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Could anyone give me advice and/or a character from a show or something that I could possibly use to really help me RP my Vanaras Monk/Druid?
"Vanaras are intelligent, simian humanoids who live in deep forests and jungles. They are both agile and clever, but saddled with boundless curiosity and a love of pranks that, while normally harmless, hinder ingratiations with those they encounter. A vanara's body is covered in a thin coat of soft fur, and individuals with chestnut, ivory, and even golden coats are common. Despite its fur, a vanara can grow lengthy hair on its head just like a human, and both male and female vanaras take pains to wear elaborate hairstyles for important social functions. The hair on a vanara's head matches the color of its fur. All vanaras have long, prehensile tails and handlike feet capable of well-articulated movements. A vanara stands slightly shorter than a typical human. Males weigh from 150 to 200 pounds at most, with females weighing slightly less. Vanaras live for 60 to 75 years.
Vanaras live in large, tree-top villages connected by rope-bridges and ladders. Homes are carved out of trees but usually left open to the elements except for woven leaf canopies and overhangs. Vanara villages are typically led by the community's religious leader—usually a cleric, oracle, or monk."
He has an astonishingly low Charisma score of 5, Wisdom and Dexterity of 18, and is most definitely a seeker of truth. I'd like help understanding how a low charisma character could/should/would likely act and/or look/smell etc. He is certainly stubborn, wise about his decisions, graceful with his surroundings and how he handles most objects or people, very skilled at reading people during social activity, average intelligence, would gladly sacrifice his life for his friends or good people, trusts almost no one and typically only relies on himself, and certainly loves punching things. I figure maybe I'll give him an obscene love for shiny things and possibly pranking people. He is also very close with nature and appreciates everything nature has provided for the world. When I try to combine all of this, things get really fuzzy for me when trying to truly visualize him and how I should RP him.
"Vanaras are a race of monkeylike humanoids, possessing brave hearts and inquisitive minds. Vanaras are not found in Rokugan.
Personality: Vanaras are often viewed with amusement or even exasperation by members of other races, who find their personalities childish and irritating. They are curious in the extreme, frequently badgering people with questions (sometimes very personal questions), picking small items up to examine them, opening doors to see where they lead, and generally exploring places where the human sense of propriety and order would demand they not go. They also tend to be bluntly honest, never couching a negative opinion in gentle terms or hiding their true feelings about anything. At the same time, they are incredibly loyal, quite brave when the situation requires it, and genuinely kind.
Physical Description: Vanaras are slightly shorter than humans, standing 4 1/2 to S 1/2 feet tall and typically weighing 90 to 140 pounds . Their bodies are covered with light fur, ranging from white through light blue to brown and black. Their faces are distinctly monkeylike, with protruding muzzles, furred cheeks, and wide, lipless mouths. They have long, semiprehensile tails, long fingers and toes, and large ears, but their arms, legs, and torsos are proportioned like those of humans.
Relations: Vanaras are very fond of humans, admiring them and respecting their power while laughing quietly at their conservative stodginess. They get along well with other good-aligned races as well, as long as the other race will tolerate them. They loathe evil, however, and their opinion of an entire race or kind can be soured by their experience with one wicked individual.
Alignment: Vanaras are strongly chaotic but equally strongly good. They show little or no respect for social mores, rules with no purpose they can understand, or codes of discipline, and hate tyranny and oppression. Their only concession to social order is their acceptance of caste systems. Their religion allows for the possibility that different divine gifts might be given to different people, although it rejects any different valuation of those gifts. Vanaras, therefore, might respect that religion is the province of the priestly caste among humans, but do not necessarily accord that caste the respect and veneration human priests might expect.
Vanara Lands: Vanaras dwell in deep forests and high mountains, building their villages and towns in such a way as to make a minimal impact on their natural surroundings. They gather in loose clans, but do not keep track of kinship at all, so "clan" is a very loose term for their associations. They subsist largely by hunting and gathering, rather than farming the land. They rarely come into contact with other races, and do not seek them out.
Religion: The vanaras revere the greatest of the nature spirits-spirits of the sun, the highest mountains, the oldest forests, and the widest rivers. They revere these spirits with deep personal devotion, offering prayers and songs to these deitylike beings at least daily.
Language: Vanaras speak Vanaran, which is written in the Common script. Humans complain that Vanaran sounds like nothing but screeches and chattering, but it is a complex and subtle language.
Names: A vanara receives a name within a week after birth, as soon as the parents observe some sign or portent that suggests an appropriate name for the child. The vanara keeps this name through life, and considers it shameful to use any other name, such as a nickname or honorific.
Male Names: Amanu, Khanu, Mindra, Rava, Thetsu, Vaki, and Vindu.
Female Names: Aki, Kiri, Ghuna, Lakshi, Sitha, Tani, and Vina.
Adventurers: The arrival of a human or a member of another race in a vanara community usually sparks a rash of vanara adventurers, as young vanaras-curious about the foreign society from which the visitor came-venture forth to learn about the wider world. Vanara adventurers often attach themselves to humans, following them with tremendous loyalty and devotion."
astonishingly low charisma, I'd suggest something of an borish personality, someone that no one willingly wants to be around.
Someone who is aware of everything, someone who understands what to say, but simply doesn't have the ability to articulate it, to be charming, to show empathy.
You could try to play up the monkey-ness...
Maybe a habit of poo flinging in social situations.
Monkey-like screams at people who annoy or challenge him.
Attempt to intimidate people with obnoxious displays in socially inappropriate settings (chest thumping and aggressiveness).
I suggest Sun Wukong/Son Goku of Journey to the West.
This is tricky. So often, bad social behavior is a result of poor awareness, but your character has crazy awareness, so that's not helpful.
I'd suggest—since CHarisma is a measure of force of personality (which can manifest as confidence)—that an angle you could take would be to have the monkey-man have nearly crippling lack of social self-confidence. Once the action starts, he's all graceful and confident, but when it comes to social interactions, he's got the magnetism of a stinky, wet sock. And becuase he's hyper-aware of his own social inadequacies, and because he's hyper-aware of how that makes people feel, it's a mulitplying problem. So he's super-clammed up. And when he opens his mouth, it's quiet, uncertain, and always second-guessing... so people never take him seriously.
EDIT: DYAC!
You need to really ask yourself "WHY does he do what he does?"
Get to the root of the actions you would like to have him perform.
Here are the personality quirks you are playing:
Stubborn
Shows very good forethought
Graceful with surrounding objects and people
Very skilled at reading people during social activity
average intelligence
self sacrificing
trust no one
self reliant
loves punching things
loves shiny things
loves pranking people
loves nature
Why does he do all of these things?
I don't mean to be rude but I think the reason you are having a problem envisioning how he will interact with others is because some of these actions overlap one another and conflict.
Can someone really be self sacrificing and trust no one?
I would highly recommend picking four or five of these and then see how you feel about the character.
Also: imagine the culture that this creature comes from! Do they have possessions or do they have a community of goods? When imagining a character it's really awesome to think of ways that his/her culture is totally different from what you think. I am not saying that you should play a disruptive kleptomaniac that assumes the world is up for grabs. I am saying that this creatures culture probably wouldn't think twice about eating with their feet. If they wouldn't think twice about eating with their feet, they probably wouldn't have dinner tables. So eating with his feet at (or on) a dinner table really allows for some crazy roleplaying scenarios.
Again, ask yourself WHY he does these things and you might come to some really fun solutions.
Also don't just think about things that he "does" and things he "loves"
Try considering things he "won't do" and things he "hates"
High wisdom and low charisma? I would go with extreme shyness. He is wise enough to realize that he does not express himself well to others, so the reasonable course of action is to be withdrawn and introverted. If forced to be the party "face" (something that he tries extremely hard to avoid, for obvious reason), he stammers around and manages to say the wrong thing until somebody else in the party rescues him from the situation.
... even if he knows the right thing to say. When put in the situation, he just can't talk himself out of a paper bag.
A couple of options came to mind:
1) Kwai Chang Caine from "Kung Fu" and "Kung Fu: The Legend Continues" (old TV series). Basically, a supposedly-Shaolin-trained monk who lived in the US in the time of old westerns (original series) or modern era (legend continues). He spoke briefly and cryptically, acted like the mysterious eastern philosopher-monk, and so forth. Probably does not go at all with playing pranks, but if you combined them, play them completely dead-pan (no acknowledgement that you played the prank at all).
2) Dr. Temperence Brennen from TV show "Bones". Speak your mind, don't really care about other people's perspectives, have so much self-confidence about your personal strengths that you can be annoying about it. Say things that are belittling of others when they fall short of your expectations or abilities.
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Have you picked out traits?Yes. I believe he's a Deft Dodger and has the background of being Excommunicated from his village. I can't remember if he had another trait or not...
I would grab the Student of Philosophy, or Clever Wordplay trait, if you are worried about interacting with NPCs.
Both traits will allow you to use Intelligence, instead of Charisma, for Diplomacy.
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Have you picked out traits?Yes. I believe he's a Deft Dodger and has the background of being Excommunicated from his village. I can't remember if he had another trait or not...I would grab the Student of Philosophy, or Clever Wordplay trait, if you are worried about interacting with NPCs.
Both traits will allow you to use Intelligence, instead of Charisma, for Diplomacy.
That's a great idea!! I'll see if I can retcon one of those.
Also, thank you everyone for the ideas! I'm reading over all of it. I hope I can begin to RP right >.<
Explaining the low charisma is easy.
Flatulence.
Uncontrollable, eye-wateringly potent flatulence. The kind that lingers. The kind that creates an invisible wall that you can almost see as it moves across a room by the way people react when it gets to them.
My DM has a dog with this issue. It's terrible. We flee when it happens, and he has to practically flood the room in air freshener to make it even breathable.
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Indeed.
She is a Heretic Inquisitor of Irori, with the Heresy Inquisition.
So, she uses Wisdom for Intimidate, and with the Wisdom of the Flesh trait, she has x2 Wisdom to Bluff and Stealth.
Her personality is one that I mildly based off Alia Atriedes.
An undeveloped personality, but wisdom of the ancients, and a voice that demands to be obeyed, and believed.
My DM actually loved the concept.
An low charisma character from a prankster race? Try watching clips from The Tom Green show from the late 90s. Following it too closely might make your fellow players and DM really hate you though.
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Her personality is one that I mildly based off Alia Atriedes.
That is a fascinating depiction of a low charisma. I mean, Alia wasn't ugly. Wasn't stupid. Wasn't unwise. But would anyone other than her brother want to spend time around her? I think even her mother was weirded out by her.
Great concept.
Not all low charisma characters need be ugly.
Just as all high charisma PCs need be beautiful.
There are ways to handle low, and high charisma, without basing it entirely on looks.
That's true. Looks are only 1/4 of Charisma. But with such a severe dump, you're gonna look you been critted and confirmed with the Ugly stick.
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IMO.. charisma is a reflection of a persons comeliness/personality.
With that being said a "normal" stat is 9 or 10...So a charisma of 5 and again this is only an opinion.
Is unemployed single(obviously)dude who after waking up at noon in his moms basement which by the way features a bare bulb light. Decides to accomplish his days mission at about 6pm(after having mom make him food..twice)
He then walks a block to the local 7-11 and picks up a big bomber burrito and bunkers down for an exciting night of the latest computer game.
Rinse, Repeat.
Oh I almost forgot the unkempt beard and rancid B.O.
Sorry If I offended anyone
Not all low charisma characters need be ugly.
Just as all high charisma PCs need be beautiful.
There are ways to handle low, and high charisma, without basing it entirely on looks.
I'm well aware of this. But Alia doesn't have any of the other qualities I'd usually use to represent low charisma, such as difficulty talking to people, stand-offishness, annoyingly loud voice, etc.
It's really charisma (or lack thereof) entirely represented by creepiness...which I love.
You could always have it be a musky scent he puts out. An example of something similar can be found in the Ciaphas Cain novels by Sandy Mitchell (which I highly recommend for the dark humor); Jergun is a prime example of someone with a very low charisma (though part of that is due to his nature).
So other people smell him coming, and are just... eww? (Even better, have the scent intensify when he gets wet. That way attempts to shampoo him are destined to fail.)
Wow a 5 charisma! A score that low will be several factors not just one.
1-Understanding of social consequence- Varana pranks as listed sometimes prevent outsiders from understanding them. Use have awareness but not tact. You play tricks that are well over the line for non-Varana, you even go over the line with your own kind. Others have suggested examples from "Into the West" or "Forbidden Kingdom." Jet Li plays an aspect of the Monkey King. One morning out of the blue pees on Jackie Chan's head.
2-You lack "that certain something"- Remember that kid in Junior High who bought ridiculously trendy clothes and sticks out because it is simply not a look he can "pull off." You know pick up lines but once uttered are received laughably or offensive. You carry yourself out of place and out of sorts.
3-While charisma is not the same as appearance a 5 is lower than a 9. I would suggest not just some ugly features perhaps even a deformity. Perhaps adding a pronounced stutter, or abnormal or distorted speech pattern.
4-Laugh at your own jokes insist that everyone "get it." Ellbow someone next to you "get it" and then explain. Use the phrase "say no more" as often as possible implying some sort of unspoken understanding between you and others (one that clearly does not exist).
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Neither races nor classes come with baked-in mutable personalities. RP him however you like.
Sure, because your DM has let you get away with it, something James Jacobs sez he shouldn't. A bad DM doesn't mean you write up a good character.
Accusing others of badwrongfun is something James Jacobs is even less approving of, you know.
I was always of the opinion that Charisma in a large way affected the presence of your character. This is why you have very VERY ugly monsters with high CHA. They're not attractive or even socially graceful, they're just so repulsive that it's almost awe-inspiring.
In that regard a very low CHA would equate to basically having no presence whatsoever. When you leave a room with your party (four people total) the people in the room comment on the three people and....wait was there another one?
Gnomezrule made some extremely good points as well. Your low CHA could be RPed as just having no understanding (or regard for) social graces or taboo. Take other people's food at the table. Take care of bodily functions wherever and whenever you want/need to. Rest of the party seriously discussing the next course of action? You're picking your nose.
You could even combine this with how perceptive you are. At that same conversation where you're picking your nose someone shouts at you for not paying attention and suddenly you can recount the entire plan, although your delivery should be awkward ;)
Just some more food for thought. But please no feet eating at the table!!! D:<
Very perceptive, terrible at social interaction.
Take inspiration from media:
Sherlock Holmes in the new "Sherlock" series. He never misses anything around him but is so abrasive that he has no friends. He actually thinks he is being helpful when he tells others how stupid they are.
Adrian Monk in "Monk". He is incredibly perceptive, but his crippling anxieties prevent him from having normal interactions with people. He really is a nice person, but to anyone that isn't a very close friend he always comes off horribly.
Neither races nor classes come with baked-in mutable personalities. RP him however you like.
Darn typos. I meant 'immutable'.