life will bring her brother back as well.
(at least in her mind)
Making her believe her brother has come back for her, hearing his voice and catching glimpses of him out of the corner of her eye.
Whether he's back to make up for his abandoning or to take her with him is up to you.
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Being bipolar and the son of a schizophrenic man (I just got lucky, I guess), Adamantine Dragon is spot on with his info, and Cornielius has a great idea, but allow me to help expand on it. Say you have to make a Perception check to notice something hiding in a bush. Your character you see her brother standing by the bush and he says "There's something here." to which your character responds aloud "Brother says there's something in that bush". I'm sure there are other ways you can use the above example...like with making a Knowledge check or Spellcraft check, but don't forget the...I hesitate to call it the "bad part" because my father told me when I was young that God didn't give him his illness so that he may be crippled by it, but to make him strong enough to overcome it and make it his own. Digressing, your brother could tell you not to trust the rezzed PC. He could taunt you asking "Why have you replaced me? I thought you loved me?" She should be a little paranoid and suspect even little things to be malicious. I have instances of such paranoia, and let me tell you...EVERYTHING is directed at you. People are always talking about you and they want to see you in pain. I'll leave it at that. Even though I know it is all imagined, it feels so real sometimes. I've revealed a little more about myself than I ever wanted to on the internet. I hope what I've written here will help you flesh out your PC, but please remember that just because someone is mentally ill doesn't mean they're bad. It's the negative connotation that people have put on it. I know a few decades ago I'd be locked up, so please treat it seriously and respect it. You may find a newfound respect for people like my father and I. I'll give you a little tip: Being "crazy" just means you can bend a little more than a "normal" person before you break, which is an ironic statement given the fact that "normal" people already view us as "broken". I know I don't. Happy Gaming.
She can have the delusion that she's just a PC in a pen and paper role-playing game and make a bunch of "breaking the fourth" wall comments.
Do this.
From the description of your campaign you need a little comedy.
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Thank you all so, so, SO much!
I'll admit that I have very little experience with or knowledge of "real" schizophrenia, but *am* familiar with Bi-Polar and clinical depression. As such, I don't want to just "play crazy," as that seems horribly disrespectful, and your insight into the actual workings of the disorder is tremendously helpful in sorting out how Clara would see the world now. Thank you especially, Luna, for sharing your personal experiences. I know firsthand how difficult that is, and really do appreciate it.
Be a sport, and dump wisdom.
Having the numbers match the concept is good start.
This has sort of been done for me already, schizophrenia (as outlined in the Gamemastery Guide, which is where we're pulling the mechanics from) gives a -4 to all widsom and charisma based checks, and the PC has to make a save to avoid becoming confused during stressful situations like combat. So the part that actually affects the game has already been decided for me...I've just been trying to decide on how to RP those mechanics.
I loooove the idea of seeing her brother all over the place, and will definitely be using that...especially the bit about perception checks and the like. When she's confused, I think she'll also see the rest of the party as her deceased siblings; while being able to act normally, she'll believe that they're all together again, and when forced to attack one of them it will be because she's remembered their betrayal.
The one thing I'm still not sure on is what she would see/feel/experience that would make her believe she needed to harm herself, should I roll that affect on the confusion table.
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So, what is the Race/Class of this PC?
Please tell me it is Oracle.
lol...wouldn't THAT be something? No...she's just a plain ole' human rogue. Wisdom was already her weakest stat, but I rolled pretty well when I made her, so it was a 12. Not as crippling as it could be, granted, but with the penalty and her already low will save, I imagine she'll still get herself into a few tight spots.
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Ooof. Rogue huh?
You really are impairing yourself.
Ah, what we do for the sake of the story, you know? I've been promised we'll correct the issue before it becomes game breaking, though, and I'm hoping that when she emerges on the other side of the whole ordeal it will have made her stronger as a person and them closer as a group.
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More likely that the schizophrenic will alienate everyone close to him or her.
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More likely that the schizophrenic will alienate everyone close to him or her.
That's a fair enough point...it comes down to how long the behavior lasts, how severe it is, and how determined those close to her are to love her when she makes herself unlovable. Same as in real life, I suppose.
Except in a game, you can cast a spell and make it all better when the whole thing stops being fun.
Playing a schizophrenic character is a goldmine for character development and role-playing.
I remember playing such a character in a role-playing orientated game, with a really rich background. Character had lost his lover, blamed himself, and much later in the campaign goes insane. Made a perfect way to confront the past of my PC.
You're PCs situation sounds like a jack pot. Play on guilt, loss, and the past. You could take it the direction of horror, drama, or a combination.
Watch the movie dangerous mind
<no its beautiful mind>
No, its the one with Russel Crow
[YES, Yes yes! the one with Crow! Bravo! Here here]
Ran a dungeon once upon a time where the lead heroic NPC was an orc paladin or some such.
Gave clues throughout 5-7 weeks there was something mentally wrong with him.. headaches, scars on the head...
Somewhere during the adventure they suffered some attribute damage and so used restoration on the poor amnesiatic demoniac BEBG. Who promptly waited until the next significant combat.. and turned on the party.....
She can have the delusion that she's just a PC in a pen and paper role-playing game and make a bunch of "breaking the fourth" wall comments.
If she links her brother and the dead PC together, perhaps seeing the PC returned to life will bring her brother back as well.
(at least in her mind)
Making her believe her brother has come back for her, hearing his voice and catching glimpses of him out of the corner of her eye.
Whether he's back to make up for his abandoning or to take her with him is up to you.
That's a great take on this.
To my knowledge, most schizophrenics don't suddenly turn on friends and companions.
True enough, but in my experience, their behavior can still be very scary, and I have often felt a tinge of fear in certain situations where I wasn't sure if the situation (with my brother-in-law, who has been diagnosed) could get violent. Unpredictability is the scariest, edgiest part of it, and playing that aspect up could be interesting.
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The one thing I'm still not sure on is what she would see/feel/experience that would make her believe she needed to harm herself, should I roll that affect on the confusion table.
I'm talking out of Psyc 101 here, not personal or professional experience, but it's my understanding that self-injury by schizophrenics results from the person being convinced that their body is somehow wrong or evil - a bit of poking on the internet turns up one guy who cut off a finger because his voices told him it would save the world. If you felt it was plausible, your character's phantom brother could be the source of this information - he could tell her that she needs to make a sacrifice of her blood to bring him back.
Phantom sensation could also do the trick. If she gets the sudden sensation of spiders crawling along her flesh (or worse, maggots underneath it) it seems reasonable she'd tear at her skin. She might pass these delusions off as hostile spells.
On topic, I'd suggest doing some research on the illness itself. Schizophrenia can manifest in a variety of ways, and there are different types. The pop-culture depiction of "hearing voices" is not as common or at all the same as schizophrenics experience in reality.
Chris Lambertz can you please make them be respectful of rogues too because their anti-rogueness is hurting my feelings.
j/k I don't really have feelings.
Look at Gollum in the LOTR and the dialouges he has has with himself.
Take into account that other people might not find this fun for a group to play as well.
Schizophrenia can really affect people in different ways. I used to run a homeless shelter for individuals with mental health issues. One day two my clients (who both had forms of paranoid schizophrenia) and I were watching TV. A horror movie came on and one my clients looked at me and says, that is what my life feels like with the other client nodding in agreement.
He highlighted the constant tension the feeling of something that is there that is not, the scary sounds and voices and then feeling that ALL the time. It would be a tough way to live.
Don't stop others from helping you cure your condition.
RP that too, this is where a lot of the paranoid in "paranoid schizophrenia" comes into play.
Think about it... your tragically lost, favorite brother starts talking to you and helping you miraculously from beyond the grave, but then suddenly stops when this cleric starts playing around with your head. You might respond poorly to such a change.
To my knowledge, most schizophrenics don't suddenly turn on friends and companions. The way I'd play is that maybe the character gets into internal dialogues with people she has some unresolved emotion toward - her brother, the PC friend (before he gets raised and possibly a fictional mental construct thereof AFTER he gets raised), possibly victims or related individuals if she feels she's done something ethically unacceptable.
Perhaps at times these internal dialogues become not-quite-so-internal; or she becomes confused as to whether the people she's talking to in her head are real or not.
No I think you missed the point: An evil Boss got a new personality by way of insanity.
When the insanity was cured, (along with the incident strength damage) he reverted to his previous personality. Ie., big evil boss rather than paladin.