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Personally I encourage people to role play... If borrowing a concept from another source helps them then, by all means, I support that. I would much rather have them build as close a copy of anyone as they can via the character creation rules than not role play at all. I have faith they will try out original concepts after a while.
Pretty much this. If someone is a repeat offender, and every single character they build is a copy of their favorite fictional character, that's when I start to try to really encourage them to build their own idea. Even if it's just a fusion of multiple "carbon copies," or changing minor aspects of the character.
The biggest thing that niggles at me is the straight-copied name. If I need to call another character "Syrio Forel" in a Pathfinder game, it breaks the immersion for me a bit. Even something as minor as changing the name to Fyrio Sorel helps me get over that suspension of disbelief.
In my experience, the player who makes a character based on a media character tends to be terribly disappointed when the character doesn't really work like the one they envisioned. (And that the game isn't built around a single solo character, but a *team* of characters, who *all* get a moment to shine.)
Superhero games I've been in have frequently had Wolverine clones, for instance, and they have *always* led to terrible frustration, since, from a gaming standpoint, he's stone-cold terrible. No ranged offense. No utility at all. No transportation powers. No real defense. (His 'defense' is that he gets better, after getting beat like a red-headed stepchild and looking like a chump, over, and over, and over.)
After failed attempts to make Wolverine or Drizzt or Conan or Harry Dresden or whomever, most players get it through their heads to create a character that is designed to play well with the system (if not necessarily the setting...).
I've fallen for that a few times as well. I tried to play Gambit once in a GURPS supers game, and wow, did he suck hard. When the rest of the team is flying / teleporting / whatever to an incident across town and your means of transportation is 'I own a motorcycle...', yeah. And that really awesome agility is really freaking helpful when someone throws a grenade. Might as well have played a 1st level Commoner.
It's usually a self-correcting problem, after a session or two of 'Conan' not being able to be 'Conan.' (Who was like, a mid-level Ranger / Barbarian / Rogue / Fighter with 40 point buy, as a starting character, and who had Plot Armor and GM Fiat as racial attributes.)
Yeah, this was exemplified in the latest Wolverine movie. The Japanese swordsman was better, quite a bit more skilled, faster (despite being an ageing Japanese businessman). Wolverine only won because he soaked, finally got a few counters and killed him on reflex. I was actually rooting for the swordsman, because he was the underdog against something like an end boss with a ridiculous health bar.
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I realize the game in question isn't like that -- it's where everyone is original except for the one guy who's basing his character on Tasselhoff, or whomever. But as Tasselhoff never met the other characters people are playing, that induces and forces the player to shift his RP to figure out how to react to the PCs, regardless of the fact of the source material, and could push him to break the mold even if his "mold" seems pretty solid.
Oh, yes.
"I don't care how much this 'Flint' person thought it was funny.
You touch any of my stuff, and you're dead."
I've heard that conversation a few times, and some of those times, it wasn't a ported PC, but a game set in Krynn.
This is one of the big problems with copying characters from other sources. The source isn't necessarily well-written, and the reactions he expects to get for his 'charming' behaviour simply don't apply, when the other characters are played by other people, who don't share the original author's tolerance for their 'whimsical' little ways, or utterly boneheaded tactics.
"Let the hostage go, and take me instead."
"Err. Okay." <shoots hero dead, once he's helpless>
"THAT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN! THAT'S NOT RIGHT! THAT'S NOT HOW IT WORKS!"
"What did you expect to happen?"
"I'm supposed to be locked in a room with tools, and make my escape."
"But...that would be rather stupid. Wouldn't it?"
I realize the game in question isn't like that -- it's where everyone is original except for the one guy who's basing his character on Tasselhoff, or whomever.
I misread this at first, and now I'm totally going to base a character on David Hasselhoff. Hair for the win!
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I was in a party with a Syrio the other day, though I believe he was a bard. The fact that he did the accent and everything was great. Maybe I'd feel differently if I saw tons of Syrios all the time, but I don't get too bothered when people try their hand at adapting fantasy characters from other sources for Pathfinder. What matters most for me is how friendly and team-oriented a player is. The rest is gravy.
Some concepts work better than others.
Syrio comes from a low-magic, gritty setting, so it isn't difficult to begin with this, and add elements to fit the intended power level and accepted fantasy level of the game he's ported into.No-one's going to complain, if 'Syrio' gains a magical blade. Why wouldn't he? Or began casting more noticable spells, or got a pair of boots that let him dance on the ceiling (as long as he didn't channel Lionel Ritchie). All these things make him more 'Syrio', as if this is what Syrio could have become, if his story had continued.
Porting in a powerful, overtly magical, cosmic character is less forgivable, because the character has to be powered down.
The player either expects to be given all the toys the original has, or has to be told to drop them, losing all the things that make that character who he iconically is, everything that was attractive to the player.
Thanks Perish Song.
One thing also; make it clear to someone copying a concept for a character that "millage may vary". Copying a fantasy novel character for Pathfinder may be almost perfectly doable. Copying Superman for Pathfinder is not going to yield anything close to the same effect (Although you may get good millage out of Superman's personality).
Thanks Perish Song.
One thing also; make it clear to someone copying a concept for a character that "millage may vary". Copying a fantasy novel character for Pathfinder may be almost perfectly doable. Copying Superman for Pathfinder is not going to yield anything close to the same effect (Although you may get good millage out of Superman's personality).
One might also get good mileage out of a character who THINKS he's the equivalent to Superman.
A while ago I made the choice to recognize that games aren't high art.
People are going to play the things they want to play, and my "literary standards" only serve to frustrate me and anyone else I express them to.
Nowadays, when people come at me with "Bob the Fighter" or "my character is a horse with two fighter levels" I treat it with a stiff upper lip and let things roll exactly as I think they should.
It turns out that a horse with two fighter levels is badass.
This is a post of astonishing wisdom. The silly players will make silly characters whether or not you let them play the horse. While it is good to impose some limits so the other players who fancy RPing "Saldyriv the Serious" and "Bovaku the Brooder" aren't actually obstructed, there's no sense in messing up the horse's fun. As long as you can make it consistent with the setting, there's little that needs doing.
Horse with Fighter levels?
watch Tangled.
the movie has quite a badass horse whom helps contribute to saving princess Rapunzel
the horse isn't very silly at all, despite the movie being animated
it's also by Disney
gets away with things prior Disney films couldn't
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I don't mind players using names from books or films as long as the characters background is original then that's fine
What really annoys is when someone makes a skill monkey character then is forever b+$$+ing that the insanely hard warrior type is doing more damage in combat
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I will have to look again, but I'm pretty sure Cohen isn't a dwarf. I'm pretty sure he is just an old barbarian man.
Not that it really makes any difference to you examples. =)
HERE is a very good interpretation, by David Bradley (aka 'Filch' from the Harry Potter movies)
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The eidolon?
Her look always changes because he's an evolutionist so she's rarely ever the same thing two days in a row., her default mode is a Barbara Palvin/Gemma Ward clone but she's been a hybrid dolphin/gyrfalcon with a swim speed over 350. She's been a horse, a pegasus, a clockwork mech, a monstrous robot like the warbot from the stallone dredd movie...
That robot alone has a convoluted 35 year publishing history, that could fuel several character ideas.
Horse with Fighter levels?
watch Tangled.
the movie has quite a badass horse whom helps contribute to saving princess Rapunzel
the horse isn't very silly at all, despite the movie being animated
it's also by Disney
gets away with things prior Disney films couldn't
Pish-posh, gets away with more than older Disney movies? Not even one protagonist death!
I kid. Tangled is an old favorite of mine, and Maximus is definitely a good character to imitate. Heck, you can imitate his character even without making him a horse--make him a silent half-orc bodyguard.
My first character, a Ranger with two-weapon fighting and using scimitars, was named "Logan Half-Elven". You can figure out yourself how many clichés I meshed together there. :p
I generally am bad with coming up with my own names, so I often mix and mash character names from different fictional universes. Let's see, my current Wizard is named Nicodemus Artemis Astarte (Dresden Files, Drizzt novels, Warhammer 40k). I got a Sorcerer named Lameth (The Masquerade of the Red Death)I and an elven Alchemist named Doctor Ogol (which would be "Doctor Evil" according to some internet elvish database ^^).
<takes out binder with old character sheets from the last 15 years>
Ulric Astarte (BattleTech Warhammer 40k)
Berengar Reegar (The Witcher, Mass Effect 2)
James Sheridan (generic, Babylon 5)
Ryu Kitsune (generic, the last name came before we got the official Kitsune race)
Zebulon Locke (trying to do a Star Wars-y name for a SW game)
Nathaniel Ramsey (New Mutants, New Mutants)
Alexei Krenyenko (generic... I think)
Sir-Lord Percival Winston-Pryce (made up BS, Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
Krun, son of Kang (generic)
Vanariel Avelezara (elvish syllables from an online source)
Tesla Ironfist (generic)
Zogbar Stormrage (generic, World of Warcraft)
Neroon Delennier (Babylon 5, the whole three of them ^^)
Gwydeon Solunar (Taran and the Magic Cauldron, generic)
Gwydeon ap Llewelyn (Taran and the Magic Cauldron)
Lyvannalas Caelasar (elvish syllables from an online source)
Breetai Tul (Robotech)
Khyron Kravsheera (Robotech)
Robillar Macross (Greyhawk, Riftwar novels)
Alastor Strongheart (generic)
Murunga (some romance-comedy flick which name I don't remember, full name of the alias a dude there used was Lobo Murunga)
Huh, there are actually surprisingly many good and non-derivate character names between the really embarassing ones. ^^
I ran Teron Gorefiend in AD&D, Drow necromancer fighter.
Good times.
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Oddly, I've never seen a Fezzik rip-off.I feel remiss in not having played one now.
I played a Ranger named "Vessek," and everyone called me "Fezzik" the entire time. Does that count?
Now that I have an actual d3 I'm not loathe to build character that have to utilize them, so one of my next ones will probably be an unarmed fighter.
I knew a guy who had a rouge who wore tight leather armor and was called gimp
I played a Ranger named "Vessek," and everyone called me "Fezzik" the entire time. Does that count?Did he exercise?
Not really, but he had a 18 CHA. Yay Dice Pool stat generation!
Speaking of popular media ripoff copycat characters, my current PF character is Robocop with Wolverine-claws. No, really.
My character is a half-golem Incarnate(Law)/Totemist, with his Soulmelds appearing as mechanical versions, that fold out of his armor like the weapons the Transformers carried in the movies. He uses Sphinx Claws often, which resemble Wolverine's signature claws.
The character was the victim of a mad wizard's experiments in Incarnum infusion. My character was kidnapped, and forcibly transformed into a half-golem, made to serve the wizard as a body guard/proof of theorem. Fast forward several centuries, the wizard has long-since passed away, leaving my character on his own to explore the world and try to find a way to restore his humanity.
So far, this character has been a blast to play. Playing on concepts of dehumanization, my character is often conflicted between his cold, mechanical mindset, and the pain of remembering the life he once had, i.e. Robocop.
With claws.
